Opus 2021-085: Candle Power: #1, Start with Number One

Those pesky Chinese seem to have thought of everything.  When I did a search to find out who said, "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness", I came up with a Chinese proverb.  At least it hasn’t gone viral.

Maybe it should.  What can we do as individuals to overcome the darkness we are facing?

The first thing I am going to suggest is hard to define simply.  It will express itself different ways in different people.  Begin by looking inward and getting your own self in order.  I make my case from a Christian perspective.  The Bible will be my resource book.  The Bible has many themes and many things people disagree with but there are certain themes that go through the entire book.

For today I want to point out that God rewards the righteous.  If you are a Calvinist don’t get too hung up on the issue of grace and works.  You would need to be Biblically illiterate to miss the many times that God promises to look out for His own.  It makes a difference how we live.  

I read through the book of Proverbs every month.  Let me look at the first few chapters and pick out some of the comments.

(Pro 1:33 KJV) But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

(Pro 2:8 KJV) He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

This one I like from the NASB.  Somehow refreshed bones speaks to me.

(Pro 3:8 NAS77) It will be healing to your body, And refreshment to your bones.

(Pro 4:4 KJV) He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

You get the idea.  This is not a detailed doctrinal statement.  It is a basic truth.  God looks out after His own.  Of course the Bible also promises persecution and such but even in that God promises to give a blessing.

So before you try to change the country, work on changing yourself.  If God’s people will not be God’s people then the pagans among us will share His wrath with us.  If you want to set the world on fire for liberty, keep your matches and tender dry, your spiritual claim to God’s benefits.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-125: Fear Factor

A link from Don Surber to an ABC affiliate took me to a story linking the panic lockdown to an increasing suicide rate.  We are starting to see stories about the deaths caused by the response to the Chinavirus.  The damage is more than economic.  There are calls for an end to the nonsense.

While I agree wholeheartedly with the call to end the lockdown, I don’t think its end will bring the healing we want.  The problem is not the jackboot government officials and their draconian attempts to do what is best for us.  The problem is the amount of fear that has been generated and how that fear is eating away at the inner being of so many people.

Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed the words that have been paraphrased so many times:  “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  That is a bit of wisdom that is coming back to bite us.  I go to a store and see people wearing masks and gloves and carefully keeping their distance from everyone else.  I see fear everywhere.  I think that if all the pocket Nazis went away tomorrow we would still have millions of people cowering in their rooms, afraid to come out, knowing in their hearts that The Virus is going to get them.

If I had to lay this craven panic at someone’s feet I would pick the news media.  They have hyped, cherry-picked and outright lied in order to get people to look to them for direction.  I think the classic moment was the news conference where the cameras kept rolling and showed how the reporters all took off their masks and gathered together after they thought they were off the air.

I have no hope that they will ever repent of what they have done to the country.  There are a lot of people like this.  Most are relatively harmless because they never get the power to do much.  Others, like these media people and some politicians, are described many times in the Bible.  Here are just a few references from the Book of Proverbs.

(Pro 2:14 NAS77) Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

(Pro 4:16 NAS77) For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

We need to learn to ignore them.  Take off your mask.  Take a deep breath.  Hug someone you love.  Will you catch a bug?  Possibly but your body is designed with those bugs in mind.

And use common sense.  Wash your hands, brush your teeth, don’t take rides from strangers, never vote for a Democrat and don’t believe anything you hear from the news. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-245: Should-a-Beens: The Perfect Leader

I don’t think I ever want to see a candidate that I trust totally.  If I ever reach that point, I will become a mindless Democrat.  Please excuse the redundancy.  I look at Donald Trump, and for the most part I like what he is doing.  I am not sure about everything such as his endorsing letting convicted criminals out early.  I am not sure about some of his appointments.  That is encouraging because if I could agree with everything I would wonder what was wrong with me.  I am not sure I even agree with myself all the time.

I mentioned “mindless Democrat”.  It is not the only redundancy possible.  There are a good number of them that are totally aware of what they are doing and what the consequences will be.  In some cases I guess for “mindless” I would need to substitute “immoral” or “evil”.  They might be very intelligent and talented.  Their joy is to spread diseased ideas through the culture.  Proverbs has several mentions of this kind of person such as,

(Pro 2:14 NAS77) Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

You wonder how someone like Adam Schiff can live with himself.  You wonder how Joe Biden can stand to be in the same room with Joe Biden.  How do the corrupt traitors who have been in charge of the intelligence agencies justify their lust for power?  How can they justify trying to destroy the liberty of millions for their own power and ego?  Simple.  They “delight in doing evil”.

Of course this does not only apply to Democrats.  The RINOs also answer to the call.  Remember that we would have decimated, if not done away with, Obamacare if it was not for John McCain.  And many of the never Trump people call themselves conservatives.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Trust, but verify.”  Some times we are forced to cross our fingers and move ahead but we should be as alert as possible. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-150: Headlines: A Second Nut from the Same Tree

Sometimes I laugh at the liberals.  Sometimes I throw up my hands in despair.  I often get a bit angry.  Peter Fonda made me want to riot.  What an evil fool!  In case you missed it he Tweeted that the president’s son should be kidnapped and turned over to pedophiles.  And he is still walking the streets.  If he is willing to publicly say something like this against a man who can call the Secret Service and the FBI into action how would he be willing to act toward your child?

Has he been banned from all the best parties?  Have there been demonstrations outside his house?  Is he shunned by the Hollywood elite?  Are you holding your breath?

The take we need to get from this is Peter Fonda represents a large chunk of the Left.  That chunk is much bigger than we want to believe and the reality of it is nothing new.  Proverbs warns us about this reality.  It has always been with us.  Notice the second part of this verse,

(Proverbs 13:19 KJV)  The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

Keep in mind that the left would label Fonda the moral giant and give him the high ground because he is speaking against a president they hate.

Earlier in Proverbs Solomon tells us that we should seek wisdom.  Why?

(Proverbs 2:12-15 NAS77)  To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things; From those who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness; Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil; Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

Peter Fonda does not stand alone but he needs to be sitting alone, in a jail cell.

homo unius libri