Monthly Archives: December 2020

A Conspiracy of Evil

Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds, , ,

We are living in a time of wide-spread belief in grand evil conspiracies, that have seized the imaginations of many and filled social media, YouTube channels, and some lives. These grand conspiracies, whatever their particular shape, share an attraction. They also serve a purpose that I think explains why they are so popular and powerful to us.

One of the core questions we humans ask ourselves from the moment we begin to think until the day we die is, “Am I Ok?” or “Am I Good?” We long for the emotional and psychological security of being right. Uncovering a conspiracy gives a massive shot of confidence to that question. It imagines evil as something vast and complex hiding in the shadows, perpetrated by powerful people who have the power to do evil. In uncovering the hidden knowledge of this evil, I am in the right and belong to a small exclusive group of the enlightened while the masses are held in the sway of this great and powerfully complex evil conspiracy.

This construction allows me as a person to take pride in my rightness (or righteousness to use the Biblical phrase) and gives me comfort even in the face of this great complex evil conspiracy. I can now make sense of the world as one where there are massive forces of evil causing all the problems while I sit securely in my rightness. Even the forces of fallen creation are really just tools of evil men of which I am not a part. Well hidden from my view becomes my own fallenness, sin, or, again to use a Biblical phrase, the wickedness of my own heart.

"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
(Jeremiah 17:9)

The truth of the matter, according to the Bible, is that the evil I am in danger of does not arise from national or global cabals, but instead from me. 

And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
(Mark 7:20-23)

Look at that list! I would much rather believe that the list Jesus gave was the domain of mysteriously complex evil forces engaged in a hidden conspiracy that I, through reading some blogs & watching some YouTube videos have uncovered. If I read the Bible, it tells me a far more convicting story of an angel’s rebellion who thought he knew better than God and whose primary work is now to convince me that I too can know better than God what true evil is.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
(Ephesians 6:12)

This enemy is more than happy to convince my heart that I am smarter than the forces of evil in the world and that my own heart is good and clever while the evil that threatens my world is a powerful external hidden force. This enemy never wants me to humbly accept evil in my own heart as the issue, or understand that he is the enemy rather than a group of human conspirators.

The first conspiracy theory can be found in Genesis 3. Adam does not believe that his sin is his fault, it is the woman that GOD gave him. Eve isn’t to blame either, it was that serpent. They are good, but external forces of evil have conspired against them.

As Israel’s sin began to have consequences and external threats arose, rather than turn to God to deal with the evil of their hearts, they looked outward, grabbing hold of conspiracy theories. They didn’t need to deal with evil, evil was an external force threatening them as good people. God warns Isaiah, 

For thus the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, "You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
(Isaiah 8:11-12)

Our hearts, wicked as they are, are programmed to seek out evil apart from ourselves and view that as the threat to fight against. It allows us to salve our pride, see ourselves as good and righteous, and be the hero of the story against the forces of evil and all the dumb people around us who are not as enlightened as we are.
Paul, the longer he sought truth, came to a startling conclusion about himself. As he viewed the cosmic struggle, he settled on one central truth that defined both the workings of the world and how he fit into it. 

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
(1 Timothy 1:15)

I am not defined by an external evil, whether it be natural or conspiratorial. I am not in a fight against small or large groups of fellow humans. In fact, even my cosmic demonic enemy is already a defeated foe, but not through any effort of my own nor enlightenment I possess. I have been died for, lived for, resurrected for, and now my life centers around the confession of the wickedness within me and the work of Christ to bring His Kingdom into my own heart.

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
(John 16:33)
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Light Escaped

Personal, Writing Challenges

The darkness was as deep and uninterrupted as the silence that accompanied it.  Visual & auditory absence that was amplified by the coolness of the enclosure.  The dimensions of the room were impossible to ascertain in the complete absence of illumination.  Whatever the size of the room, it was capacious in what it held for others.  This space held immeasurable sadness, hopelessness, fear, and even despair.  It contained the ruined dreams of many and the crushing disappointment of a committed few who had thought that this shadowed space was an impossible likelihood.  Its darkness seemed the full antithesis of all that it now concealed.

It had begun in light.  A need for light had drawn it, a call for light had predicted it, and its arrival had repeatedly been announced by light.  Those who did not understand nor appreciate it had nonetheless had found their attention captivated by the light.  The light had demonstrated such power that even those who lacked any capacity to see the light had suddenly and joyfully beheld it, forever changed by its entrance into their lives.  Others, who had prided themselves on the appreciation of light had found this too bright and had embraced a blindness that was more comforting than its piercing brilliance.

Whether they embraced it or resisted it, none could deny the presence of something that seemed to hint of the first light ever to shine into a void.  There was a timelessness, an ancient quality to the light that yet seemed to announce newness and birth.   No one encountering this light was left unchanged or unimpressed by it.  Men and women were driven either to joy or to madness by the gentle relentlessness of its power.

Suddenly all those who had basked in the glow found themselves stumbling and crying, unable to see ahead.  Their disorientation all the worse for having seemed to see so clearly before.  The one thing that had been clear in the light now was clouded in uncertainty and defeat.

The light had passed away with the setting of the sun and had not returned with the dawn.  Night had become permanent behind a large stone, blocking out not only light, but hope and victory.

Another sunset confirmed the finality of the darkness over the light.  As a third day dawned with sudden truth for those who beheld a not-final resting place.  In victory, Light had escaped.

This was inspired by a writing prompt: “Light Escaping” in the GCD Writers Guild. If you are a writing & interested in joining the Guild for encouragement & challenge in being a Gospel writer, click the badge on the right.

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Caring About Life

Life in Christ, Personal

When I was a little boy, I would never take the last cookie in the jar. Up until then, I was fine eating them, but once it was down to the last cookie (or cracker, or other food item) I didn’t want to finish it because I was afraid my Mom or Dad would want one later and be sad and disappointed. I think this tendency amused my parents.

From early on God gave me a soft spot for people. Now I am not saying that I can’t be stupid, and act in uncaring and inconsiderate ways. Much the opposite! But over all I have a soft spot for people. My wife will gently chuckle as I cry while watching “Undercover Boss.”

The term “pro-life” has become so political, that I struggle to use it now. As my wife became pregnant with each of our children, I couldn’t imagine ending the small life growing within her and I’ve always mourned the act of abortion in our world. I’ve also struggled with seeing others suffer, whether it be someone sick, old, poor, or otherwise in trouble. I remember a magazine article I saw when I was 17 about a rural area. It had a picture of an old man next to his farm stand. A crude hand painted sign on the stand said, “Please blow horn. I am old & cannot stay out in the cold.” I hated that picture & didn’t want to see it or think about it, yet I couldn’t stop looking at it and over thirty years later I can still see it with crystal clarity in my mind. What upset me was I was so worried that people would take his produce without paying since he couldn’t stay outside. I felt sick.

These days I feel sick and upset a lot. As a virus races around the planet and through communities, people struggle and some die. I have been told by fellow believers that I should not be overly worried about this, that it just happens and “oh well.” That only makes me feel sicker. If even one baby dying in the womb is too many, how is it that we who are called by the Name of the Lord of Life find it so easy to dismiss the death of so many, especially the elderly among us. How can we be cavalier about a death toll in our country alone that rises well over two-thousand a day?

I cannot. I just feel sick. I’ve done too many funerals, sat with too many grieving families, and been at the bedside too many times as a person took their last breath, to be able to step back and just accept death so easily.

I hate death. I hate seeing people lost. And I especially mourn the loss of life of those who may be lost.

Don’t ask me not to worry or be concerned about that. Whether it is someone dying of Covid, of neglect, of abortion, of poverty. The rich person, the celebrity, the immigrant, legal or otherwise. The baptist pastor and the Muslim. There is no room in my personal politics to become callous to the suffering and loss of those made in God’s image.

If that makes me wrong, then I’m wrong, but I hate death.

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End Times & Danger

Church on Mission, Perils of Shepherds

In high school I was a constant student of Revelation, Daniel and the End Times. I consumed books by Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, Salem Kirban, and a few others who were putting out books and studies. We watched “A Thief in the Night” and its sequels at church. It was the 1980’s and the threat of imminent thermonuclear war hung over society.

Some of the books I collected, like Kirban’s “Guide to Survival” had been written in the 1960’s when race riots & civil unrest had seized the country. In times of unrest or upheaval, our natural interest into End Times spikes. As the current pandemic began to circle the globe, I began to see it rise again. Sermon series, blog posts, articles, and theories. Once again we are in the End Times. As a high school student, many were pretty sure that Henry Kissinger was the Anti-Christ as he checked enough boxes. (He’s almost 100 years old, but not dead yet, so maybe there’s still time).

I graduated from high school in 1988. I was already surprised because I hadn’t expected God was going to wait even that long, the “End Times” was so close. Someone gave me a booklet that was very popular that year. “88 Reasons Why the Rapture will be in 1988.” The sequel, “89 Reasons…” didn’t do as much business (not a joke, that really happened).

At this stage, you might expect that I am going to say we are not living in the “End Times” as such, or talk through why one point of view or another is valid. I’m not going to do that. I’m done trying to tease out End Times moments and map Revelation & Daniel over the latest news.

Instead, I have begun to wonder this: when it comes to the End Times, are we more focused on what is going to happen to Us, or what is going to happen to Them?

Stick with me here. When is the Rapture of the Church? Is there even “the Rapture?” Is the Tribulation literal? Will the church go through it, part of it, etc. These questions seize our imagination because we want to know what we are going to face. When we sense cultural trends that may be working against us Christians, we suddenly sense that the End Times are upon us.

What if our biggest concern about the “End Times” wasn’t us, but them? When time comes to an end, no matter how bad it might get for a short season, it means we are almost to the final full reign of Jesus, the final imprisonment of the devil, and the end of suffering. We are also almost to the final judgement, the moment beyond which no one else will be saved. If we understand that salvation through the grace of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross is essential, than we should be far more concerned about time running out for others than about our own temporary suffering.

In a moment of frustration a day ago, I stated, “I just wish Jesus would hurry up and come back!” My dear wife reminded me, that will be a terrible day for many many people.

Revelation ends with a plea for Jesus to come quickly. How could we not look with eager anticipation for that moment. But just a few books earlier in Peter, we are reminded that Jesus is not waiting because He is slow, but because He wants more people to have a chance of salvation.

So let me ask you, when you think of the End Times, are you focused on what is going to happen to you, or what is going to happen to your unsaved friend or neighbor?

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