suffering
Activation Mode
Sometimes there is a sitting on the sidelines hoping that someone else will go to battle. It is generally suffering that moves one from sitting on the sidelines to activation mode.
Over the centuries, those who have looked ahead at consequences have been called, depending on the era or point in time: historians, economists, philosophers, seers, or prophets.
Corruption is something people don’t like to discuss in polite society. How many times have you heard the phrase, “don’t discuss religion or politics?”
There are those who try to base a political campaign on economics. The mantra might be, “Vote for me and your personal finances will improve.”
However, economic issues cannot improve until corruption is dealt with.
Dealing with corruption, or the flip side of that is seeking righteousness, is the model that Jesus used.
Jesus went right to heart of the issue. Will man survive economically by serving God and righteousness, or by serving mammon? Mammon uses murder, thefts, and lies in the process of gaining what we call wealth or money. God’s system involves righteousness and blessing from God. Here are the two systems contrasted in scriptures.
Matthew 6:24 [Jesus speaking] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 4:9 And [satan] saith unto him [Jesus], All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Why Suffering?
Stepping back, looking objectively at the United States overall, based on what is spewed out day by day in the media, it would be not unreasonable to say that the United States is an apostate nation.
As such, having overall rejected God and God’s principles and morals, it should not be surprising that there is judgement.
And while the progressives like to talk about the separation of church and state, there should never be a separation of state and morals, or state and righteous character.
We see the consequences in abundance.
- murderers and thieves let out of prison to enact more crimes
- false accusations that attempt a convoluted legal manipulation of state and federal laws to concoct somethere whereby to indict political opposition
- the unjust imprisonment of individuals who sought to exercise their Constitutional rights
- the manipulation of the story line by the federal government
- the theft of wealth through unjust monetary policy
- lies and propagada
- pedophilia
- transgenderism
- continued push for abortion
- manipulated news in order to bring about a certain agenda
- using other nations as proxies which results in great suffering to those nations
- degeneration of education
- murder through agencies that are supposed to preserve health
- and more
Unless those of higher moral character, interested in the preservation of the rule of law, are willing to get into government and help turn the tide, there there is little hope for change if secular, atheistic, progressive, modernist, globalists run nations.
Jesus said, “Occupy till I come.” (Luke 19:13b)
Moving from the national to the personal, suffering can cause people to turn to God with a greater depth of determination.
Jonah was running from God and hit a low point. He was suffering. Then he said this:
Jonah 2:7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
From the Book of Psalms:
Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Psalm 31:22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
Suffering can cause a seeking of the Lord which can result in course corrections.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.