As For Me And My House

     But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 15:24)

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

Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. (Exodus 17:15)   

          This morning, I put up my weather “red alert” sign for the first time. I tucked my plants in close to the trailer, locked the back-window cover into place and put the outdoor furniture where I can see it and bring it inside if necessary. Yes, Eta is only a tropical storm, but it’s good practice. I think I’m doing pretty well, so far, with this currently minor emergency.

          Since last April, when I got to Erie amidst the beginning of the pandemic hoopla, I’ve been thinking about my sorry state of emergency preparedness. There’s been enough to think about: the pandemic, rioting, looting, arson and property destruction, massive job loss thanks to the governors, shortages on supplies, wildfires, multiple hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, and a controversial election.

          It’s the last item on that list that concerns me the most. I’m deeply concerned about individual, constitutionally-recognized rights being stripped away. I’m concerned about the people who thought it their responsibility to assume the role of my parent, my master, or my God because of the pandemic will assume it their right to continue in that role. Now, I’ll grant, my magnification of “the worst that could happen” may never happen.

          But I’m not alone in these concerns. There are people – people who are at least reasonably rational – who are calling for resistance. And I agree. We must stand against evil. We must stand against what we believe to be wrong. It’s not a question of resist or not resist. It’s a question of the form that the resistance will take.

          The number one point is that whatever our resistance is to be, it absolutely, positively, must not ever follow the pattern set by those who resisted for the last four years. How can I make the statement strongly enough? If we do what they did, we are no better than they are, and we will invalidate the very ideals we pretend to uphold. If you found fault with the behavior of the resisters during the past four years, you’re a hypocrite if you resist in the same ways.

Back in the 50, Martin Luther King, Jr. proposed the following principles for non-violent protest:

1. PRINCIPLE ONE: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is active nonviolent resistance to evil.
   It is aggressive spiritually, mentally and emotionally.
2. PRINCIPLE TWO: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The end result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation.
   The purpose of nonviolence is the creation of the Beloved Community.
3. PRINCIPLE THREE: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people. Nonviolence recognizes that evildoers are also victims and are not evil people.
   The nonviolent resister seeks to defeat evil not people.
4. PRINCIPLE FOUR: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence accepts suffering without retaliation.
   Unearned suffering is redemptive and has tremendous educational and transforming possibilities.
5. PRINCIPLE FIVE: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence resists violence of the spirit as well as the body.
   Nonviolent love is spontaneous, unmotivated, unselfish and creative.
6. PRINCIPLE SIX: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. The nonviolent resister has deep faith that justice will eventually win.
   Nonviolence believes that God is a God of justice.

            I think there’s a lot of wisdom in these principles, but there are a couple item that I think we need to consider. We need to educate ourselves. We need to know what our terms mean, and make sure those words keep their meaning. In other words, we need to be clear and honest, which we can only do if we deeply understand what we are seeking.

            There is no room for foul language, foul actions, or foul attitudes. There is no room to hate people, bully people, abuse people, or be disrespectful of people (though what constitutes respect needs to be considered.) If we are to be victorious, we must fight the battle the right way, with the right principles, the right language, the right actions, and the right attitudes.

            If we protest – and such is our right – not only must we protest peacefully, but when we’re done, the place where we’ve protested should invite us back because we leave it in better condition than we found it. We must find ways to do for ourselves what they want the government to impose on us in a way that makes it clear that individuals can make a difference. We must be the best people we can be. What that looks like may be different for me than it is for you, but we must fully support each other in being the best people we can be.