I am by nature a very orderly and resolute person.It's the way my mind works: I see the chaos of the world around me and I do my best to mentally arrange it.
This means I'm a creature of routine, organization, and methodology.
I thrive on To-Do-Lists, outlines, and schedules.
I tend to be distant and greatly troubled when I'm faced with a situation that I can't seem to square in my head.
I constantly seek to resolve any confusion or lack of order in my life.
So you can imagine how troubling it is to realize that my very philosophy of life is counter that of God's. I have to change it...or else!
Recall that this crisis began politically: the question of whether or not Conservatism bares good fruit or wicked fruit.
So, after learning the error of my ways, resolving to improve myself, and accepting God's forgiveness, the next step is to get back together with the life around me.
In other words, what politics or world view should I take on?
Yes, Right-Wing Conservatism did turn me into a Pharisee.
Yes, I'm much more cautious now about going Ra-Ra over War than I have been before.
Yes, going around acting like other people don't live up to my ideals is truly evil.
What then? Do I switch parties and become a Liberal Democrat?
How can a true Christian support Gay Marriage?
How can a true Christian support Abortion?
How can a true Christian support a political ideology which wishes to erase every trace of Judeo-Christianity from American Culture?
How can a true Christian support promiscuous sex among teenagers?
How can a true Christian support the moral relativism that defines Neo-Liberalism?
No! I can't be a Liberal and a Christian. At least not a Modern Day Liberal.
What then?
Do I become a Green?
A Libertarian?
A Reformist?
A Blue Dog?
A Populist?
This is important for such an orderly mind as my own. I can't approach the world without an ideology.
Here's the thing: all ideologies are traps!
I made the case before of the Pro-War person vs. the Anti-War Person: both become so convinced that they are right that they justify themselves and hate those who disagree with them.
They delude themselves into thinking that they are right with God because they support this or that.
It doesn't really matter what it is that they are supporting: the self-righteous attitudes makes them both the same in the end.
This points to a truth that must be understood to be a true Christian: evil is not within inanimate objects or (most) ideologies; evil is within the individual.
We are all fallen creatures. We fell when mankind attempted to be like God. Hence to be fallen is to be prideful.
Theologically speaking, Pride is not a smug feeling but the belief that you are God, or close enough. It is the conviction that you are the center of the universe.
We all inherently feel this way since we all experience the universe through the senses of our bodies.
Hence, we are all, by nature, fallen, sinful, and evil.
Evil is sneaky. It's a shape-shifter that changes forms or a catalyst that takes inert substances and transforms them into something dynamic.
Pro-War in and of itself is not evil if it for the use of defending the innocent.
Anti-War isn't evil either in that war is the antithesis to peace.
Both, however, can be hijacked by the evil that is within us and used to fuel our self-serving needs.
I'm not making this up.
Jesus said it:
...that which enters into the mouth doesn't defile a man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man. (Matthew 15:11)C.S. Lewis also spoke on this topic:
It is a mistake to think that Christians ought to be teetotallers...it may be the duty of a particular Christian...to abstain from strong drink, either because he is the sort of man who cannot drink at all without drinking too much...One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up...the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning. (72)Alcohol can't be evil because alcohol isn't alive; it has no conscious, no will power. It is a material, not a person, not a being, totally incapable of being pridefully anti-God.
The same goes for just about everything else: the evil is within you, not something that you put inside of you, physical, spiritual or intellectual.
In other words: you are damned if you do and you are damned if you don't.
This is why we believe we are born with Original Sin: human beings by nature are prideful and self-serving.
Stop and think about it: just about all of your interests in life consists of things that makes you feel better about yourself.
So what then?
Stoicism might be a good alternative. But a religion consisting of pure stoics would not be a joyful or fruitful tree.
However, stoicism can be a good attitude to take towards any thing that we can turn into prideful evil.
A better attitude is humility: the Pro-War person should stop calling the Anti-War person a wimp, and instead communicate with him to insure that his Anti-War stance is genuine, and not self-serving.
The world would be a better place if we can accept the fact that people have different opinions on how to improve the world.
By the way, none of this erases right or wrong.
Nor does it erase smart and stupid.
If it was somebody's opinion that the best way to improve his life was to do drugs, I think most reasonable people can agree that this person is mistaken.
Even though they can be used as idols that turns us away from God, morality and intelligence is still important.
But many of us do find some idol that takes hold of us and convinces us that we are close enough to God to start judging like He does and stop caring for others.
Beware! There is a good chance this is you, and you don't even realize it.
Remember, evil is sneaky: it'll take you over without ever advertising itself: "Beware of [those] who come to you in sheep clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15)
What are we to do then?
How do we avoid being evil and earn are way into Heaven?
Here is the most important thing about Christianity: we can't; we are powerless to earn our ways into Heaven.
We don't belong there. We don't deserve to be there. We don't deserve anything from God. He already gave us life and we immediately turn inwards with it.
It is impossible for us to be nearly as good as God.
No matter how close we follow His law, no human being can keep it 100%.
This is precisely why we need Grace to be saved.
Grace is the unearned, undeserved forgiveness of God.
All we have to do is believe that Jesus is our Savior to receive it. To believe this is to believe we need a savior. To believe that we need a savior is to believe that we are imperfect and sinful creatures. Hence we must never make the mistake of thinking that we are Godly.
Does He not forgive if you do make this mistake? He forgives all! For even the most Pharisee-ish of people are that way because they believe in some portion of God's ways.
Like a small seed growing into a mighty oak, this ounce of faith will eventually win them over and show them the error of their ways.
Do not worry that you have sinned, even the greatest of all sins; for this only means you will soon experience the awesome power of unearned forgiveness.
Think about it: the supremely perfect and eternal being that created the universe we live in and then us cares for us enough to do this!
Even when we turn from Him, he still cares enough to keep calling us back.
He cares about you! When you go down the wrong path, He is hurt because it is the betrayal of a loved one.
When He calls you out, it'll hurt at first, much like a chastising parent. But the love He will enact by forgiving you unflinchingly after realizing the error of your ways will be more positive than the most intense pleasures this world can offer you.
Of course, nobody can genuinely experience this and not wish to share it with others.
If not, then you haven't experienced it.
If you do, don't worry about how; just do it. Every occasion that comes down to you or them, help them. When you fail to do this, and you will, be aware of it and resolve to not do it again.
Don't do it to pat yourself on the back. Do it because you like experiencing the humility of God's grace. Do it because you like knocking yourself off of your high horse and getting back on the same level as everyone else, even the most annoying or evil of people.
Everything else are Wasted Efforts.
Every other action, ideology, philosophy, and recreation are done in vain.
We live in a world where it is normal, acceptable and even wise (in a worldly way) to partake in such efforts, but always keep in mind that in a spiritual sense they are all wasted.
There is nothing you can do to truly justify yourself. So do what you must, be weary of what you want, and never forget that you are endowed with the love of God despite this.
Spread the wealth.
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