Duplicity
Either sadly or advantageously we live in a world of double-dealing. On all sides. It’s what James Carville called, “spin.”
And the liberal persuasion says Fox does it.
And the conservative persuasion says CNN does it.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Others say Russian and Romanian and Ukrainian troll farms do it. Facebook perpetuates it. Facebook screens it. Google doesn’t include it. And Twitter delivers whatever.
In the pandemic, one news outlet says the curve has flattened. Another says not. One state opens, another shutters. The governor undermines the mayor, the superintendent waits for the compromised mayor. One doctor reports success. The study says he’s lying. But here’s how to make your own mask. Just in case.
One minister says God caused the virus. He cites Scripture. Another says God did not cause the virus and cites Scripture.
Yet another minister says God is punishing the world. Another that God loves the world. Another that it’s both punishment and love. Another that it’s the end of the age. Each has a Scripture to quote.
Governor Cuomo says God doesn’t have anything to do with our current plight. It’s up to us.
Why argue if no one’s listening?
The world is a confusing place. For good reason.
I’m not saying all of our leaders or societal clarions are duplicitous, but I am saying there’s enough double-dealing to confuse the best among us. On all fronts.
Division is rampant—at a disgusting level that serves no one. The President can’t go to the bathroom correctly. Speaker Pelosi can’t go on vacation right. If I disagree with you, that makes me a Nazi, racist moron.
Once vitriol reaches this level, all opinions are so divided the only benefit to you is that the duplicity is made more obvious. Disengage.
Why argue if no one’s listening?
Why believe when the outlet reporting is wooing you versus informing you? “’Will you walk into my parlor?’ said the spider to the fly; / ‘‘Tis the prettiest little parlor you ever did spy.’”
So, what am I suggesting with this rant?
I’m recommending that you think. Think about everything in your world. Think. Don’t swallow what anyone is telling you. Every expert has their stats to spin whatever they’re advancing.
Think. Think about everything in your world. Even your spiritual life.
Lately, it takes me about 90 seconds to review “the news.” If it’s the same stuff today that it was yesterday, I keeping skimming. If there is something substantive, I look for corroborating reports. If there’s an agenda—and ALL of politics is driven by agenda—I take note.
One reason for our confusion is that those charged with enlightening us, the media, are so busy advancing their spin it’s difficult to figure out if there’s anything worth considering in what they’re selling. A media exec told me recently, “We broadcast whatever generates ratings.”
God intends for you to pray AND think.
I’m not saying that you trust no one. I am saying that you vet everyone and everything. Think carefully—even if you want to believe the story. This doesn’t make you cynical. It makes you wise. Failing to do this makes you a lemming.
Most importantly, as a Christian you have the Spirit of God living in you. The Holy Spirit promises to lead you, guide you, comfort you, and never leave your side.
This means you pray about everything: work, family, play, quarantine, finances, societal vitriol, church, the news. This is not a down-on-your-knees prayer, but an attitude you adopt over and over of, “Father, I’m trusting you to guide me.”
I’m encouraging you to think and pray. Simultaneously. These two things go together.
You have the mind of Christ, Scripture declares. This means that God intends for you to pray AND think, think AND pray.
Read broadly before you come to a conclusion—always, but especially now when words are being weaponized.
If the second coming of Jesus happens, you’ll show up in heaven with your boots on.
Interview your friends about who they read and listen to in order to stay abreast of the world’s heaving. Ask what they make of issues. Dig. Think. Assess.
I’ve asked this of two friends who said independently of each other, “Whatever The New York Times reports, you can depend on that.” Uh huh. I weigh carefully what those friends say.
Don’t swallow hook, line, and sinker. If you do, there’s a good chance you’ll wind up on the deck, gutted, and thrown in a cooler.
And think and pray regarding your faith as well. Just because one teacher says one thing, don’t swallow that until you vet it. Even your own pastor. He’s under just as much duress as you are. He wants to help, no doubt, but pressure is pressure. Of all the small businesses shut down during the virus, your church is one of them. That’s intense!
And let’s be clear about one thing: No one knows when Jesus is coming back. Not even Jesus.
Stop hoping for the rapture to extract you from today’s challenge. You’re filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Pray, for Christ’s return, then engage. Think. Pray. Be an instrument of His peace and composure. If the second coming of Jesus happens, you’ll show up in heaven with your boots on.
I’m not saying you should distrust everyone. I’m advising that you trust—but verify.
Ecclesiastes tells you that there is “nothing new under the sun.” The world has seen it all.
For example, there must be hundreds of media reports paralleling the Corona virus to the Spanish Flu of 1918. I wonder how Believers in Jesus Christ managed themselves during that pandemic? I wonder if God was faithful then?
What the author of Ecclesiastes is saying is that humans are experiencing and behaving today like they’ve always behaved.
This means there is precedent in the world.
For hate is strong, / And mocks the song
Discover the precedent and there is counsel for you. The better part of wisdom is to pay attention to what’s come before you and bring it forward to your advantage. Doing so maintains your composure.
Our world is
at war with ideas,
at war for power,
at war for your attention,
at war with spiritual principalities,
at war politically,
at war economically.
When a cadet goes to one of the military colleges, e.g. West Point, they make them study past battles to learn and inform future tactics. In other words, the battle strategy of Wellington at Waterloo is relevant to today’s battlefields. Thus, it only makes sense that the spiritual strategy of Lewis and Luther can inform how you meet today’s uncertainty.
What’s the point in repeating history when you can learn from it?
Longfellow wrote during the Civil War, perhaps America’s darkest hour,
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."