Swept Away

I hold in my hands, a piece of heavy, woven fabric – a cloth. It is square, being equal on all sides, with a fringe that is made up of the same variety of yarn which makes up the rest of the cloth, but tied together separately and sewn to the edges of the cloth with thread.  The cloth is sturdy and, while flexible, does not stretch.

While at first glance, the cloth appears to be more or less uniform of shade and color, upon closer examination it can be seen that it is woven from yarns of many different colors and shades, some multi-colored.

The texture of the cloth is a bit rough, but not abrasive; comforting in its crudeness, something like the comfort one feels from a well-worn and familiar old wool blanket.

Examining the cloth carefully, it can be seen that the fibers used to make the yarn are not all the same; some have the soft, welcoming look of cotton, others possess a more refined appearance, like silk, while still others seem to be some kind of synthetic.  Clearly, the weaver of the fabric has chosen these fibers carefully, intending each to lend their own unique characteristics to the yarn; some to make the cloth soft and comfortable, some to help the cloth retain a more pleasing appearance, while some will add strength to make the cloth durable.

As I contemplate the cloth in my hands, my attention is frequently drawn away from the body of the cloth, to the fringe.  Why is that?  Well, that’s what it’s there for; to get my attention. The fringe has no useful purpose, after all; it is not even an integral part of the cloth, and the cloth will serve whatever purpose it has quite well without the fringe.  The fringe is merely held to the cloth by relatively weak thread and, if the fringe is pulled upon with any real force, it will pull away from the cloth and unravel, only to fall to the floor, make a mess and be swept into the trash.  But, the cloth remains.

The strength and character of the cloth is formed and protected by a collection of many different fibers, spun into specialized blends of yarn and all skillfully and creatively woven together so that the strengths and beauties of each part, form a whole piece of cloth that will benefit all with whom it serves.

If, when the fringe is pulling away from the cloth, the cloth were to cling (as it were) to the fringe, the cloth itself must at some point, either let go of the fringe, or be torn away from the body, thus destroying the beauty, integrity, value and usefulness of the cloth.

Humanity is much like this cloth; created beautiful, warm, strong and flexible. Beautiful in the variety of our looks, likes and tastes; warm in our hospitality and care for one another; strong in our resolve to protect ourselves and each other, and flexible in our resiliency to adversity and catastrophe.

But, like the cloth, humanity has its fringe.  The fringe surrounds us on all sides and exists for one reason only – to bring attention to itself, having no value, except as a tool of our enemy to tear us apart.  The fringe is useless but demanding and, if the body-human clings to the fringe, trying to hold on as it is pulling away, the very fabric of humanity will be torn apart.

The fringe must be allowed, even required, to separate and fall to the floor, swept into the trash heap of history and destroyed.  The body must resist and reject the fringe or be torn apart forever.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

PDS – August 18, 2017

PRIDE & PREJUDICE: Hatred in the Heart of Mankind

Racism, in any and all of it's forms, is an insidious and pervasive cancer, strickening and weakening the body known collectively as 'humanity', of which we are each and all members.

Since we are all members of the same body, and since the overall health of the entire body impacts the health of all the parts, any effort to injure, or intent of ill-will against another member of our body is irrational and, ultimately, suicidal.

The root of all racism is pride, unwarranted pride based solely on factors over which we had and have no control, such as race, nationality, etc. This pride seeds and fosters attitudes of superiority, both passive and active, which are fueled by ignorance and fears sown into our hearts and minds by either the culture in which we are raised, or the culture with which we choose to identify ourselves. These attitudes result in prejudicial beliefs and feelings that fuel our pride and thus, the evil circle of self-destructive hatred continues.

Attitudes of superiority, or supremacy, in the heart of any human toward another human, regardless of race or any other distinguishing factor, is not only irrational, but blatantly evil, utterly antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and an affront in the face of our Creator, by who's Grace we are redeemed in His Mercy.

Simply put, racism and hate, because they are offensive to God, are sins, and at their core, these twin-sins of racism and hate are the sum of human pride and prejudice.

The enemy of our Lord, as well as that of all mankind, knows no color, except where he can use it to divide; thus dividing the common heart of humanity against itself through irrational, prejudicial hatred, which is neither unique, nor limited to any one particular skin color, race or nationality. This is not an 'American' sin, this is not a 'white man' or 'black man' sin, this is a human sin, infecting all of us and which predates, and will outlive the existence of the United States, unless the Lord returns first.

Only through the unifying work of the Holy Spirit does mankind have any hope of peaceful coexistence in this life, for our enemy knows that unity begets strength and, therefore, one of the most effective weapons of that ancient serpent, is to weaken the common heart of mankind by dividing it against itself, often invoking and perverting even the name of Christ and the 'cause' of Christianity to do so.

Our common enemy, Satan, knows full well that, when all of mankind becomes truly united in the Holy Spirit, he will be rendered subservient, weak and helpless before his Creator and King. And because of this, and until that time is realized, he will do all within his finite power to keep mankind divided. Sadly, the corrupt and depraved heart of mankind is all too willing to aid and abet the enemy in his destructive mission, by weakly buying into the lie of pride-fueled, prejudicial attitudes toward those who don’t look, act or think like we do.

The relative silence of the Church and her leaders on matters such as slavery (I abhor the euphemism ‘human trafficking’; slavery is slavery), racism, abortion, etc., should sound a shrill siren of alarm in the hearts and minds of all who call themselves Christians, waking up every pastor, priest, teacher, layman and Christ-follower, driving us all to speak and act boldly against these atrocities, while at the same time proclaiming, and (most importantly) displaying, the precious Love and eternal Hope found only in The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” – This quote has been attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, speaking of Nazi atrocities in Germany during WWII. While it is uncertain as to whether or not Bonhoeffer actually said or wrote this, the truth and power of this statement cannot be denied and must be passionately embraced.

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy. – Proverbs 31:8-9

PDS

Edmond, Oklahoma