November 23, 2015
Intimidation
A public meeting was billed
as finding candidates to run for elected office and a member of the audience
made a veiled threat that boarded on candidate intimidation. He said, “Any
candidate you run will look like fools when we call them out. We will ask them
questions about what they don’t know! If you run a candidate, they better be
able to answer [our] questions.” The Pharisees, Sadducees and teachers of the
law devised questions for Jesus with the intention of discrediting Him and making
Him out to be a fool. The Lord was not intimidated, but rather responded in a
manner that exposed the folly of His questioners. “Answer a fool according to
his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes” (Proverb 26:5 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----”So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:1-5a) I can’t help but think this is the mind of Christ to which Paul referred at I Cor 2:16: “’For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” Of course, this meeting to which you refer was a public meeting, not a church meeting, so should the mind of Christ be expected to reign there also?
-----Certainly. Jesus came to save those who were inclined towards His character. It is they who have eyes to see and ears to hear and do see and hear and submit and follow. “Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!” (Ps 104:35) Though this appears to have the same morbidity as do the aspirations of the Islam-o-Nazis, it is quite the opposite. Psalms 104:35 is about ridding the world of the terror striking fascists, and not just of the Islam-o-Nazis, but of every mentality made by “I will have my way at your expense.” The mind of antichrist demands its own way. The mind of Christ demands good for all. The mind of antichrist creeps forward by intimidation. It forms the bullyhoods of the world. The mind of Christ spreads through love’s influence. It forms the neighborhoods of the world.
-----Frankly, I don’t appreciate anyone dragging the rotting old body parts of bullying into our efforts towards maintaining the status of a neighborhood. Was there nobody in that meeting with both the insight and the intestinal fortitude to stand up and respond kind of like: “We appreciate your commitment to demonstrate to our community the disgrace of sly selfishness. We will be glad to join your efforts to educate the public on what this kind of selfishness looks like in politics by giving revealing commentary upon the deceit of these questions you plan to ask.”
-----The mind of Christ is not for church alone. There is coming a day when everyone who does not love and adore the prosperity, freedom, and God given personage of every soul alive will not be alive. Today belongs to those of the mind of antichrist. Sadly for them, today has an end. Tomorrow is given to those willing to put off themselves for putting on Christ. Tomorrow never ends. Nor will the mind of Christ be sequestered in any way. It will prevail forever into a wonderful neighborhood.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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