Once again, I find it reasonable to
simply look around me to assess what is happening and evaluate
current events. My goal is to reconcile said events with my current
understanding of the world around me.
Where am “I” at mentally? Despite
any potential murmurings to the contrary, I am not questioning my
sanity. Judge for yourself whether you find my ideas well-grounded or
wandering another planet. The question goes more to my state of mind
relative to popular positional labeling. I'd say most skimming this
would say I am some religious nut. Those who are more comfortable
with their relationship with God may gain some insight but I expect
the most pious amongst us to be the most vocal (and possibly
physical) objectors. In other words... they'll want my head either
figuratively or literally. What have I to say that is so
controversial?
Mainly my conclusion can be summed up
as such: everything happening today is going exactly according to
plan – God's plan. By everything, I mean everything... abortions,
the wholesale slaughter of Christians – men, women and children, as
well as non-Christians. War. Economic upheaval and, yes, the
accumulation of power by evil men. Ouch.
Why would God plan this? “Surely if
'I' were in charge, all knowing and all powerful, 'I' would not allow
all this to happen!” And this is why you and I are NOT God! We are
NOT “all knowing”. We are NOT “all powerful”. We don't have a
smidgen of the mind, much less the perspective to comprehend what is
happening. While I feel I've been “blessed” with a molecule of
understanding, I do not for a moment believe this is because I was
granted any special “gift” or “favor”. I simply asked and
opened my eyes. Nothing I've observed is hidden from anyone willing
to look. Do not expect anything I write to be rife with exceptional
insight. If I have a secret, this is it. I will say I believe. I may
be more willing to let go of my own preconceived and accepted ideas
than some others. Beyond that nothing I've observed is out of reach
of anyone with normally functioning brain cells. For example:
I am not God. Gee, big revelation
there, huh? Yet how many people judge God? If you judge God – who
or what does that make you? How many people have outright stated they
don't believe in any god because the world is such a mess? The
implication is they could do so much better. Really?
So we are left with one of two choices.
Either there is (at least) a God or there is not. I won't get into
this but if you are in the latter group, I do not expect any of what
I have to say to make sense to you. You might as well take off now,
but before you go, I'll ask one thing. If mankind is the only hope...
how bright does our future look? You don't have to answer. I've
already seen demonstrations of man's utopian ideas. Sorry, that's not
for me and I'm sure I'll be taken care of in your purge.
Once again, I, and whoever else cares
to accept this, am left with the idea that, yes, there IS a God –
as in a ONE TRUE GOD who is omnipotent and omniscient. As such, He
can do what He wants and He knows what He is doing. Thus my
conclusion that everything is going exactly according to HIS plan. To
the best of my knowledge, He has not asked for my opinion. (I would
assume He already knows it so the last statement should be considered
facetious.)
As I've written before, the end game
involves a one-world government. After that this world as we know it
ends. This is the future, whether you accept it or not and whether
said acceptance is via observation or prophecy or both. I don't much
care as I am talking about what I've come to understand. You are
responsible for your own mind. So what about the here and now?
Ah! Now that is something much more
pertinent. While each of us can indeed prepare for possible trouble
ahead and we should to some extent, how far do we take it? Some seem
to dedicate their lives to the endeavor. Some even make a career out
out of it. I will contend later that this may not be a terrible idea
for some, so I am neither judging nor belittling anyone. I am simply
observing. Before I venture too far into any extended concepts, I'd
like to reveal some other aspects of my current mindset.
Politically speaking, I am a heretic.
After taking a close look at most of the major schools of thought –
communism, liberalism, progressivism (Okay I feel I'm being triple
redundant here!), conservatism, classic liberalism, libertarian,
anarchism, abolitionism (thanks for that one Bill Buppert.),
imperialism, corporatism... I've rejected all. Have I missed any?
Probably, but then again, I did specify “major” so one could
argue I went too far. The thing is, nothing satisfies. However to
further expound upon how I got to this point, I'll divide and
simplify...
Government vs. no government.
Recently I delved into the anarchists'
argument for no government. Included in this group is Bill Buppert of
ZeroGov who prefers the term abolitionist. His reasoning is taxation
and regulation is another form of slavery. For the purpose of
simplifying this concept, I'll specify my take on this is it boils
down to: any coercion is a form of slavery and I rather agree. BB
advocates abolishing all forms of coercion. To their credit I too
struggle with the idea of “my” property being subject to taxation
long after I purchase it. DO I really “own” it? If I fail to pay
“my fair share” then I forfeit my property and possibly my
“freedom”. What happens to “my fair share”? This is decided
by others. Ostensibly by “my” elected representatives. The
problem is the system is rigged so no one taking my property or
deciding the fate of the same cares what I want or think. Thus I must
agree coercion trumps both my property and my freedom.
As an example I just read a story of a
man on Long Island, NY who was fined for cutting down trees... on
“his” own property without their permission (and a “fee”, of
course). The question that popped into my mind is “Who really owns
those trees?”. Apparently not the man whose name is on the deed.
Look, I have a piece of paper in front of me. There is nothing
special about it – it is an old list. I'd like to think I “own”
it. But what if I was required to obtain permission and pay a fee if
I wanted to destroy it? In some locals I would indeed be “required”
to obtain permission and/or a permit to burn it. I might have to pay
to dispose of it at the county dump. Either way, I am not required to
fill out a form (in triplicate) and pay a fee to destroy my piece of
paper... yet. That said, there are other items some are NOT “allowed”
to destroy without permission even though a person “owns” it.
Consider the things one cannot do
without “permission”. How many locals insist you have a license
to start a business? How many occupations require a license? What
about dogs? Cars? Hunting, fishing, building or modifying a home all
require permission of some sort in most instances. One town in the
northeast just decided people cannot put a “For Sale” sign on
their home. For now it is just an agreement between Real Estate
agents but the plan is in the works to make it law in six months.
Many locations forbid property “owners” from erecting certain
signs on “their” property.
I've belabored the point enough –
these days citizens are swamped with so many rules, regulations,
taxes and fees one begins to wonder when we will need a license to
breathe. How free are we really? If we are not free then are we not
slaves? Buppert likes to refer to citizens as “tax slaves” and I
have a hard time disputing this. That said, I have at least one major
argument against “Zero Government”. It is the same argument that
derails Keynesian Economics – human nature.
In economics, the idea that everybody
is awarded the same results no matter what they contribute to the
economy is bunk. Look, I'm not going to work my tail off so some jerk
can sit on his duff watching TV and gobbling Cheetos. Few people
will. When forced to work, my output would be pitiful. My attitude?
Bite me. What about you?
Human nature also comes into play when
we turn to social organization. Government, law, and such are all
essentially methods human organize social behavior. I see no way
around this. Period. In any group, at least one leader will emerge –
this is human nature. As BB and others point out – any small seed
of organization will grow into a forest. This concept naturally leads
to the next:
Statist vs. limited government.
Statism portrays the State – the
ruling government as the ultimate goal for humanity. Really only a
monarchy and/or dictatorship challenges the concept for centralized
social rule. The difference I see is that the latter holds up an
individual at the top or where the statist model has a group of
elites running the show. It could easily be argued elitists are the
power behind those individuals at the top. Either way, the result is
the same in an attempt to rule a society from a central location.
This has never worked for any extended period of time.
So what about limited government?
Once again, human nature rears its ugly
head. I'd have to agree with Buppert's contention that small or
“limited” government is a myth. They all grow like noxious weeds
from the start. Given the power to tax, governments are like a
gluttonous cat with a bottomless self-feeder. Eventually the cat will
get so fat it won't be able to move. I have no hope for any limited
government ever working. So now what?
You've got that right, I don't like the
Statist quo, I reject the concept of limited government and I contend
man simply cannot or will not ever be satisfied without someone
lording over him. Is there an answer or are we stuck and doomed? We
are not doomed but many will not like nor accept the answer.
Only a Godly Kingdom with Jesus as King
will work. For this to happen, the man of sin must be defeated once
and for all. (or a thousand years but I have no idea what that is all
about!) This is literal, not figurative speech. We must have the
promised new heaven and earth before things will settle down. You
see, man or human nature really isn't the problem – sin is. As a
Christian, or one who confesses Jesus as Lord and believed God raised
him from the dead, I am forgiven. Much of the world, including some
who are sure to read this have either rejected Christ or have yet to
accept the offered salvation. What is salvation? What am I saved
from?
Specifically the wrath of God that is
to come i. e. when this heaven and earth passes away and a new heaven
and earth takes its place. This conclusion offers the worst possible
scenario for a lot of people. It takes control totally out of the
hands of man. It requires admission of the existence of a One True
God. Neither of these present a problem for me. Nor does this concept
portend a sense of hopelessness. In fact, it brings an entirely
opposite aura – we now have true hope. Before venturing there...
what is the alternative?
A a regime change? A revolt? Swept up
in a tidal wave of conservatism? None of these are at all realistic.
Any could happen but then what? Are we really going to let liberty
reign free? Not a chance. Some, again I'll point to Buppert, yearns
for some sort of evolutionary growth in man where we, come to our
senses and somehow shed authority. I don't see this happening either.
Again, such a result would require a major change in our very nature
– our hard-wiring – if you will. Anyone who has researched this,
or studied it at length, is likely to agree such a change would be
slow and difficult, if not nearly impossible. For me this is about as
likely as the world suddenly embracing Buddhism or even gradually
embracing Buddhism for that matter.
Others suggest humans are
liberty-minded by nature. To some extent I can see their reasoning.
Anyone who has or was a stubborn child knows what I mean. Indeed,
some do naturally defy authority. Are these the mutated variant
destined to evolve into the next version of mankind? Interesting
concept as it is, I am not convinced. For one thing, those who defy
authority have always lived amongst us. This includes not only those
who are liberty-minded but also psychopaths, sociopaths and common
criminals. If the evolutionary concept is correct, would not these
groups be subsets of the whole? By definition a criminal is not one
prone to submit to authority. By “criminal”, I refer to those who
do not respect the personal or property rights of others, nor do the
other two groups. The overall trend I've based my own conclusions on
is the trend for people to congregate and move toward population
centers. Couple this with the tendency for those in population
centers to demand more authoritative control and I can only conclude
the human race is steadily moving away from liberty and is not likely
to turn back.
Thus I'll place my chips on God. So now
what? Sit back and wait? Not really. The way I see it, there is
nothing I can personally do to bring coming events about. Just like
those stories about people who can travel in time invariably muck
things up. The thing is, I cannot have it both ways – if God is all
powerful, all knowing and has got everything under control, how can I
or anyone muck up the plan?
So I cannot do anything to hurry things
up nor can I do anything to slow things down, much less stop it (if
such were my desire). What CAN I do? I can live my life. My own
choice is to live a godly life as much as I possibly can. Granted,
sometimes my best efforts don't amount to much, but when I fall, I
ask for forgiveness and pick myself up. One verse from Proverbs has
been prominent in my thoughts lately:
Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be
established.
That is it, the entire verse. It is far
easier said than done, trust me on this. I am not “there” yet by
a long shot. By the way the word “LORD” here is better translated
YHWH. To the best of my understanding and said understanding came by
a scholar who spent seven years studying this one aspect of
scripture, YHWH (pronounced Yahway) is the proper name of the God and
Father of my lord Jesus the Messiah. As scripture proclaims me a son
of God, YHWH is also my heavenly Father. (Galatians 4:6,7)
Now comes the bigger question. Do you,
CAN you, believe what I write here? If not you will likely ignore it
and move on. A very few may brand me some sort of heretic. So be it.
Some could possibly accept some of all of this and still do nothing
or just live your lives. For anyone who believes what I've put forth
here and takes it to heart, I have a message: tell others. The most
important thing we, as Christians, can do is present the Gospel of
Christ to others. Time is short. Even if all that will happen will
not come about for another thousand years, time is short. Those
people who come into your life may be gone tomorrow – literally. I
don't mean dead necessarily, but maybe taking another job, moving to
another apartment, town, state – we just don't know. Make the best
of every moment with everybody you come in contact with. Years ago, I
remember a woman I'd “known” for years. She was an acquaintance
of my mother so we had more than a passing knowledge of each other.
One day she stopped me and told me she'd been listening as some
friends and I were discussing scripture at a local coffee shop. She
said she enjoyed hearing us and what she heard warmed her. (It was
decades ago so I don't remember her exact words.) I expect she has
since passed away but even so a conversation among friends in a
public place had an effect on at least one person. While I do not
know much about what effect this had on her, overall it was a
positive one and likely better than the results of many times when
I've made a concerted effort to influence someone. My point is I do
not think it is necessary for most of us to spread out to evangelize
the planet. Grow where you are planted. Live your life and trust God
to put those who need your influence in your path. “We” are not
going to “save the world” - this is God's work and He as already
done the heavy lifting.
As for practical matters – first, if
you are not seeking God's Will for your life, start now. Read
scripture, pray, go to or join a church – whatever you are led to
do. If you ask, God will reveal what He wants you to do. It may, or
more likely will, be totally different than what I do so I will not
presume to offer guidance other than what I have already. That said,
be aware mankind continues to make everything worse. No utopia will
emerge from man's efforts – just the opposite. It is only a matter
of time. How much worse? God only knows – literally. I am convinced
things will be worse than most of us can imagine. The real question
may be: how much worse will things get before man's house of cards
collapses?
One more thing... it seems evident to
me any one-world government will only come into full power in
response to some “crisis”. Such a crisis will be man-made.
Today's world events look like a circus act where a performer spins a
number of plates while everyone waits for all of them to come
crashing down. Nations are gearing up for war, migrants and illegal
immigrants are flooding over borders, economies are teetering from
massive debt. Meanwhile governments are cracking down, flexing
muscles and tightening the screws on their citizens. Wherever you are
you may want to implement whatever precautions you can to protect
you and your loved ones.
In my next post, I expect to explore
the prospect... or evidence of civil war in the U.S.A.
