day no. 17,296: the right kind of fight

“One of the reasons we have so many fights in the church is because the pastors don’t fight nearly often enough.” ― Douglas Wilson, All the Condemnation

Pastors must not be more punchy than necessary, but they must be as punchy as needed.

1 Timothy 3:2-3

A bishop then must be blameless... no striker... not a brawler.

A pastor must not be looking to stir up trouble or to create tensions where there aren't any. He can't be the kind of guy who looks for a fight. But he must not be the kind of guy who is always anxious that a fight may break out. He cannot be scared of trouble or uncomfortable with tension.

Psalm 23:1-2

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Many of the fights churchmen have could be avoided by having a clearer, punchier word from their pastor. When pastors let things slide, they leave it for their people to clean up. If they do not lead with strength, they leave the people to their weaknesses, which always results in more conflict, more resentment, less forgiveness, and less harmony.

People do not naturally find themselves by still water. They need to be led there. If pastors will not do the hard work of disciplining his people, he leaves them to the impossible task of trying to discipline themselves. 

day no. 17,295: revelation vs. speculations

“And though St. John saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.” ― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

The imaginations of men are stranger than the visions of God.

"Take away the supernatural, and what remains is the unnatural”  ― G.K. Chesterton

When men forsake the Spirit of God, they are left to their own devices even when they retain the sacred scriptures. So, a man attempting to make sense of a vision from God without the help of the Spirit of God will end up with utter nonsense.

The revelations of God are strange, but assuring.

The speculations of men are stranger and disturbing.

day no. 17,294: good stories and bad lies

“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.” — G. K. Chesterton

A good story gives us insight into the nature of heroism, a bad story gives us insight into the nature of despotism. There are few things more glorious than a good virtue admired well and there are few things more ugly than a bad vice poorly concealed.

2 Corinthians 13:8

For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

Those who seek to laud the truth weave brilliant yarns, while those who try to justify a lie tell lame tales.

Philippians 2:4

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Good author tell good stories about others, bad authors tell bad stories about themselves. Instead of telling a story, the bad author tells on himself.

day no. 17,293: national poisons and local antidotes

“The national antidote generally grows wild in the woods side by side with the national poison." — G.K. Chesterton, What I Saw in America

God often provides the cure to be in the same proximity as the poison. Where racial vainglory and bigotry are poisoning the well, honor and humility grow nearby. Honoring your father and mother does not require you to dishonor someone else's father or mother. God has made a way for everyone to obey without anyone having to hate their neighbor. You can be proud of your people without disparaging other people. There are ample reasons to be embarrassed by our parents and to be proud of them. If you point out only the embarrassments of other people's parents while pointing out only the achievements of our own, we sin against our neighbor. We must remember our people's faults and the achievements of other people's parents. I say this merely because the temptation is to overlook your culture's faults and fixate on the faults of others. The opportunity for humility is near by the one to honor. Anyone can honor God by honoring their parents while not repeating their sins. 

day no. 17,292: free speech, eh? says who?

"The First Amendment does not grant us the right to free speech. As the Declaration phrases it, we are endowed by our Creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That word happiness in an earlier draft was property. The right to free speech is a right that is subsumed under the right of liberty—to travel about as I please, talking about whatever I want to as I go. This is bestowed on us by our Creator, and the government has the obligation to guard and protect that right. If they were the ones who bestowed that right, then it is no longer a right, but rather a privilege. Whatsoever the government giveth, the government taketh away, and blessed be the name of the government." — Douglas Wilson, Not Civil Rights at All

We have the right to free speech. Says who? God. If the answer to that question is anything or anyone other than "God," we do not possess are right, but merely are taking advantage of a privilege, a privilege that can be revoked. If we have free speech because congress says so, then we are only free to speak as long as they continue to say so. But if they exercise their freedom of speech to say that we no longer can say certain things, then our freedom to speak can be taken away. 

Either rights come from God or they don't. If they do not, then our "rights" are whatever the State says they are. They retain the freedom to speak about whatever they want when they want including the right to say that our speech is not being policed o punishable by imprisonment. Hate speech may be a sin depending on what was said and whose standard of hate is being used, but it should never be a crime. It may be a sin to be stupid or spiteful, but it should not be illegal to say something stupid.

day no. 17,291: using the word "rights" wrong

"The problem was not that the 1964 Civil Rights Act gave blacks certain rights, but rather that it gave them the wrong kind. It created the entire apparatus that misconstrues and misapplies the logic of rights. If civil rights for a black man meant that he was going to be protected from threats of bodily harm by Bubba if he tried to vote in rural Mississippi, then rights here means what it ought to mean. And that man should have his rights protected. But if civil rights for a black man meant that he was going to be promoted well past his abilities in order to make up for an injustice perpetrated against someone of the same color 150 years ago, then the word rights has been perverted, and twisted beyond all recognition." — Douglas Wilson, Not Civil Rights at All

Rights come from God. They are not created on the spot or in the moment. They are not generated in response to an injustice. They are not created in order to correct a problem. Rights are not disposable. They cannot be invented when you need them and done away with when they get in the way. They are either from God and for every image bearer or they are from man and for whoever those in charge determine eligible. But rights in the latter sense are not rights at all. They are privileges or prejudices. Rights, strictly speaking, are from God alone or they are not rights. 

The government cannot make new rights the way they make new dollar bills. They cannot produce rights. Our capitols are not rights factories. Neither are they rights incinerators. The state cannot create a right and they cannot destroy them. They can enforce them or they can ignore them. A good state enforces and protects the rights God has already provided. A bad state ignores those rights or even worse seeks to keep people from expressing them.

day no. 17,290: when surrounded by evil, remember, it's a target rich environment

"We’ve been looking for the enemy for some time now. We’ve finally found him. We’re surrounded. That simplifies things.” — Chesty Puller

The one benefit to being surrounded is that you don't have to waste time or resources finding the enemy. They have already done all that work for you. That frees you up to focus on firing away. Especially in the event of being surrounded, the decision of where to shoot it solved. Shoot anywhere and you are aiming at the enemy. Even a bad shot can hit the broad side of a barn and someone with bad aim can hit the enemy if the enemy is everywhere.

"All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us . . . they can’t get away this time.” — Chesty Puller

The enemy cannot escape your bullets when they positions themselves in every direction. Sure, you're surrounded, but at least its a target rich environment.

"The greater the diameter of light, the greater the circumference of darkness. Expanding this, if you are in a dark place, the more effective your light is, the greater the diameter of your light, the longer the boundary line between light and darkness grows. This means there is no way, in this fallen world, to solve problems without increasing them. Be encouraged therefore. This is not a sign that something has gone desperately, terribly wrong. No, it is sign of something else, much more exhilarating." — Douglas Wilson, The Circumference of Darkness

As the kingdom of Christ advances, the number of contact points with the darkness will increase. Do not lose heart. It only seems like the darkness is growing. But it is retreating to the corners and someday the light will fill the entire room.

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven

So, don't stop shining as brightly as you can where you are. Do not be afraid of the dying night. It seems like sunset, but it is twilight. 

"Do not, I beseech you, be troubled about the increase of forces already in dissolution. You have mistaken the hour of the night; it is already morning.” — Hilaire Belloc

Do not forget how to tell time. Do not set your watch to world standard time, set it to Christ and the year of our Lord.

"So the brighter that light shines, the more opportunities the darkness has to say and do something about it. So as I said before, be encouraged therefore." — Douglas Wilson, The Circumference of Darkness

An increase in interaction is not a sign of their growing forces, but a sign of their imminent dissolution.

John 1:4-5 (ESV)

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The darkness has not, will not, and never will overcome the light and life of God revealed in Jesus Christ, our Lord, by the power of His Holy Spirit.

Amen.