June 18, 2015
Being Prepared
I’m interviewing opinionated people
who have a strong presence in the community. Each interviewee has commented
that they don’t speak up before doing their research and having all the facts
because they don’t want to “embarrass themselves.” I suspect that same reasoning can be found in people
of faith. When we are biblically unsure of ourselves we remain silent for fear embarrassment.
Paul’s charge to Timothy applies not only to those in church leadership roles, but
to each of us as well. “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of
season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful
instruction” (2 Tim 4:2 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----The moral philosophers of the eighteenth century spent some time debating the intentions of the heart, whether there was any good in man at all, whether people ever did anything just to benefit others, or whether everything they did always came back to that simple matter of, “How will my action effect my standing amongst others?” The Scottish Moralists, for the most part, accepted Hobbe’s position that nobody ever really did anything to just benefit others. Even the good man’s good deeds were always intended from deep in his heart, at their very end as the last of their effects, to either avoid ill social effects, such as embarrassment, or gain social blessing, such as honor, respect, and admiration. The Scottish Moralists would not consider a person’s precautions taken about the correctness of his statements and stances to be done out of regard for the truthfulness and accuracy of public perception. They would certainly agree with your observation, “…they don’t speak up before…having all the facts because they don’t want to ‘embarrass themselves’.”
-----Eventually the greatness of America was founded upon much of the philosophy of the Scottish Moralists. But as clay can not bear the weight the Rock can, it is no wonder America’s foundations are falling apart out from under our feet. The men who founded our once loveable country were not simply philosophers. The greater portion of them were deeply religious folks escaping the religious persecutions of ignorantly pompous kings and their insightless cronies. This one generation of faithful men washed up onto common shores, though recognizing the “self-interest” aspects of that philosophy, more lived by Rock philosophy, “...do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal 6:10) They carefully crafted a governing document around the purpose of protecting a space in which every citizen could enjoy his God given individual sovereignty. But that sovereignty would have to be sheltered by the actions of a populace “not desiring to embarrass themselves.” A major flaw.
-----It is hard for a person of a genuinely religious and wise culture to imagine his society ever becoming sacrilegious and embarrassingly, God forsakenly, overwhelmingly, entirely unbelievably stupid to the core, if stupid can have a core. But just a moment of “Scottish moralist“ reflection upon the clay crumbled illuminates how it has happened. Man does not sort into one bin alone. A few do good for the benefit of those they effect. Some do evil, not giving a rat’s rump about how anybody thinks of them. The majority live to not embarrass themselves.
-----When the rat’s rumps doing evil are able to rest control of the society’s communication system from those who truly serve to benefit others, a different light is cast upon social norms. And that’s all it takes. Things just look different under different light. So, if the social expectations of a society mostly invested in embarrassment avoidance can be slightly skewed, the actions of that society will slightly change. In turn, that slightly skews social norms, which further skews actions shaped by embarrassment avoidance. So, here we are today, bewilderingly watching this population of gutless lemmings research their facts to avoid embarrassment rather than to speak the truth in love. And the skew has become so severe that those who do speak the truth in love are severely shamed. No wonder Jesus comes to stomp the grapes of wrath. Even so, come Lord Jesus; recalibrate our social norms.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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