Skip to main content

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.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more