Category: Hypocrisy

The Very Worst Thing a Christian can Settle for-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day- 2nd Corinthians 4:16 NASB

Settling.

It’s a notion most modern people are a bit uncomfortable with. 

The whole concept of settling smacks uncomfortably of losing— or at the very least not trying hard enough. We teach our kids from the time they are capable of conscience thought not to settle for a single thing. Humans learn early on to continuously strive for more stuff, to work our tails off, to do our very best and by golly to win—no matter the cost.

Okay, so the Bible is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the issue of settling. Contrary, to what most of us were taught growing up, the Bible is clear: settling can be good and healthy as long as we are settling for the right stuff. God loves it when we make the choice to settle for being content with what we have (1st Timothy 6:6) Living a quiet life without a lot of self-aggrandizement or ballyhoo is a good and God-ordained thing to settle for (1stThessalonians 4:11, 2nd Timothy 2:2).  God rejoices when His people settle for doing good with the time they’ve been given (Psalm 37:3, Ecclesiastes 3:12). It’s always good to settle in and sit in the presence of God (Luke 10:38-42). In fact, that kind of simplicity is what we were made for. 

However. 

It occurred to be recently that most people (me included) are quick to settle for the one thing we should never settle for.  All the while shunning the very stuff we ought to eagerly settle for, because all the things God wants us to settle for are guaranteed to bring us joy, peace and contentment. This painful realization came as I was making my way through Romans. The verse that got me thinking about all this appears to be unrelated to the whole notion of settling, but it’s not. It said: 

Love must be free of hypocrisy- Romans 12:9a

It hit me pretty much out of nowhere that I have settled for exhibiting a surfacy (hypocritical) kind of love that looks and says all the right things but is not really heartfelt or sincere. Then it hit me, again pretty much out of nowhere that I tend to settle for all sorts of surfacy things. Not all the time, but often enough, it ought to shake me up. 

Yikes. 

I have been known to settle for surfacy goodness, all the while the gunk inhabiting my heart is far from honorable. I have settled for going through the surfacy motions of worship while my mind was on my to-do list. I have settled for surfacy courtesy while I harbored a less than gracious spirit. I have settled for surfacy joy that lacked any kind of depth and never really reached my soul. I have settled for looking good rather than being good, in myself as well as in my children while they were growing up.

Yikes. 

It would be tempting (and easy) for everyone (including me) to write me off as an insincere buttheaded jerk. However, I don’t think I’m alone. If I were a betting woman, I would bet good money I have lots of company. It’s one of those ugly characteristics of the human condition no one likes to talk about: we all have this tendency to settle for surfacy goodness instead of doing the spiritual work needed to actually be good. Human beings naturally gravitate towards fake goodness rather than fulfilling our God-given purpose to be like Jesus. 

At the root of the problem is our nature (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 1:18-32, Romans 3:23, Romans 7:18, 1stCorinthians 2:18). We are sinners and because we are sinners true, heartfelt, gut level goodness does not come naturally to humans, even redeemed humans (Matthew 10:18, Psalm 53:3, Romans 3:12). That said, nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26) nor is the problem with God. The problem is always with us. We are reluctant to do the work because the work always involves a personal honesty, self-examination and willingness to allow our hearts and minds to be changed on issues. 

However.

If we are in Christ and really want to be more than surfacy good. It can happen. God never commands anyone to do anything they are unable to accomplish (Colossians 3, Romans 12, 2nd Peter 1:3-11). The key to inner transformation is self-analysis or looking beneath our behavior. Behavior is important, God cares a great deal about what we do.  However, behavior is rarely the best measure of inner goodness. Feelings are (oddly enough) often a better barometer of our inner goodness than behavior is. If we self-examine and recognize we have the right behavior but a terrible attitude we need to take our negative feelings to the Lord in prayer and ask God to give us the right heart. Then we need to keep praying and repenting and asking for heart change until we get to the point when our feelings begin to match our behavior. It will happen. It may not happen overnight but if it’s what we really want it will happen. 

At the heart of surfacy goodness is hypocrisy and there is nothing Jesus hates more than hypocrisy (Matthew 6:2-16, Matthew 23).  Further complicating the matter is for Christians surfacy goodness can lead to a religious spirit. When we have a religious spirit looking good is all we care about. 

I’m not a big believer in New Years resolutions. That said, there is value in setting spiritual goals and doing what it takes to meet them. The goal of genuine, heartfelt goodness is a goal every Christian ought to set. 

The Seven Churches Series- Sardis the Insincere Church

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness- Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

There really was no place in the ancient world where it was truly safe to be a Christian. The threat of persecution was a constant issue for believers in Jesus into the fourth century. Even a relatively safe situation for Christians could become categorically unsafe overnight with a sudden change of political power. That being said, there were a few places where it was safer and easier to be a Christian. 

Sardis was one of those places. 

Sardis was a sizable, affluent city located in a lovely valley that nestled up against a mountain range. Due to its remarkably safe setting and its excess of natural resources, life in Sardis was prosperous and stress-free by ancient standards. The residents of Sardis were best known for their tolerant, laissez-faire attitude towards just about everything under the sun. 

 Sardis was infamous for being a party town occupied by overindulged, underachieving, slackers.

Seriously. 

There is little evidence Christians suffered much, if any, serious persecution in Sardis.  Emperor worship was not really an issue and there are (to my knowledge) no records of Christians being martyred in Sardis. The folks in Sardis were too busy having fun to persecute anyone for anything. 

Sardis was filled with messy, lost people who needed the life-changing good news of the gospel. There was little stopping Christians from openly sharing the good news of Jesus. The Christians there were under no real threat. There was little chance they would be arrested or sent to an arena for talking about Jesus in a city as accommodating and tolerant as Sardis.  

However.

The Christians in Sardis did not use their idyllic situation to reach the lost and do good in their city.   

Sigh.

Jesus’ letters all follow a similar pattern.  Jesus begins each with a greeting to the “angel” ( the pastor or bishop) of the church.  Jesus follows with a declarative statement about Himself. Each statement reveals something critical about His power, character and/or the authority He has over the world (Revelation 2:1, Revelation 2:8, Revelation 2:18, Revelation 3:1, Revelation 3:7, Revelation 3:14) In all but two of the letters Jesus follows with some kind and affirming words concerning the church in question. Jesus praises the church’s faith, good deeds, perseverance, and/or their love for one another, etc. Only after praising and affirming the good in their lives does He offer any criticism.

In His letter to Sardis Jesus deviates dramatically from His usual pattern. 

After His greeting and the declarative statement, Jesus jumps directly to criticism and it’s objectively, super harsh. He begins by telling them that although they have a reputation for being spiritually alive and life-giving, He knows the people in the church are dead in all the ways that matter. 

There was a lot of spiritual fakery going on at the First Church of Sardis. However, the church looked awesome from the outside. The sermons in Sardis were likely consistently on-point. The congregants as well as the leaders were very diligent with their spiritual practices. They prayed, they fasted, they had amazing discipleship programs and the people gave money to help the poor and support the church. 

However. 

Ultimately, the people in the church were more concerned with looking holy, looking good, looking wise and looking honest than they were with actually being any of those things. 

Their hearts were far from God and as a result, they cared little for the souls of people in their city. They had chosen the route of looking good rather than being good and their fakeness had them on the verge of spiritual death. Sadly, they lacked the spiritual awareness to recognize the perilous state they were in (Revelation 3:2). Their only hope was repentance and repentance is nearly impossible when a person has evaluated themselves and concluded they are just fine the way they are.

Unfortunately, we all lack self-awareness at least some of the time.

For this reason alone, Sardis is (in my opinion) the scariest of the seven letters. Jesus’ words underscore the sad reality that a Christian (or group of Christians) can be a hot spiritual mess and not even be vaguely aware of any of their own problems. It is possible for respected Christians and even esteemed Christian leaders be so self-deceived they can be half-way to hell all the while believing they are leading the way to heaven (Matthew 7:13-23, Jeremiah 17:9).

Yikes.

The letter to Sardis is a much-needed reminder that we can fool a lot of humans with our surface-y goodness but we can’t fool Jesus. He sees everything there is to see. Including the state of our hearts (Hebrews 4:13). This is why self-reflection is so critically needed for believers (Psalm 26:2, 2nd Corinthians 13:5). Without a willingness to really look at our lives and examine our hearts on a regular basis we can easily deceive ourselves into believing we are way better than we really are and when we do that we risk losing our saltiness and becoming spiritually worthless (Matthew 5:13)

There were a few people in the First Church of Sardis who were the real deal (Revelation 3:4).  These people had remained true to Jesus and genuinely Christian even while being surrounded by spiritual counterfeits. Jesus makes one of His most beautiful promises in all of the letters to those people. He assures them they will be given the honor of walking with Him (experiencing intimate relationship) wearing white (eternally pure and noble) for all of eternity. 

That’s worth staying real for. 

The Wrong Way to Handle a Celebrity Conversion-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” ~ Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

Kanye West shocked pretty much everyone in the Christian and secular world when he “came out” as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. A week later he released a Christian album entitled Jesus is King. In the six weeks or so since his big reveal he has spoken out about his new-found faith on late night television, on at least one news program, appeared at numerous Christian events and was interviewed by Joel Osteen at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston Texas. 

A few weeks back one of our older daughters asked me what I thought about Kanye’s conversion to Christianity.  She wanted to know if I thought it was the real deal and if I believed it would last. 

It’s tempting to lie but I won’t. 

My initial (admittedly sinful) inclination was to list in grim detail all the celebrities over the course of my lifetime who have made “heartfelt” commitments to Jesus only to break those commitments in a spectacularly horrifying fashion that ultimately brought incalculable shame to Jesus. I was also tempted to bring up all of the “celebrity” Christians who have presented themselves to the world as Christian role models and then proceeded to live like heathens before they finally “came out” as unbelievers. 

I get that this confession makes me sound like an awful person and an even more awful Christian. In my defense (which I admit is pathetically weak), I am not the only Christian who has been a bit skeptical of Kayne’s conversion story. The internet has been buzzing with opinions (many of them negative) on this subject.

The good news is that before I had a chance to open my stupid pie-hole and spout-off my rather self-righteous opinion on the subject the Holy Spirit caught me up short. In the space of about ten seconds God reminded me in a not-so-gentle way that people can change and I am living proof of that fact. 

Sigh.  

So, all this begs the question. How should a Christian respond to the news that an unlikely person has made a commitment to Jesus? I believe we should respond in four ways anytime anyone makes a commitment to Jesus. 

In faith-

As believers in Jesus we should have the faith to believe that God has the power to change anyone He really wants to change. If we believe in the gospel we also have to believe that God really can change people, even people we see as unlikely candidates for change (2nd Corinthians 3:18). The Bible is packed with examples of people who most of us would have written off as utterly hopeless (Acts 9). It’s critical we remember that without faith in God’s ability to do what He says He can do it is literally impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). 

With prayer-

This is a tough a time to be a Christian and it is likely that things will get worse before they get better. The struggles Christians experience are mostly spiritual in nature (Ephesians 6:12-18). Because our struggles are mostly spiritual, prayer is the most powerful thing one Christian can do for another Christian. This is especially true for new Christians who have never experienced difficulty or persecution. Our prayers really will make a difference in how well they walk out their commitment to Christ.  

With a sense of awe and wonder-

Every conversion is literally a miracle and the second we lose sight of that fact we lose sight of what it means to be a Christian. All human beings (even the really nice ones) have hearts that are hard, indifferent and even hostile toward God. When someone submits their life to Jesus Christ and repents of their sin God changes their heart (Ezekiel 36:26). This begins a process that eventually transforms them into an entirely new creation with a whole new set of priorities and desires (2nd Corinthians 5:17). It doesn’t get any more miraculous than that. 

With understanding-

Baby Christians are, more often than not, flaming-hot-messes, practically speaking. They do things they shouldn’t do, say things they shouldn’t say, their motivations tend to be all over the map and they can be oddly judgmental for people who clearly don’t get what Christianity is supposed to “look like”.  It is the job of more mature believers to prove their maturity by being there in practical ways for new believers. This means treating them with grace and mercy as they maneuver through the always challenging process of maturing in Christ (Philippians 2:12). 

Jesus’ came to earth to transform sinful, pigheaded, foolish people into something better than we could ever be in our own power (2nd Corinthians 3:17-18).  All too often Christians (especially Christians who have been Christians for a long time) forget that God changed us and that He is still very much in the business of transforming messy people into messages of His grace, truth and love.

Dear Progressive Friend-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments


Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off- Proverbs 24:14

Dear Progressive Friend, 

Believe it or not, I totally get you. 

I get you in spite of my obvious absence of woke ideology. I understand you because you and I are not all that different from each other.  It’s true that conservative Christians and progressives rarely, if ever see eye-to-eye on the how-to’s of much of anything. 

 Nonetheless,

I believe with all my heart that American Progressives want many of the same things Christian conservatives want. 

Progressives want a world where people are respected and cared for. Progressives want a world where people are treated equally irrespective of where they come from, their gender, or the color of their skin. Progressives want a world where basic human needs are met. Progressives do not want the planet ruined for future generations by myopic idiots who care nothing about future generations. Progressives want an educational system that works for everyone, even for those who happen to be less fortunate or less clever.  

You want good things and I get it. In some ways I think I actually have a clearer understanding of what you want than you do. What you really want is a Christian world. The only real difference between you and me is that you want all the benefits of having a flawlessly Christian world without the pesky Christianity.   

See, here’s the thing. 

The only reason the ideas you love even exist is because of the religion you tend to disparage and dismiss. Prior to the first century there was no real belief in the idea of equality. Period. Until the Christian religion came along, wealth, power, and the ability to dominant others were the only values that mattered, anywhere. Ideals contemporary people hold dear such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance and concern for the less fortunate were thought to be silly, weak, impractical and frankly a little absurd.  Human beings tended to be born into a situation in life and they remained there until they died. Lucky people were born into influential families. Everyone believed that rich people were intrinsically superior to the poor. It was widely believed that slaves were born slaves because they were bad people and kings were born kings because the gods loved them more than the lowly chumps they ruled over. Because the powerful were thought to be fundamentally better than the weak they were able to do what they wanted to who they wanted to do it to without fear of legal recourse or social stigma. 

This did not make the world a happy place. 

Women, children, slaves and the poor were the biggest losers in that cold and callous world. Farm animals were typically treated better than many human females and some small children. No country on earth other than Israel recognized the legal rights of slaves’, foreigners, children or women. Most individuals lived out their short lives in wretched poverty, and ignorance without hope of any kind. Literally no one in any government anywhere on earth cared anything at all about the poor and sick. Welfare programs for the poor simply did not exist and medical care was only available to those with the means to pay for it. Hospitals and doctors were under no obligation to treat sick people simply because they were sick. There was no such thing as due process and convicts routinely starved to death in prison.

Then Jesus came into the world.

Jesus valued women and loved children (Matthew 18:10, Luke 17:2, Luke 8:1-3, Luke 10:38-41). The early church was filled with women partly because Christianity offered a sanctuary where women were cherished and partly because early Christians made a practice of saving baby girls who had been abandoned to die by their parents. The apostle Paul made it clear in Galatians 3:26-28 and Colossians 3:11 that there is no room in Christianity for prejudice or sexism and as Christianity spread laws were passed to protect the rights of women, children and foreigners. It is a historical fact that Christian countries were the first to routinely educate little girls. Jesus healed the sick and the idea that sick people were sick because they were cursed by their gods fell out of fashion. Christians were the first to build hospitals for the poor and offer care for the dying. Because early Christians were often imprisoned for their faith they cared deeply about the humane treatment of prisoners and as a result feeding and clothing lawbreakers became standard.  The world changed and continues to change because of the values Christianity planted in the hearts of God’s people two thousand years ago. 

So, here’s the thing.

When we attempt to separate the moral standards, truth claims and ethics of Christianity from the values Christianity made popular (fairness, equality, justice, compassion and mercy) we remove the very thing that has made those values work: Jesus. Fear of and reverence for the God of the Bible provides the framework of morality that makes the values we all cherish possible. True Christians behave morally (most of the time) because they believe that someday they will stand before God and give an account for what they do and how they treated people. Without fear of God there is nothing that prevents people from getting wrapped-up in their own self-interest and going full-on evil. 

When progressives attack Christianity and its morality the foundation that all human rights was built on is damaged. If that foundation is damaged badly enough it will implode a system that has been making the world a progressively better place for two thousand years. No one wants that.

With Love,

Your Christian friend

My Prayer List for the Week-

Lisa M. Price5 Comments

For the ear tests words, as the palate tastes food. Let us choose justice for ourselves;
let us know among ourselves what is good- Job 34:2-3 NKJV

I had an unusual problem this week. I found myself totally at a loss for a decent blog topic. 

Typically, blog topics just kind of come to me. But, for some reason it just didn’t happen this week.  Typically, by Tuesday afternoon I have an idea locked down and ready to go but for some reason I literally had nothing this week. 

Zero. Zilch. Nada.

 So, I did this thing I do on the rare occasions I find myself utterly desperate for thought-provoking writing material. I spent a couple of hours one-night binge-watching some of the popular cable news channels (FOX, CNN, MSNBC). I have found in the past that there is almost always enough crazy stuff being reported on the news to generate at least a blog post or two. 

It worked. 

I learned a lot that night, most of it was more than a bit maddening. I also ended-up with a serious glut of excess material. It turns out there is quite a lot of super outrageous stuff going on in the world.  I do not believe Christians should run or hide from the ugliness and sin in our world. Christians are called to fight darkness rather than flee from it. Because I believe that I decided to share (most) of what I learned. My hope is that you will spend some time in prayer over these issues and looking for ways to engage with our sin-sick world.

The sex industry is being normalized for teens by adults who are smart enough to know better- 

A popular periodical marketed to girls between the ages of 12 and 17 published an article about the importance of destigmatizing and normalizing “sex work” (AKA prostitution). The article was entitled “Sex Work is Real Work”. For the record, no one has to convince me that sex work is real work. Sex work is without a doubt the most grueling, dreadful, dehumanizing, horrific work there is. What I don’t understand is why a magizine that presents itself as pro-girl and pro-woman would write an article that glamourizes the job and might possibly inspire young women to consider a vocation that degrades, marginalizes and damages women solely for the sexual gratification of men. Wasn’t that the sort of thing feminism was supposed to end? 

Drug use is trendy once again-

Recreational drug use became popular in the 1960’s and use rose steadily throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Then drug use plummeted in the early years of the 21stcentury.  For the first time since the 1980’s drug use is rising among 8th, 10thand 12thgraders. When questioned about drug use teens admit that this is due almost entirely to decriminalization and legalization efforts on the state level. Legalization and decriminalization have removed fears of addiction and being saddled with a criminal record. As a result, for the first time in decades teens view drug use as a potential positive rather than an overwhelmingly negative experience. This means that millions more teenagers are voluntarily damaging their brains before they really even get an opportunity to use them.  

City and State leaders are refusing to be honest about homelessness- 

Homelessness is booming (especially in the West). Leaders in cities where homelessness has become an issue refuse to blame the thing those who work with the homeless say is the number one cause of homelessness: drug use. Perhaps it’s because those states are beginning to view taxing drug use as a potential money maker and they don’t want to admit that there is a cost to legalizing drugs and encouraging drug use. 

 HBO has a new program for teens- 

In its first season Euphoria has showcased hardcore drug use, full frontal nudity, masturbation, endless expressions of nihilism and transgender teenagers having sex with adults. Whoo-hoo. Thanks HBO, we didn’t have nearly enough filth on T.V. 

A small minority of parents are cashing in on their children’s gender confusion-

Apparently, there are parents who dress their kids up as the opposite gender and parading them around for money. I literally have no words and I always have words. Words are my thing. We obviously need revival if these parents aren’t in jail for this.

Powerful words are being abused- 

This is nothing new.  Hardly a week goes by when a lawmaker or newscaster doesn’t call someone a NAZI or refer to the holocaust in an inappropriate manner. But this week Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took it to a new level when she claimed that immigrants who voluntarily turned themselves in at the border hoping to become citizens are being forced to live in “concentration camps”. Sigh.   

A tiny minority is redefining morality-

A particular senator who is hoping to become the President stated emphatically this past week that taking a pro-life position is so outside the mainstream that pro-life people shouldn’t be judges. What? Who gave this woman the “right” to redefine what the mainstream is or isn’t?  

Okay, so, now you have a prayer list for the week. Let’s get to it. 

How do Well Intended Policies Hurt the People Society most Wants to Help?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

Do to others as you would have them do to you~ Luke 6:31 NIV

The city of Albuquerque has a problem. 

The city has become littered with hypodermic needles. Not the clean, shiny needles you get brand-spanking new from the needle factory or a doctor’s office but the kind of needles that have been used to shoot heroin. This is an issue because used hypodermic needles are dirty. Used needles tend to harbor unpleasant and sometimes even incurable blood borne diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, syphilis and Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). 

Yuck. 

Like many American cities, Albuquerque boasts a “clean needle” exchange program. Needle exchange programs allow intravenous drug users to get a free clean needle anytime they want to inject drugs. Until recently if a drug user wanted to acquire a clean needle in Albuquerque they had to turn in a dirty needle. This policy did nothing to reduce drug use but it did incentivize drug users to dispose of their dirty needles safely.  Thanks to a recent policy change, trading in dirty needles is no longer a requirement in Albuquerque. Now if a drug user wants a clean needle all they have to do is ask for one and they get it.

No questions asked.   

 The policy change has resulted in dirty needles being left wherever the drug users happened to be when they used their drugs. Ballfields and parks just happen to be popular places for drug users to inject heroin. Despite the valiant efforts of parents and coaches to keep local ballfields needle-free, a little girl playing softball was stuck with a dirty needle as she was sliding into home base. Doctors say that it will be at least three months before they know for absolute certain whether or not she is infected with anything. 

Sigh. 

A long list of random thoughts ran through my mind as I was reading this story. The mama-bear in me felt a crushing compassion for the little girl and her family (Romans 12:15). I simply cannot imagine the torment they are experiencing and will continue to experience for three agonizing months. My heart literally aches for them. The analytic, business-minded part of me wondered about liability issues for the city. That side of me suspects the city of Albuquerque may be embroiled in a nasty and potentially very costly lawsuit soon. The vacation organizer in me who is always thinking about new places to visit made a mental note not to vacay anywhere near Albuquerque, New Mexico anytime soon. The fussy, pedantic worrier in me (she’s a bit prone to hysteria) was seriously freaked out by the idea that someone could get stuck with a dirty needle at a ballfield or park. She was reminded once again that walking around barefoot is never a good idea.  

Then the God-follower in me stepped-up and asked a question that no one seems to be asking:

When exactly did our society give-up on actually helping people? 

For the record, I am not a dolt, nor am I the public-health equivalent of a flat-earther. I understand that diseases passed by dirty needles are also sexually transmitted. I get that people who are high are not likely to stop and think about practicing “safe sex”. They likely to remember or act on the warnings they heard in the abstinence-based sex education class they attended in high school. I understand that needle-exchange programs save lives and prevent diseases. I am one-hundred-percent on board with saving lives and preventing diseases, especially diseases like HIV, Hepatitis C and MRSA. 

That said. 

I can’t help but feel that needle exchange programs (as well-intended as they may be) are the ultimate in giving-up on people and writing them off as not worth of saving or helping. When we offer drug users a clean needle to shoot a substance that will eventually kill them off without also offering some sort of help or hope we are not treating drug users the way we would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12).  This breaks my heart. We have become so callous as a society that we have decided there is an entire segment of the population not worth saving or helping (Romans 15:1, 1stThessalonians 5:14). 

Seriously.  

There’s a lot of talk these days about the very real problem of homelessness. Experts on the subject universally agree that homelessness is nearly always a byproduct of drug use. If a drug problem can be dealt with in a person’s life it becomes much easier to work on the problem of homelessness. Conversely, as long as a person is using drugs their emotional growth halts and no other issues in their life can be dealt with effectively. No has ever actually been helped by mollycoddling the problem of addiction. Mollycoddling addiction is really just a sick form of codependency and our government has become the biggest enabler in history.

The grownups need to demand better.

Voters ought to be demanding local governments do more than simply hand out clean needles to drug users. At the very least local municipalities should require drug users to turn in a dirty needle in order to get a clean one This rudimentary requirement serves the purpose of reminding drug users that they are human and as members of the human family they have an obligation to do their part (no matter how small) to be helpful to the rest of society.    

As Christians the growing problem of addiction ought to break our hearts the way it surely breaks God’s. We must never forget that we are called to be the voice of Jesus in our culture and advocates for those without a voice. Drug addicts need a truly caring voice in our  culture and it is our holy obligation as God’s people to fight for those the world has written off as not worth saving. Christians should demand a return of anti-drug education in public schools and we must challenge the relaxing of drug laws and the movement towards complete legalization.

Most importantly,

We must remember we have something to offer drug users the government can never give. Freedom from addiction and hope for a better future through a transformational relationship with Jesus Christ (Luke 19:10, Acts 16:31). 

Saving Truth-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey~ Isaiah 59:14-15 NIV

  I am a peeping-tom on Twitter.

 I have a twitter account.

However.

I suspect I might have been shadow-banned after posting some political blogs during the 2016 election cycle. I think I’m down to a grand total of 33 followers. No one ever responds to anything I tweet so I never tweet anything. I never retweet other people’s stuff and I only occasionally comment on other people’s tweets. It’s just too much work. And frankly, I lack the cleverness, persistence and free time necessary to really make a difference on twitter. I also hate wasting what little creativity I have on what is basically just a modern-day freakshow of personal opinions.   

 Nevertheless,

 I do like skulking around the back alleys of twitter (metaphorically speaking). I follow people, watch videos, read tweets and form opinions about what I find. I totally get my behavior is borderline creepy but it allows me to see what’s going in that area of social media without actually getting involved in that area of social media.

 Such was the case this past weekend when I found a video of Diane Feinstein giving a group of sassy school kids a piece her mind after they challenged her on her unwillingness to simply sign on to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal.  Ms. Feinstein put on her stern Grandma face and informed the kids that she has been doing her job for a long time and that she understands the issues and the political landscape better than they ever could.

 I am not, nor will I ever be a supporter of Ms. Feinstein’s politics. She and I could not possibly be further apart on the political spectrum.  That being said, I almost started clapping when I heard her telling those jackbooted little sprogs some hard truths no one else has the wherewithal to tell them.

Here’s the thing.

 Adults are duty-bound to give kids an unpleasant dose of reality from time-to-time (Proverbs 29:15, 1stCorinthians 13:11). When adults abdicate that responsibility, children grow up to believe anything is possible and some things simply aren’t not possible matter how badly we wish they were. I will never play in the NBA. I’m too short, too old and too female. It’s just not going to happen. I can identify as a tall, muscular man all day long, every day but I will never actually be one.

 We do want our kids to grow-up and dream big dreams.

Dreams are good.

That said, wise people also want them firmly grounded in reality. No one accomplishes anything in the real world when they’re living their life in the land of make-believe and dreams.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might actually make sense sometimes if she had an adult in her life who was wise enough (and kind enough) to gently challenge some of her more peculiar ideas when she was nine (Proverbs 17:29). 

 But, I digress.

 The vast majority of those on twitter did not agree with how Ms. Feinstein handled the situation. Most were fuming-mad that an old troll would crush the green dreams of fresh-faced little children who were just trying to save the planet. Some wondered if it was even okay for an old person to tell a young person what to do or think. Lots of folks were bitter that the Senator dared tell innocent youngsters that something they wanted is simply not possible. Some demanded she resign for her treatment of the children. There was even a petition calling for her impeachment (Proverbs 29:18). 

 Insert eye roll here.

 The whole messy muddle is more than just a silly story about a grumpy old lady and a bunch of mouthy kids.

 We are literally watching objective truth die right before our very eyes.

Seriously. It ought to scare the bejeebers out of all of us.

 There was a time in the not-so-distant past when it was thought to be an act of compassion to tell a person the truth about something even when that truth was hard to hear.  That ship has officially sailed.  Public schools routinely tell kids that if they believe they are a particular gender then they are that gender. Biology be damned, science is literally nothing compared to a child’s feelings about a particular subject. Men pretend to be women all the time and it is considered by many to be a hate crime to point out that those men dressed up like women might have some physical advantages over the women they are competing against in an athletic competition.  

 Truth has become an acceptable casualty anytime someone holds a passionate, deeply held belief about a particular subject. If someone thinks somebody else made a racist or sexist comment then they did. Period. There are no longer two sides to any story. The truth is so inconsequential that it is now considered acceptable to lie about whether or not one was attacked if the pretend attacker holds political beliefs the accuser and the majority finds unpleasant or intolerable.

 Sigh.

 It is critical we remember two truths in the midst of this cultural insanity. First, Christians serve a God who values truth to the point that He literally identified Himself as the physical embodiment of truth (John 14:6). Therefore, we represent our God best when we choose to live out truth in every area of our lives. Second, we must never forget it is still and will always be an act of compassion to speak hard truths as long as it is done in a spirit of love and grace (Ephesians 4:15).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Peril of Hypocrisy-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good~ 1st Peter 2:1-3

 Their are groups who seek to end all forms of racism, fascism and hate-speech in America.

 A noble and commendable goal.

 Interestingly enough, though  every single one of those groups intentionally employ fascist methods and strategies including physical violence, hate speech, victim blaming and racist rhetoric. They engage in fascism, violence, hate speech and racism in order to end fascism, racism and hate speech.

 Insert confused face here.

 The first time I heard about the methods of these groups I remember thinking only a lunatic would attempt to stop something by engaging in the very thing they claim they want to end. However, after a little thought it occurred to me that it wasn’t lunacy motivating those groups. It was something far more fundamental, malevolent and dangerous than simple lunacy: hypocrisy.

 Jesus had a lot to say about hypocrisy and none of it was good (Matthew 6:1-16, Matthew 7:5, Matthew 23:13-33, Luke 12:56, Luke 13:14-16). Jesus treated hypocrites and hypocrisy with the utmost contempt because He understood a couple of truths at the heart of hypocrisy that we, as people who tend toward hypocrisy frequently overlook.

 Hypocrisy spreads like a virus, especially when it begins with leadership. Anytime a leader (parent, pastor, politician, supervisor) takes a hypocritical position on a subject, or chronically behaves in a hypocritical fashion, everyone who follows that leader is tempted or deceived into taking the same position and behaving just like their leader. Sadly, anyone who follows a hypocritical leader eventually becomes a mirror image of that leader.

 Jesus hates hypocrisy because it robs people of self-awareness. Hypocrisy is at the root of calling good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20). If a person tells themselves wrong is right, or at least right for them (because their circumstances are special) often enough or long enough they begin to believe their own lie and end up doing things they never could have imagined themselves doing. As they are instructing others not to do the very things they are doing.

 Sigh.

 The hypocrisy that has taken root in anti-fascist circles is more than just a humorous case study in irony; it’s a cautionary tale for us all. Especially, for those of us who follow Jesus. Christians sometimes write off hypocrisy as nothing more than a quirky personality trait, or worse yet, as a legitimate means to a needed end. In reality it’s a serious sin that grows out of pride (another serious sin) both sins are nurtured by a willful lack of self-awareness. If left alone hypocrisy ruins not only the hypocrite but also everyone around the hypocrite.

 Sadly, no one, no matter how spiritually mature is immune to the appeal of hypocrisy. It is simply a part of our fallen nature as humans to imagine that we can trick everyone around us, including God Himself into believing we are doing what we say we are doing-instead of what we are actually doing. In the end the only one who is fooled is the hypocrite.

 As a general rule, I am extremely wary about hunting for sin in the lives of other people. Most of us, including myself have more than enough sin in our own lives to worry about; we simply should not be focusing our attention on anyone else’s sinful junk. That being said, Jesus warned His followers that deception would be one of the defining characteristics of the end times (Matthew 24, Luke 21:5-36, Mark 13:1-23). Hypocrisy is deception that begins with an attempt to deceive others and ends with self-deception, hypocrisy is also at the root of almost every kind of evil. Because of that, Christians should deal ruthlessly with any hypocrisy they see in their own lives and run as fast as they can from any leader who is transparently hypocritical.

 Hypocrisy destroys individuals, families, churches, relationships and entire movements. Hypocrisy of Christians has done more damage to Christianity than any other single issue in the 2000-year history of the church. Any behavior that can do that much damage should be dealt with decisively and mercilessly.

How Hate and Fear Got Trump Elected

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

The truth shall make you free~ John 8:32b NKJV

It’s been nearly two weeks since the votes were counted and Donald J. Trump was elected as leader of the free world. Sadly, half the American electorate is still deep in the weeds of a bitter grieving process. Because anger is not an easy emotion to sustain over a long period of time I figured that the riots, temper tantrums, and malicious Facebook tirades would be easing in intensity by now.

 I figured wrong.

 Over the course of the last two weeks I have seen a steady stream of social media posts and liberal columnists demanding that Trump step down (seriously, like that will happen). Others are hanging on to the fantasy that a large enough percentage of state electors will go “faithless” to reverse a Trump victory at the eleventh hour.

 As if.  

 Others are descending deeper into a state of denial. The vast majority of progressives out there are convinced the only reason Donald Trump won the election is because half of America is racist, poor and stupid.

 This belief exposes an ugly truth. We have become a nation of reflex labelers. We no longer take the time to discover the nuances of what people think or how they feel about issues. Instead we slap a label on those who do not think like we do do. Sadly, this is typically done based on the scantest of information, which makes it almost impossible for those in denial to see the truth.

 For the progressives who read this blog (I know you’re out there) I want to clear up a few misconceptions concerning the Trump win.

 One piece of Trump’s success was his competition. Hilary Clinton was a flaming-hot mess of a candidate. She was a scandal-ridden nominee who presented no new ideas and in spite of a lifetime spent in public office she could boast of no actual accomplishments.

 Clearly, anyone could have beaten her.

 However, Trump’s success was not due entirely to Hillary’s weakness. Economic concerns were on the minds of many Trump voters, but the election results were about more than just the economy. I believe the issues that propelled Donald Trump to the Presidency run deeper than all of that.

Ultimately the Trump win was about:

 Fairness-

 Prior to 1973, abortion was outlawed in thirty states and legally limited in the other twenty. America was a steadfastly pro-life country. Nonetheless, seven Supreme Court Justices overrode the majority and legalized abortion on demand in all fifty states.

 Three states (Maine, Maryland, Washington) legalized gay marriage due to a vote of the people. No state enforced prohibitions on homosexual sex or same-sex cohabitation; most states simply refused to recognize gay marriage. Nevertheless, in 2015 the Supreme Court marginalized the masses and overturned thousands of years of social wisdom when they pulled the “right” for same-sex marriage out of thin air.  

 It is estimated that roughly one-percent of Americans identify as “trans-sexual” and yet the federal government is attempting to force schools and business to make costly and difficult “accommodations” for a tiny minority, despite the practical concerns of millions.

 Clearly, none of this is fair. Unless of course your definition of fairness differs dramatically from the commonly accepted meaning of the word.

 It was also about common sense and respect for others-

 Contrary to popular belief, it is common sense—rather than hate—that dictates that we carefully screen immigrants who belong to a religion where some of the adherents commit acts of senseless violence against innocent people. It’s absurd to insist that state mandated education teach children there is an endless array of genders for them to choose from.  Especially, when one considers the sorry state of public education in many areas. Contrary to popular belief, most Christians LIKE gay people. However, they also believe it’s irrational and disrespectful to demand they bake a cake for a gay wedding.

 Finally, it was about fear and hate-

 Not fear of Muslims, women, gay people, Latinos or a changing America. It was fear of the liberal left and their hatred of conservatives that drove folks to the ballot box. Conservatives have been watching liberals for years and the riots in Ferguson, Baltimore, Seattle, Milwaukee, Portland and St. Louis have proven that sane people ought to fear a progressive majority. Sadly, fear is increasing, thanks to the aggressive vitriol coming from the left since the election. Hilary Clinton reinforced that fear when she called Trump supporters “deplorable” and when she declared, “religious beliefs must change”.

 Conservatives knew what religion she was talking about and it scared them. It was the intolerance and hate that has become endemic on the left that drove conservative America to vote for Donald Trump.