“There was mass confusion. Pretty sure the enemy has all of us discombobulated right now.”
Isn’t that the truth. If you’ve never read C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, definitely go do that ASAP. It ought to be required reading of all believers. Here in the comfy first world anyway. It’s a fictional but chilling tale about how the devil and his minions might attack, manipulate, and distract a person … and – spoiler alert – distraction is not that difficult.
Last week’s post, The Kingdom of Noise, was a hat tip to a phrase from Screwtape & to Jordan Raynor’s latest book, which includes a chapter titled Dissent from the Kingdom of Noise.
Think about all the things that aren’t turning our eyes upon Jesus, but away from him.
Are they just things? Necessary things? Useful things?
And who doesn’t struggle with distraction and getting caught up in the things of earth?
I guess reminders to ourselves and each other to remain vigilant are a good idea.
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” ~1 Peter 5:8-11 (MSG)
The Devil is a big fan of discombobulation.
The other day, while not dissenting from the kingdom of noise, a line from the television show Blue Bloods stood out. Tom Selleck – who is hot, has always been hot, and will always be hot, much like Harrison Ford and Mark Harmon – asked, “How do you budget your integrity?”
I don’t know, what some people refer to as their beliefs and rights these days makes me wonder. Like, where is that line in the sand defining what their values are in the first place.
“Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity, than a person who is crooked, though he is rich.” ~Proverbs 28:6
I’ve also been wondering if we should ban the word mandate from the English language. Some people seem to get really incensed about it. I think I heard the president saying something would be a requirement not a mandate. Are we going to have to ban the word requirement next?
Man, if only we could mandate common sense and empathy.
But, as a mentor of mine liked to remind me, common sense is not that common.
May your life be less discombobulated this week, friends. Stay vigilant.
