day no. 17,276: eyes in our heads

“Finally Modernism, which denies and abolishes every difference, cannot rest until it has made woman man and man woman, and, putting every distinction on a common level, kills life by placing it under the ban of uniformity.” ― Abraham Kuyper, Lectures on Calvinism (1898)

Equality of outcome is the same as hostility toward excellence. Kuyper saw this coming. He saw hat egalitarianism would lead to men pretending to be women and women pretending to men. He saw that excellence would be penalized and debauchery would be subsidized.

"Give me a candle and a Bible and shut me up in a dark dungeon, and I will tell you everything that the whole world is doing." ― J.C. Ryle

The prophets of God always see these kind of things coming. Anyone with new eyes in their head can read the room, even when it is pitch black. The Bible is a lamp to our feet and gives us guidance as to where we should step next, but also shows us where the road is headed.

Modernity is merely egalitarianism. The spirit of the age is the elimination of distinctions. It is at war with the world God made. It hates that night and day are divided and that men and women are different. It despises distinctions.

day no. 17,275: manly character

“Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.” ― Robert E. Lee

A man is not an island and any man who strives to be seen as a lone wolf is not a good man. He may be good at getting his way, but he does not possess the character of a man as much as he has the disposition of a boy. He throws his tantrums with muscles and lawsuits. He does to people what a three year old would if they had the resources (and with just as much sense).

Matthew 8:8-10

The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

The centurion was a good and godly man because he both commanded respect from others and respected the commands of his superiors. Men hopped to when he talked because he hopped to when his boss talked. The kind of man who gladly obeys his master is the kind of man who can humbly lead others. 

A man cannot be an authority until he is under authority. He can be a boy and try to take short cuts, but he will not have authority. He may be feared and obeyed, but he cannot be respected by conducting his business that way.

Manly character is not just a matter of being in charge, it is a matter of being under authority.

day no. 17,274: wage peace or reap rage

“It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” ― Robert E. Lee

If war were not Hell, it would be a Heaven. Fighting for what you believe in is the essence of what makes life worth living and if the collateral damage were not so heartbreaking, it could easily become addictive. For some sorry souls, in fact, it does.

“The war is not meant to be won. It is meant to be continuous." — George Orwell, 1984

Whether from the profits to be earned or from the blood lust to be satiated, there is always some reason for someone to want to go to war.

James 4:1-2

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

There are always sinful opportunities to want to go to war. But that also means that there are also always faithful opportunities to fight back against that sinful impulse. There is a way of escape provided by God should we take it. That path is often paved with warfare.

"Every baptized churchman is by his profession a soldier of Jesus Christ, and is pledged to fight under His banner against sin, the world and the devil... Christian warfare is a great reality and a subject of vast importance... Necessity is laid upon us. We must fight. Where there is grace there will be conflict. The believer is a soldier. There is no holiness without a warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight. It is a fight of absolute necessity. Let us not think that in this war we can remain neutral and sit still. Such a line of action may be possible in the strife of nations, but it is utterly impossible in that conflict which concerns the soul. The boasted policy of non–interference, the 'masterly inactivity' which pleases so many statesmen, the plan of keeping quiet and letting things alone—all this will never do in the Christian warfare. Here at any rate no one can escape serving under the plea that he is 'a man of peace.' To be at peace with the world, the flesh and the devil, is to be at enmity with God and in the broad way that leads to destruction. We have no choice or option. We must either fight or be lost." — J.C. Ryle, Holiness

If you do not fight, you cannot win. If you will not fight, you will be defeated by those that will.

“The full value of this life can only be got by fighting; the violent take it by storm. And if we have accepted everything we have missed something – war. This life of ours is a very enjoyable fight, but a very miserable truce.” — G.K. Chesterton

Compromise is for cowards. Standing for something and fighting for it are the élan vital. The essence of life is fighting to stay alive and for what's worth living for.

"Some men fight because they love fighting. Others fight because they love what they are defending. With the former, we find malice and cruelty. With the latter, the attitude is chivalric. But chivalry in conflict is not pacifism, and it is not weak sisterism. The Christian faith does not require us to send off Little Bo Peep to slay the dragon. At the same time, the need for fighters does not ever justify thuggery, and the fact that Christian gentlemen must sometimes fight should not keep them from hitting hard. But how they hit is important." — Douglas Wilson, Warriors Not Thugs

Life is a fight. To be a Christian, you must fight the world, the flesh, and the devil. If you do not oppose them, you will be overcome by them. They certainly will not settle for a ceasefire against you. They will not declare, "peace" where there is no peace. They may say so, but only to get you to drop your weapons.

"This sanctification is throughout, in the whole man; yet imperfect in this life, there abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part; whence ariseth a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." — Westminster Confession of Faith, 13.2

The good life is the good fight. There are few things more miserable than making peace with evil. It never keeps its treaty. You cannot draw a boundary line, shake hands with wickedness, and expect it to honor the conditions. It will always encroach. It will always break it words. It is evil. What did you expect?

There is no such thing as a cease fire and those who set their hopes on one live a life of relentless disappointment. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire realized is like a tree of life.

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.

Those who fight are often given the joy of landing a blow and are even given the more miraculous joy of being grateful for getting knocked down in the course of fighting the good fight. We fight for peace, but we can enjoy the fight while it lasts, but only if peace is our end game.

Isaiah 2:4

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

The goal should be to be done with weapons, but not to lay them down before that time.

"It is absolutely essential for boys to play with wooden swords and plastic guns. Boys have a deep need to have something to defend, something to represent in battle. And to beat the spears into pruning hooks prematurely, before the war is over, will leave you fighting the dragon with a pruning hook” — Douglas Wilson, Future Men

We must fight until the fighting is done. We must fight for peace until we have peace.

"We need a theology of fist fighting... A time will come when spears are beaten into pruning hooks. A time will come when men no longer study war. This is the end result of the Gospel's fruitfulness in the world. But until the time when men will learn war no more, they must still learn it." — Douglas Wilson, Future Men

Wage peace.

day no. 17,273: self-control as a prerequisite

“I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.” ― Robert E. Lee

Those who do not possess self-control cannot be given the privilege of controlling others. If you want to be in charge, you must first be in charge of yourself.

"Authority flows to those who take responsibility." ― Douglas Wilson

Taking responsibility means refusing to make excuses. And that comes from recognizing that you are under authority. No earthly authority is absolute. Every king has a King. Every husband has a Husband. Every father has a Father. Every general has a General. Every master has a Master.

“Behavior that’s admired is the path to power among people everywhere.” — Beowulf, Unknown (Seamus Heaney translation)

So, if you want people to follow up, show them how. Follow God and demonstrate the fruit of His Spirit in self-control. People will gladly give their governing to those who have demonstrated the ability to govern themselves. When your behavior is admirable, your leadership is desirable. They're not called Admirals for nothing. People tend to admire them.

Matthew 8:9

For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it."

Those who are under authority will be given authority. 

When the Roman Centurion wanted to give proof that he was a man under authority, he pointed to examples of people being under his authority. One man goes because he says, "Go," while another comes because he says, "Come." These initially seem like peculiar examples of being "under" authority. But don't miss the principle that the Centurion assumes. He believed that those who have authority must be under authority. Or said another way, those who desire to be in authority, must themselves first be under authority.

So, do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, in signing letters of recommendation, or in giving authority to those who are clamoring for it. Do not feel hard pressed to create opportunities for those who insist they're gifted at leading others. Rather, look for those who have faithfully placed themselves under authority and look for ways to give them a platform to produce more of the same downstream.

In other words, no one should be over until they are under.

The faith of the Centurion is believing that those who humble themselves will be exalted and that those who exalt themselves will be humbled. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Place your faith in Jesus and find your place under His authority.

day no. 17,272: poisonous policing

Amos 6:12

Ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock.

Injustice pollutes the populace. It damages their faith in the law by forcing them to choose between corrupted order and disorder both of which are brands of chaos, let's call them chaos light and chaos heavy

"When law and morality are in contradiction to each other, the citizen finds himself in the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense, or of losing his respect for the law—two evils of equal magnitude, between which it would be difficult to choose." ― Frederic Bastiat, The Law

Established injustice creates an impossible choice. It should be Christ or chaos, but instead it is this chaos or that chaos.

Ecclesiastes 8:11

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Bad men going unpunished produces more bad men and turns otherwise good men into vigilantes if they desire justice or into cuckolds if they put up with injustice.

"You have turned justice into poison." (Amos 6:12, ESV)

Delayed justice is injustice and it poisons the well of the populace. It corrodes public trust and increases instability everywhere.

day no. 17,271: there are no good bargains on bad deals

“Never do a wrong thing to make a friend--or to keep one.” ― Robert E. Lee

A good friend cannot be gained by doing bad things. Whatever you do to gain something, you will have to keep on doing to retain them and good people cannot be won over by bad deeds.

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not let anyone lead you astray. “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

The quality and character of any group has gravity. It pulls its people in a particular direction and as the apostle points out, bad friends bring down good people. 

So, do not make friends through bad acting and do not act badly in order to keep someone you thought was a good friend.

The same can be said for churches. Do not gain members through bad doctrine or questionable practices and do not compromise in order to keep someone who insists that you do in order to hold their attention or to retain their membership on your roster.

Lastly, this applies also to the political arena. You cannot get votes by promising bad deals unless you are prepared to be a bad man. You also cannot promise to do bad things in order to retain the votes of people you thought were good men. I mean, you can, but you cannot retain the moral high ground by doing so. You can keep your job that way, but you cannot keep your soul that way.

In short, in every arena of life, there are no good bargains on bad deals.

day no. 17,270: thick blame sauce and thin love soup

"Faults are always thick where love is thin." — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Short accounts and long fuses are a sign that something sinister is beneath the surface. They are the pimples of the soul. Where that kind of gross is coming to the surface, a worse gross is growing in the darkened corners of the inner life. The only solution is to grow in love and that only way to grow in love is to stop focusing on what irritates you about others and to remember how irritable you can be and how loved you are by others even when you are. If you can consider how much grace it takes to put up with you, you will find the grace to put up with your annoyances with others. If you won't eat your food without a layer of thick blame sauce and a side of thin love soup, you are going to starve your soul to death. But if you realize how thin your excuses are and how thick your head is, you will begin to appreciate others. You will be forgiven and you will look to forgive others.

Luke 7:47

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

The one who knows that they have been forgiven much and are owed very little with go to great lengths to overlook the offenses of others and to pay the cost to love others well even when they do not deserve it... as a matter of fact, especially when they don't.

Luke 6:35

He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.