That pride has been popularized in our society demonstrates our collective societal commitment to a path that will lead to the destruction many of many nations and many of the people. C S Lewis wrote in his book, Mere Christianity:
According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…
… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.25
I would add that around the world, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and other religious teachers agree that the essential vice is pride! The first book of the Bible, Genesis, tells us that:
The dear Lord God, gave Adam this order: "You may freely eat from every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die."
- Genesis 2:16-17 (translated from the original Hebrew, Complete Jewish Bible)
Yet, when it came time for Adam and Eve to honor His prohibition:
The serpent said to the woman, "It is not true that you will surely die; because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
- Genesis 3:4-5
Can there be more radically opposite statements than these? Logically, two mutually exclusive premises cannot both be true!
The dear Lord said that on the day Adam ate from the forbidden tree, it will become certain that he will die. The original Hebrew makes it clear that the meaning is that eventually Adam would die — that he would become a mortal man — but not that he would die on that very day or in that moment. In other words, the poisonous effect would stay with man throughout his life till he succumbed.
The serpent very slyly misled Adam and Eve telling them that they would not die when eating from the forbidden tree, but he evaded providing any answer as to how it was possible that they would not die! Like a trickster or magician, he gave an answer that misdirected their attention to something completely other than the most urgent questions at hand: Should one eat from that tree or not? Should one defy God or not? Will we die or not? Is what God says always true or not?
None of the questions were answered. He appealed to their pride saying that their eyes would be opened and that they would be "like" God in knowing good and evil. The serpent's answer is the type of answer given by a politician or sophist who deceptively appeals to a listener's self-interest or prejudice, but does not answer the question being entertained.
Deception is a poison that from the beginning of time has led to the cultures of death and all the suffering that comes with it (Isaiah 14:12-15; John 8:44)! Fanning the flames of their pride, the serpent encouraged them in that moment to forget God and His will, and to focus only on their own self-will — to then poison their relationship with God and poison their lives. By definition, poisons do cause death, and "sin" is the poison that poisons our lives as well.
The reality and meaning of sin is something that is no longer discussed in open society, but it still is affecting all our mortal lives (Proverbs 11:19). If you mention sin to anyone who is not of faith, they will look at you as if you are mad and probably will mock you and laugh.
Our proclivity to endlessly heed the urges of our appetites and our self-pride rather than the dear Lord demonstrates that the poison affecting our lives is a life-long affliction, something that can only be cured through the antidote administered by the Great Physician.
We need to ask ourselves serious questions! Is anyone discussing the existence of evil or sin within the hearts of those who walk the halls of healthcare facilities? Is it better to ignore the spiritual concerns involved when staff actively kill patients? Have we done our job by not considering how this evil has now spread to every niche of healthcare so patients now can be medically killed in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, and other settings? Is there such a thing as evil or good and can it influence what is happening in healthcare and in our societies or nations in general?
Yes, just like individuals, a nation can also experience its ending that arises from a fatal level of hatred, unwise policies, or a fatal stage in the development of a culture of death! The leaders of nations and the people within them have the power to build the nation up or to lead it into destruction. (Psalm 9:15-20; Ezekiel 14:12-23).
When the nations commit themselves to policies that assure and even mandate the evil rather than the good — the killing of the unborn embryonic and fetal human beings, as well as the vulnerable disabled, ailing, and elderly — like out-of-control addicts taking their final lethal dose of opioid drugs, the nations slay themselves (Zephaniah 3:6-8).26
The politically correct politicians, journalists, actors, musicians, and other "leaders" constantly divert our attention from the real threats to the culture of life, the peaceful co-existence of the people, and their very survival. Many of them do not really perceive these threats. They often subscribe to a utopian fantasy, refuse to see reality as it is, are under the influence of alcohol, illegal or prescription drugs, and may even be deluded enough to consider those forces threatening our society as beneficial and necessary for "progress!"
They divert attention away from violent radical terrorists or communists who seek to overthrow the Judeo-Christian societies in the West or other nations of the East. Though they are the gatekeepers, they have opened the city and national "gates" to those who seek to undermine our societies. It is difficult to even find recent articles citing our leaders warning of the dangers of communism or Islamism in America! Is it because many of them actually already are communists, Islamists, or have adopted their views without formally proclaiming their allegiance?
Through constant indoctrination, the people are led to fervently believe in unscientific and irrational reasons to incrementally implement a globalist, socialist-leaning, and Islamist-friendly but anti-Judeo-Christian utopian form of government.27
It is no secret that the far Left activists despise traditional American values, traditional natural marriage and the family, do not respect the sanctity of life, do not support the moral law at all, and have done away with adherence to most of it in their lives and in the laws they pass. They now hold many positions in legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the local, state, and federal government. They have no qualms in crushing individuals' financial well-being or their Constitutional rights in order to move the agenda forward.28
Leftists wallow in and glorify the opposite of the moral law! Libertinism, anarchy, and the assertion of self is the hallmark of this effort. Many young have suffered when they naively followed these voices and only later learned the consequences of such behavior. Margaret Sanger, the founder of the American Birth Control League which became Planned Parenthood is a prime example of someone who lived the libertine lifestyle.
Sanger is a heroine, not only of the Left and not only of the bisexual, lesbian, or homosexual activists, but especially of the focused culture of death. For decades, through many legal actions, public school curricula and numerous educational efforts, and entertainment industry initiatives or products, they have been discouraging familial love, fidelity in marriage, respect and obedience to parents, as well as reverence for God and obedience to His law.
They have made the killing of the embryonic or fetal human being a rite of passage that is glorified in the name of the supreme "self" and refuse to acknowledge the evil done when a mother kills her own unborn child. The vilified cultures of long ago that sacrificed their children to "the gods" hoping for good crops or financial success did so with the same motivation that mothers kill their unborn today, but at least they recognized what they were doing; today's worshippers of self can't even admit to others and themselves what they are doing and have to deny the long-established science of human embryology that reveals their actions for what they are.29
While libertinism is politically correct in pop culture, libertinism literally leads to uncontrolled violence, anarchy, chaos, disease, and death from numerous causes. We see an alliance between the libertines like Sanger and the Leftists, because both seek to overthrow the traditional society and the rule of law. Once the government is overthrown though, they would fight bitterly over what should be established in traditional society's place.
Make no mistake: just like those who overthrew the Czar in Russia back in 1917 and fought a terrible three-year Civil War there to establish the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922, those marching or rioting in the streets of Europe and in America do wish to promote Leftist causes. The leaders of many of these marches and organizations actually do wish to incite a real violent revolution to overthrow the current governments if a peaceful transition to socialism is not possible!
When homosexual rights leaders march, it is to promote Leftist causes; they reject conservative gay marchers. When women's rights leaders march, they reject conservative pro-life marchers. When environmentalist activists rally or express themselves, conservative voices, even if they are actual climate scientists, are not welcome. The Left has taken over the "rights" movements even though the people of faith — many of whom are conservative — fought for decades to achieve equal justice and civil rights for blacks and women.30
Wake up! If you are not involved in promoting the culture of life in some way, then the freedoms we enjoy will certainly be extinguished (Revelation 3:16)! Those anarchists and communists protesting in the streets seek to impose a tyranny that would be much worse than any the world has seen before, because the advent of electronic surveillance enables the government to know not only where everyone is, but what they are doing, what they are saying, and how they think. Stalin, Castro, or Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong) would have given much to have that capability and therefore, total control!
The libertines and the Leftists both assert that man's nature is essentially good and that given his freedom, man will do good, creating the long sought utopia. They assert that through technology and their wise societal control, man will do little wrong. Their "ethics" are equivalent to lawless libertinism applied to the sciences, politics, technology, and the law. Many scientists today do whatever they wish without any consideration of the unforeseen consequences that might arise decades or even centuries later! The Precautionary Principle has long been forgotten!
Some call this moral relativism where "anything goes," but what it actually is, is dedicated and focused moral degradation and defiance of God and his moral law. If "anything goes," why is traditional morality not permitted to be the choice? If "pro-choicers" allow women the choice, why are women who oppose abortion condemned? That is their choice! When we look to moral relativism as a guide for our actions, terrible suffering results, because moral relativism is only actually about choosing evil. Think about it!
History has proven that the Leftist, secular humanists' claim that man is intrinsically good is woefully incorrect! Quite the contrary! Century after century in every land on Earth, men and women have lied, robbed, cheated, betrayed, attacked, and made war against others. Man is only in fact "good" in a very limited sense if he is blessed by God and enabled by grace to overcome his many imperfections and sinful nature.
Secular humanists refuse to accept this, and therefore everything they do is tainted and destined for utter failure. Relying on the assumed goodness of mankind, they then formulate utopian dreams that never come to fruition.
Though in public, the Nazis are almost universally condemned today, the Nazis had such utopian dreams. It was according to the utopian designs of the Nazis that officers forced the imprisoned victims in the many death camps to help with the process of killing their own fellow prisoners, carting them off, and helping to incinerate or bury the bodies in mass graves. The Nazis had a virulent hatred for Jews and authentic Christians who resisted their evil. The Nazis infected their own children with this evil as well as reinforcing the centuries-long hatred Arabs held for those they call "the people of the book."
The communists in the former Soviet Union and "satellite" nations persecuted Jews and Christians just as Islamists do today. Islamic leaders have consistently condemned other religions as invalid. Though some may strategically pretend to accept multiculturalism, they only recognize Islam as the "true" religion and insist to non-Muslims that it is supposedly a "religion of peace."
How do Leftists — who say they support human and especially women's rights — encourage Islam's expansion in many nations when Islamic leaders openly admit that according to their theocratic ideology, they are permitted to kill infidels — even communists — and to do so is not only not considered a sin, but a virtue! How do they encourage that expansion when under Islamic law ("Sharia"), in most Islamic nations, women are completely controlled by men and cannot even walk on the street without a man's permission and presence to escort them.
Women are literally treated like slaves. According to a significant portion of Islamic scholars and the traditions that are enforced through sharia, even their bodies are routinely subjected to female genital mutilation. Though Islamists justify this practice so that women do not experience sexual pleasure or become unfaithful to their husbands, no man is castrated to suppress his sexual pleasure or to prevent him from being unfaithful to his wife! So how do Leftists say nothing at all about these horrific practices that oppress women?
Islamists also approve killing other Muslims whose interpretation of the religion they reject, because those Muslims are considered "infidels" who don't believe in the "true" Islam. Have you not heard of the centuries-long violence between the Sunni and Shia Muslims? This is the source of much of the violence we see today.
As "proof" that it is such a "religion of peace," or that any violence is solely the fault of powerful nations like the United States, Muslims have been killing other Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world for 1400 years, long before the United States existed!31
All past and present national communist or Islamist movements targeted and killed any resistant, educated teachers or religious leaders, as the elites — and there always are elites in control of such "people's" movements — need a gullible, submissive populace to control and manipulate when fashioning their "utopian" hells. They often start by promising many improvements in society, then work to silence those who expose their lies, and later use violence to seize complete control.
Exactly how many died through imprisonment, overwork, abuse, neglect, starvation, beatings, tortures of all sorts, execution, and other causes, is impossible to determine. That they died is certain. That — in the United States and elsewhere — today's Leftists' current and planned efforts are just as lethal is increasingly becoming obvious to any but the willingly blind. Socialists have regularly transformed thriving economies like Cuba and Venezuela into "hell holes" of starvation and terror.32
The Leftist socialist agenda and vision conflicts with basic human nature, so through intimidation, violence, imprisonment, or execution, the people very quickly understand they must comply with socialist policies or suffer the consequences. This has been demonstrated in every communist nation and is increasingly made evident by the intolerance manifested by Leftists wherever they rally.
Socialism arose out of its founders' hatred for religion, for God, and for traditional Judeo-Christian life. Though many pretended to be atheists, their writings revealed undeniably that they were knowingly Satanic. Saul Alinsky was undoubtedly a major influence on Barack Hussein Obama and Hillary Clinton. In an in-your-face rebellious socialist spirit, he loudly dedicated his book, Rules for Radicals, to Lucifer.33
What are the rules that the Leftists have been using? They are not the courteous, disciplined rules of fair debate and logic! We cannot reason with those who are dedicated to either violent or deceptively peaceful revolution. Their methods include ridicule, personal attacks, lawsuits, disempowerment, deception, and various forms of destruction of both individuals and groups of individuals. They are all geared toward the elimination of traditional society and the acquisition of power.
You will recognize the following methods from Saul Alinsky's summary of several Leftist methods used if you have been paying any attention at all to the political activities and news of the past decades, the distortions and attacks made in major media articles and entertainments, and the coordinated, paid, violent Leftwing protests in the USA. Here are some of the tactics and advice he gave:
1. "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have."
2. "Never go outside the expertise of your people. When an action or tactic is outside the experience of the people, the result is confusion, fear and retreat.... [and] the collapse of communication.
3. "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
4. "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity."
5. "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage."
6. "A good tactic is one your people enjoy."
7. "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag. Man can sustain militant interest in any issue for only a limited time...."
8. "Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose."
9. "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself."
10. "The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign."
11. "If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside... every positive has its negative."
12. "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative."
13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and 'frozen.'...
"...any target can always say, 'Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?' When you 'freeze the target,' you disregard these [rational but distracting] arguments.... Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all the 'others' come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target...'
"One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other." (pp.127-134) - from Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals
When socialists use these tactics to disempower those who oppose them and ultimately to actually seize power, no sense of morality restrains their use. In fact, the opposite is the case. When a "comrade" perceives the wrong in mistreating others in his efforts to impose or maintain socialist rule, the influence of his or her conscience is to be rejected; the "Party policy" is implemented dutifully no matter how horrific it may be so that the perceived "greater good" of the socialist agenda is achieved. Anyone may be sacrificed for the sake of the State, just as the Nazis sacrificed anyone for the sake of the Reich.
That the Leftists were unable to retain the reins of the nation in the 2016 Presidential election and transform the nation permanently is the reason their fury is bubbling over throughout the nation. Though the eight years of the Obama administration were the sweetest of dreams for the Leftists, they were a nightmare for those who cared about God, His law, pro-life advocacy, and Constitutional rule. Just consider that his administration actually sued the Little Sisters of the Poor and was willing to take actions that could have forced this most charitable and praiseworthy of missions to completely cease serving the people in the United States!
Though a simple majority of the "justices" on the United States Supreme Court made a decision that recognized "homosexual marriage," no mere branch of government has a Constitutional authority to re-define marriage. The only marriage that is authentic is a traditional marriage between a man and a women with the intended purpose of raising a family. This has been the obvious foundation for a thriving society that is renewed with each generation of children. This is absolutely clearly expressed in the Ten Commandments and throughout the Bible, and in fact, the scriptures of all major world religions.
Without God in our lives, all we do will remain unfulfilling and nothing we do will be truly right. He is central to the freedoms and blessings we have come to enjoy in our society! It is our stubborn refusal to acknowledge Him in all we do that actually gives rise to the evil societal qualities that comprise the various cultures of death. That we owe societal and national stability to the morality of our people — that arises through our faith in Him — is something that the founders of the United States proclaimed in many of their writings.34
We believe ourselves to be so "modern" yet are truly so lost that we have forgotten this most basic of truths. Many are addicted to recreational or prescription drugs, alcohol, gambling, videogames, television and other entertainments. Their attention is not focused on their neighbors. Is it any wonder that many are numb to almost all societal concerns and do not care at all about the suffering of others around them? Is it any wonder that every niche of society has been tainted in one way or another?
Imagine that you are suddenly awakened from a deep sleep by a young boy sitting nearby. He looks sad, sickly, emaciated, with sunken eyes, and quite pale — terrible! You rush him to a physician, and the doctor asks him, "Does it hurt here?" "Does it hurt there?" And the boy answers, "Yes," about every part of his body, but the physician just can't or won't make the accurate diagnosis of the malady!
This is our current societal state. Just consider the violence in many of the cities resulting in thousands of deaths every year. Some suggest more money be allocated to "fix" the problem, but few are receptive to the obvious source of the problem: children are growing up without a stable and loving family environment, without a father and mother who are present and show them how to live a moral life. Without such families, many join gangs that become a quasi-family and lead them all into degradation and a very short life.
The great rabbi Maimonides taught the people: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Those of faith, like Maimonides, feed, clothe, and house those who are hungry and in need, but then teach them how to live and be independent so they not only take care of themselves, but contribute to the society around them as well.
Socialists do the opposite. They give the man a fish but make sure he never finds out where fish come from or how to catch them for himself! While only appearing to be very caring, they actually weave webs of dependency so that the people depend upon the State for relief. In this way, the power of the elites is held without any significant challenge.
That is the motivation for Leftists when they set up welfare systems, but then do little that is truly effective in helping the people cast off their dependency on those welfare checks. Increasingly rewarding those women who are unmarried and have more children destroys the incentives for marriage and a stable family, setting the stage for further dependency, violence, and chaos in the communities of the poor.
Without the dear Lord's blessing, no society is ever healthy. You might object that many evil yet great empires and nations thrived for centuries. Yes, they did, but every one of them was fashioned from the blood of those who opposed it, from the lives sacrificed as slave labor throughout the reign of such empires, and in the midst of all the "greatness," there were always the oppressed who cried out due to their terrible suffering.
Yes, within the cultures of death that exist in Western as well as Eastern nations, increasing numbers are kidnapped by human traffickers for forced labor, sweat shops, slavery, prostitution, or are forced into violent gangs. These cultures of death result in perpetual and varying levels of chaos, violence and threats to life. The leaders of the various cultures of death always use deception, intimidation, and violence to impose their will upon others. In fact, those who assume power as elites in charge impose their individual wills upon others for their own aggrandizement, power, and other benefits.
No matter how eloquently they speak, lies come endlessly out of their mouths, and they are actually admired for their ability to lie well! In fact, the two most popular Presidents of the U.S. are Bill Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama, both of whom have been adored by some and loathed by others, but publicly proved to be the most prolific and adept liars. Like con artists who scheme and manipulate to pull off their deception, they are quick thinkers, glib speakers, and project a charm worthy of Lucifer himself!
Clinton is famous for asserting that there is more than one meaning to the word "is." Obama is famous for telling us — with regard to his "healthcare reform," The "Affordable" Care Act — that we could keep our doctors, and insurance plans, and that we would not be forced to spend "one dime" in additional taxes, though every bit of what he said was a knowing lie that his economic advisor, Jonathan Gruber, finally publicly admitted.
Gruber stated that the only way that the government was able to garner support and pass the law was the "incredible stupidity" of the American public. It all could not have been accomplished without the Leftist major media omitting any negative analysis and publishing praise after praise for the law.
As far as taxes increasing, the Supreme Court determined that the whole thing actually was a massive tax increase. Imagine that! Obama convinced many to support the biggest tax increase ever in the United States without the gullible groupies who worshipped him realizing what was being done. For "pulling the wool over their eyes," no matter how dishonest they obviously are, he and Clinton are virtually worshipped and adored by the Leftists around the world.
Whatever such liars say, wherever they use their power to impose their will upon the less powerful, we can recognize the hollowness of their promises, their lack of integrity, and their certain betrayal of that which is truly good. Many of those who are greedy for power inevitably rise to positions of power and misuse it. They and those close to them become multi-millionaires seemingly overnight.
In such cultures with these thoroughly dishonest leaders, every aspect of the divine law is violated at one point or another. For example, both Bill Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama's administrations increased funding to encourage the availability of abortion in other nations, while they weakened efforts to enforce the laws against adult pornography.35 Rather than feel deep shame for their transgressions, Leftwing leaders and people like them arrogantly proclaim their and the people's right to do these things and set policies that encourage the proliferation of these evils.
Tragically, like their followers, many of these leaders have been indoctrinated from early childhood to believe much that is false. Decisions they then make are based on that misinformation, so that, though they are adults, their consciences have never properly been developed. Like drunk drivers on the road, they really believe they are doing the good when they are not and they lead the nations and peoples into darkness (Luke 23:34).
Though man is truly exceptional and can do such wonders, unlike common animals, he has demonstrated that he also can be exquisitely evil in what he does! When approached with the truth, only few awaken from the madness and turn back with deep reverence and humility toward the Light.
Though many very well-connected leaders in business, industry, the military, and the government have acquired vast powers, wealth, and a reputation as great societal benefactors, secretly in private many live lives of depravity and commit injustices of all sorts for their own benefit and those they choose to reward — just as the kings and queens have done throughout history.
They believe, as we naturally do, in their own goodness and wisdom, and do not perceive their own imperfections, inner violence and selfishness. Though we normally are unaware of these, at any moment some provocation may cause these "reptilian" traits to explode into plain view and reveal our fallen nature that is ever present within the hidden recesses of our minds and hearts.36
There is a huge difference between pleasure and power-seeking in this world or the next, and serving others with deep sacrificial love. There is a huge difference between placing one's faith in one's own power or projecting that power for personal gain, and, placing one's faith in the God who was, is, and will be forever.
There is a huge difference between attempting to coerce others, even God, or "the gods" using willful prayers and techniques that manipulate those in this world or the next, and humbly abiding in God's loving presence and then sharing that love with others.
The good that we seek to promote is not achieved through evil; a loving world and peace can never be achieved through hate, violence, or tyranny. The good we seek cannot be achieved by force, imposition, violence, or self-will, though violence may be needed in defense. We can never work our way into heaven or God's grace, but we can open ourselves and make ourselves more receptive to His instruction and blessings.
This is one of the essential differences between the culture of life and the cultures of death: one opens the human heart to God, the Truth and the Life, while the other estranges man from God, leading him to suffering, loneliness, despair and death. Some gnostics believe they must "spiritually" work to rise up to other dimensions and that this world and especially the people in it must eventually be destroyed for their idea of the final ultimate good to be achieved.
For any individual to make efforts — whether occult or gnostic in nature — to rise to higher dimensions while rejecting this world as an obstacle to the ultimate good is a terrible misunderstanding of reality. This approach never addresses man's problem with self-pride — the central issue that causes man to taint his relationship with God. For them, it is their self which rises up through herculean "spiritual" efforts to become or join the Light which is somehow far away or removed. They refuse to see that He already is present to us and pouring out His light and grace for our sake, and that we can accept His grace here and now (John 3:1-21).
God created this world and it is perfect and good! Only good can arise from Him. However, because our attachment and desire for the things of this world never end of their own, we reject the Creator of all that we see and are (Ecclesiastes 1)! We do tragically think He is far — and even those of faith may misunderstand this point: the dear Lord is present to us here and now as well as present to those who dwell in every level and every dimension — or "mansion" in heaven (John 14:2)! He plainly told us: "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20).
Because He is not far but with us, because it is His life that is the life in those He created and we serve, and because it is His will that we serve, we revere and serve life!
We have a duty to recognize the realistic threats to this life and to act to protect others as well as ourselves, and to promote a society and nation that hopefully, truly honors God.
The willing deception that teaches us to misinterpret the words, "Judge not, that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1)" has caused a widespread blindness to the obvious realities around us and to our duties in this world. This has been no accident!
Generations long past would be shocked and amazed at our blindness and the blithering stupidity with which we allow ourselves to follow suicidal personal, regional, national, and even international policies. On the contrary, we are to wake up and must judge righteously so we remain true to God and His Divine Law (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Why else would this command have been given to the people?
You shall therefore love the Lord your God,
and always keep His charge, His statutes,
His ordinances, and His commandments. — Deuteronomy 11:1
and
You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart
and on your soul; ....
You shall teach them to your sons,
talking of them when you sit in your house
and when you walk along the road
and when you lie down and when you rise up. — Deuteronomy 11:18-19
Yet, is this what we do today? How many of us contemplate His glory and His law relayed to us through the words of Moses, other prophets, and the dear Lord? How many more do the exact opposite! If we are not to judge others' behavior and also our own, and if we therefore are not to promote a moral society — as many today demand that we do when they require that we accept all sorts of immoral behavior — where does that lead us?
Can we walk unaided if we willingly don blindfolds? Did not the dear Lord say, "Go, and sin no more!" (John 8:11)? If we only consider His mercy towards us, but ignore His teaching as to how we are to live, we only set our paths toward chaos and the certain destruction of our nations, communities, and eventually our very own lives! If we do not consider Him at all, we are lost!
If we open our hearts to receive God's grace, we should not be wallowing in shame for past deeds, nor should we condemn others while believing ourselves to be innocent; we are not! Yet, there is a time for shame when we stand before Him and seek His forgiveness and grace. However, in most cases not even the slightest thought is given to such matters in our predominantly secular culture of death.
While we do not willingly intend to threaten our own existence through behaviors that encourage violence, disease, and even war when we violate God's laws, there are those here as well as in other nations who openly seek to violently destroy our nations. If many of us abandon His law and do not even remember Him, can we expect His blessings or protection?
If we're going to consider what is truly radical, we might begin by daring to follow the dear Lord's teaching that we are to rescue those in need. If we love them, how can we not (John 13:34-35; 15:13)?
What kind of life would we live and what kind of society would we experience if we did? We will never know if we don't take that leap into the unpredictable, uncertain future, wander without always knowing where we are led, and trust God (Exodus 4:20, Matthew 14:22-33).37
If you have never wandered at some point in your search for Him, it can only mean that you have not been truly alive and merely exist (Psalm 116)!
Dear friend, if you wandered, wondering why you have arrived at where you are or were, why you trusted those you should not have trusted, why you worked so hard for something that seemingly amounted to nothing — lost, afraid, betrayed, angry, alone, and in despair — it doesn't matter so much where or how you wandered but that while you wandered, while you felt empty and uncertain, you were always searching for the truth, for goodness, and deep within, you yearned for Him!
The past is past, and we must let it go! As we move through life, we see that many are fixated upon the acquisition of power, wealth, pleasures, and position, but who aims to honor God and serve and care for and love the people? How many will stand up to those who victimize our patients and save them? Will we or won't we? And if we do, at what point will we turn our backs and say, "The cost is too much!"? "I can't risk that!"
Taking a stand does not mean we must foolishly act in a way that is not effective and only results in our own harm, but there are often other ways to act that we may not have considered. For example, there were many who secretly resisted Hitler's Nazi oppression through an underground network to hide and save those being targeted. There were many who established the "Underground Railroad" by caring for, feeding, and hiding runaway blacks who were escaping the evils of slavery in the South.
Yes, if we dare to follow His calling, it might mean that we will be questioned, ridiculed, rejected, shunned, threatened, or violently beaten or executed — even by those close to us. It may mean disrupting the routine life we have lived, getting fired from a job, or enduring a lifetime of painful rejection by relatives and those we thought were our "friends."
However, if you will accept it, the God who is that which He actually is and will be — no matter what faith or no faith you have been raised in — is as real and glorious today as He ever was, and He will touch and bless you if you open to His call and wait and listen and then serve the people!
Even when the prophets and the saints were called by God, they had the same choice we now have to trust Him and follow, or to reject His call and do nothing. All those who have been truly great leaders, or who played a major role in His plans for mankind, were at one time skeptical, unsure of the path before them, and questioned whether to turn this way or that.
At times, those we call saints felt alone and abandoned, and just like us, they worried about the cost of following Him (Mark 10:17-29). Though many of us are likely to think that the saints were special and had it "easier" because they were born that way. They did not become saints because they were born that way! They were men and women just like us. They acquired saintly qualities because at some point in their life they made a total commitment to Him, chose to actually let go of their own self-will, and to follow His call and to do His will! That is something each one of us can also do!
We are told:
Open your mouth for the mute,
For the rights of all the unfortunate,
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy. — Proverbs 31:8-9
How many of us dare to do this, and what kind of society would result if we all followed His call? It would not be one where multitudes are abused, neglected, or otherwise directly harmed or even killed in warehouses for the elderly disguised as care facilities.
It would not be one where multitudes never even think of the unfortunate, the afflicted and needy but become elated and jump for joy because they won a prize, got the cheapest price for a car, furniture, or a smartphone. It would not be one where immediately after showing a depiction of God giving the Ten Commandments to the people through Moses, the television station airs an advertisement for casino gambling and alcoholic drinks.
Consider the changes in the type of music that is spreading throughout society: we have gone from the exalted praise of God found in the "Hallelujah Chorus" of Handel's Messiah to very widespread rap "music" that refers to women as "Hos" and glorifies mindless killing and theft. Although rap music is only one genre among many, it has greatly affected the upcoming generation, and a society's music not only reflects the people's state of mind, but intensifies it as well.
Music is a gift that can be used to reach into our hearts and inspire and uplift us or to degrade us!
If we dared to follow His calling, and many of us did so, our society would not create music or art or entertainments that almost never honor God and His Creation but portray with great technical genius the most degraded and violent relationships, crime, pornography, dark magic, horror, and evil creatures such as vampires, zombies, and werewolves.
Do not think that these are harmless. We cannot unhear a bell or unsee what we have seen! The sense of evil, the emotions evoked, and the images shown cannot be erased from the mind and do leave a mark that inflicts a wound upon our being. It is not out of a wish to exercise tyrannical censorship that a moral society considers such to be obscene and to be avoided. They degrade and harm those who take these into their being.
Ultimately, they contribute to the disintegration of society.
Although every generation of parents believe that the younger generation is going too far, there really are changes that should make us stop to reconsider our assumption that our society is the most modern, just, civilized, intelligent, or enlightened!
We must also reconsider the assumption so many of us have had that we are so "spiritual" just because we read "spiritual books, participate in religious activities, or in various spiritual techniques and practices. Even if we did so for a thousand years, our efforts alone would not change our basic nature.
Though years ago I thought differently, it is absolutely clear that not one of is spiritual or truly good, except the dear Lord, Himself. Any spiritual path that fails to expose our egoism, to encourage humility, or to love all is a false path or belief system.
Any path that foments hatred toward others or condones violence against the innocent is not the way. No matter what signs or miracles he or she may perform, any teacher who exploits his or her students to obtain personal wealth, power, or sexual relations is a false teacher (Jeremiah 14:14; Matthew 7:15). All of these are signs of evil found in the various cultures of death.
If we would just dare to acknowledge Him and follow His calling, each moment of the day we would be engaged in the world around us and find joy within His Creation. We would endeavor to please Him at all times. We would do the work that made the most of the gifts He has given us, and if sometime we sang, danced, wrote, or expressed ourselves, we would glorify Him and His Creation.
If we did follow and glorify Him, the culture of life would spontaneously blossom with great beauty — just like the flowers do in the Spring. 
But how must we respond to those who betray the people? If we are going to actually be radically true to His loving and Holy Spirit, we would never give up the heart of a child He gave us. Yet, at the same time, we must remain vigilant in preserving and protecting the lives around us. We must weigh what is taught and find out what is true and then share that truth while exposing what is not true.
Like others who have come before, we have always had the opportunity to recognize and follow His exhilarating and irresistible Holy Spirit where He leads, so we may live an entirely different way!
St Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa of Calcutta both began as ordinary human beings just like you and me. Will you dare to give up much that many think to be so valuable if it means you will find the greatest of all treasures? The dear Lord suggested that we do exactly that:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. — Matthew 13:45-46
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