Foolishness

           For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:8)

Before we get to the Kristallnacht and pogroms, with people being locked in concentration camps or killed in Colosseums, we endure what might be worse. What can be worse than seeing everything we own destroyed or stolen and being tortured and killed? Laughter, derision, ridicule, gaslighting, peer pressure, and brainwashing. You see, if you are being beaten for your faith, as hard as it is, you have your why. You’ll either endure or you’ll die and the latter puts you in the arms of Jesus. It’s hard, really, really… really hard, but not as hard as the constant back of forth of battery and seduction of our minds, hearts, and souls. In fact, the abuse of our bodies, short of death, is often another means of trying to force our minds to bend the knee or break, accepting what others insist is right, good, and sane.

If you begin with the premise that there is no god, then any idea that begins with the premise that there is a God must be foolish. At first, people with foolish, “insane” ideas are tolerated with mild amusement. But their refusal to “get over it” tends to make them more dangerous to those who look down on them. After a time, the amusement turns to ridicule. What was once tolerated becomes seen as a sickness, then as evil. And once the ones who were once tolerated are declared criminal, their virtual, verbal and mental abuse can and does turn physical.

But, the goal is probably to keep it psychological for as long as possible, because once the violence begins, it’s hard to control and hard to maintain as a positive thing. More importantly, the mental abuse produces better results, because it can cause a person to lose his/her why, or his/her faith.

I have heard others say that the appropriate response to the Left is derisive laughter. They take themselves so seriously and are so assured of their self-righteousness that they can’t stand to be ridiculed. I don’t believe that’s the best response in many cases. It’s stooping to their level. More importantly, Christians also tend to take themselves seriously, and we don’t take ridicule any better than they do.

The solution is to be ready when they call you a fool. Know it for what it is – a spiritual battle. Those who ridicule are struggling. Our existent is a threat to them. That is a place of strength for us, and a place of weakness for them.