Unfiltered Truth

In the last few days I have been enticed into conversations concerning “holidays”. One person or another, to include one of my own postings on Facebook, where one party was wholly unaware of the demonic origin of the “holiday” and was heartily attempting to defend the tradition.

For whatever reason, the very next thing that happened in every one of these situations, a well-meaning person, entered the conversation and made claims of “shaming” people. Each conversation had a different person making these claims, so to be clear, it wasn’t the same person seeking out the opportunity to put their “two cents” in.

Now, with that said, here is what I have slept on, pondered, prayed and determined.

When I post something that presents a fact that has been researched in multiple platforms {encyclopedia, books, scripture, and internet} and cross-references are provided this should leave little to the imagination. It is then an open opportunity for the reader to verify those facts for themselves in the same said arena. This is not the opportunity for some 3 minute decision to reply with an opinion to the post. Gather your rebuttal with facts resourced in the same manner as presented.

The top 4 commentaries from the well-meaning people are as follows:

1. Product of our environment. While this may look like valid reasoning it is really just an excuse. My personal experience is not one of glam or glory, my own father got his GED in jail for crying out loud. So did I get the “Saturday Evening Post” version of what life had to offer…. No!

What I got was the same opportunity every other red blooded American got and that was an open door to a basic education system. While it has become more of an indoctrination, telling people what to think and less of teaching people how to think, it is still an open door to information.

Being an educated human being should not be under the “truancy” campaign that it is currently being fostered in America, but, that is the way they present it. This generates an attitude of reaching a certain point by painfully awaiting the end of the process. “I can’t wait to graduate.” Or “I can’t wait to get out of here.” And when so many people get to that point they stop seeking out information once they meet those campaign requirements.

Just because you do not know something does not mean you are stupid, or that someone with the information is attempting to shame you, it does mean you are ignorant of that subject. Ignorance is by birth, all are born without knowledge, stupid is knowing the truth and ignoring it, it is a choice. It is your choice to remain ignorant, get the information or to live stupid.

2. Managing the perception. The complaint here is that the information provided is a “hammer” and not a “cookie” that the presentation is somehow brutalizing every friend you have. There is nothing I or anyone else can do to make the reader ‘feel’ any certain way about the content provided. The way the reader ‘feels’ is not the utmost concern when presenting the truth, the truth is the utmost concern.

The fact that the reader becomes uncomfortable in the truth should prompt them to discovery and not to the defense of their take on the tradition, habit or “holiday”. We were never promised comfort in this life. Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not praying a pray and then coasting into eternity. Look at his words…

Matthew 24:8-13 “All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Acts 14:22 “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

In the end the perception of the said “holiday” is not your perception that matters, it is God’s perception. What does He see when we participate in that activity? Imagine you were married once before, then divorced and now married another. Your first spouse was born on November 15^th and your current spouse was born on April 17^th. Now you are dressed in your best, it is November 15^th, holding a beautifully wrapped gift, prepared to go out on the town that you tell your spouse “Happy Birthday!” I am not a rocket scientist but I can guarantee you that will be a disaster!

The perception of your spouse is the same that God has when we thumb our noses at His appointed times, celebrations, and Holy Days in lieu of a manmade, pagan oriented, celebration of demons or dead humans over Him as Lord of our lives.

Deuteronomy 18:9 “When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.”

Exodus 20:3 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

It does not matter what you think of the “holiday” it only matters what God thinks of it.

3. Sensitivity. This area delves into the approach methodology. Somehow following Jesus Christ automatically turns us into a combination “Mr. Rogers” and “Mrs. Butterworth”. This the hyper-grace movement of men like Joel Osteen, with their painted on smiles, as they drain the wallets of their followers. The fact is, that is a lie produced from the gates of hell. The God fearing man or woman is to be firm in their conviction and producing the truth in love.

Anyone who has ever been a parent, or a child for that matter, knows that the lack of discipline makes the child an insolent brat. Love requires discipline. Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” It does not appear that God Himself is in the habit of ‘cuddling’ us into the kingdom.

While the world teaches “you catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar” both are equally healthy to the body. Honey nourishes and vinegar detoxifies. In the cuddly form of Christianity we have come to adopt these traditions and “holidays” by acquiescing to the pressure of pagan society. “We won’t be your friend or do what you’re doing unless you do what we do” is not doing what we are commanded by God to do. Whose opinion matters more?

Everyone seems to forget the same Jesus that said to “turn the other cheek” is the one that clears the temple. John 2:15 “After making a whip out of cords, He drove everyone out of the temple complex with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables.”

In the end, it is not my responsibility to make sure the readers feels comfortable, if anything it is my job to push people out of their comfort zones and into the truth. Loving people is more than pats on the back, it includes a whack on the bum! The church of today needs to stop resting on tradition and dig into the Word of God for truth.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

 

4. Defending God. This final one is an interesting one. Defending God. The well-meaning persons are telling me that it is not our job as followers of Jesus Christ to defend the Word of God, Jesus or God Himself. Really? Then what is the point of claiming faith?

Webster’s Dictionary” a·pol·o·get·ics – əˌpäləˈjediks/ “reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine.”

This was the complete ministry of all the prophets and the authors of the New Testament! In what other manner will the people of the earth learn about God and His plan of salvation?

In a church I once attended there was a massive campaign to gather toiletries and snack foods to send to troops overseas. Nowhere on the list of suggested items did it say “Bible”.  When I asked why this was this way I got the “deer in the headlights” look from the team of volunteers manning the station. Not being opposed to being generally kind to human beings, especially those in harm’s way, I get what they were doing. Yet, it is our responsibility, as representatives of the church, to provide the gospel message in our well doing.

Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

The answer to the problem lies in the people and their ability to become knowledgeable in the Word of God. Jesus told the people in Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” Why was this?

Answer: Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”