I’ve seen something strange over the past few weeks. I’ve found two groups of people with opposing world views. What makes this unique is, they are believers who hold the same very similar doctrines from God’s Word.
How can we who have proclaimed Jesus our Lord, hold such drastically different world views in this hour? Both groups believe they are righteous as they speak from scripture, and both believe they are defending the constitution and our democracy. One feels like President Trump nearly killed our freedoms, even while giant tech is censoring without restraint the leader of the free world, in the land of free speech. The other believes he is God’s anointed wrecking ball to drain the swamp of corruption that seems more and more visible throughout our nation every day.
President Trump’s accomplishments are vast and greater than any I can remember regarding the economy, the virus and the vaccine, Israel and foreign policy, religious freedoms, protecting our borders, an all-out war on human trafficking. Yet none of this enters into the conversation in those who oppose him.
Those who oppose him espouse he is a racist and out to destroy the country. Our cities burned this summer and emotions drove decisions. While there is continual evidence that a small group is behind the scenes paying people to protest to destabilize the nation in an election year. No one seems to take that into account. The hot button of police corruption became an opportunity to stir unrest in one of our most prosperous years. Lawlessness was allowed and even bailed out by our lawmakers.
How can we hold such opposing viewpoints when Jesus prayed we would be one? Is a righteous person ever wrong? Can a righteous person be deceived? We should ask Adam. A man born into righteousness but lived each day with the bruise of regret. It matters who we listen to.
Adam listened to the voice of deception and so a righteous man fell into deception and it affected all of creation. Today, many voices in the media are the voice of deception. The narrative is pushed over and over again and even some of God’s chosen ones have learned to yield and agree. This is a bigger deal than it was for Adam because the righteous have Holy Spirit’s abiding presence and constant counsel within us. For the deception to take root, it has to overcome Holy Spirit’s voice. It matters who we listen to.
It seems to be the common strategy to override the Holy Spirit’s influence in the hearts of the righteous begins with two steps. The first step is to hurt us while being raised in a fallen world. The next step is to get us to listen to a strange, but sympathetic voice.
The Apostle Paul told us,
“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.”
II Corinthians 5:16 NKJV
“No one” in this verse includes ourselves. The main way I see the deception from the media take root in believers’ thinking is to appeal to the flesh. Past hurts, identifying as a Jew or Greek, or any other family heritage is a Trojan Horse into our hearts and lives that looks and feels like a gift, but in reality, comes to bring destruction.
So we gain an understanding for our original question, how can the righteous be divided in this hour and hold such opposing world-views? Can both be right? They can’t, because the truth is not movable. This is not the hour to listen to strange voices from the media, but to listen to Holy Spirit and only trusted proven voices filtered through His witness on the inside.
As a final reminder, our Bibles reveal the tragic truth that Adam’s deception did not just affect him and his wife – all of creation fell. Today, when the world hears the people of righteousness agreeing with them, it has universal compounding and devastating results, because the world begins to think they are righteous in their evil acts.
“For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. This is because they have never known the Father or me.”
John 16:2-3 NLT
Today my heart broke as I read a post on Vice President Mike Pence’s timeline that said:
“I am sure you are glad it is over. I hope the left/democrats let you live in peace. “ - post on Vice President Mike Pence’s FB timeline on 1/19/21
Appeasement with evil will never lead to peace. It only leads to worse.
It matters who we listen to.
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Some say the church should stay out of politics and get back to soup kitchens. Some say bad politics and selfish policies are the reason we have soup kitchens. The church is to be salt and light not in our prayer closets, but in our government, education, families, churches, media, arts/entertainment, and businesses.