Trolls vs. God

Every so often (and those 'often's seem to be increasing in number) I stumble upon an online article, or Youtube video; or sometimes watch a movie or run into a coworker, who announces with supreme conviction: "YOU ARE AN IDIOT! THERE IS NO GOD! GOD DOES NOT EXIST!" Phrases like this seem to be standbys of horror movies and disenfranchised Walmart employees.

It is, of course, natural to respond with a sort of visceral rage to such inane comments. But as goes the internet gospel:

"Don't feed the trolls."

But on a deeper level, it makes even less sense to respond with more vitriol and pissy-ness. Sure, giving into raw emotion without reason is bad. Yes, feeding the trolls is bad. But what is even more illogical is becoming angry at someone who is clearly insane. This just doesn't make sense.

Would you argue with a madman? Do you take a holiday to Arkham Asylum every autumn to engage the Joker in deep philosophic debate? No? Why?

Because he's crazy. But even more than that, he is incapable of seeing the world through your eyes, and is incapable of reasoning with you. He may very well declare that the sky is green and that all dogs like to climb trees, but it would make no sense whatsoever for you to be incensed by his rambling. If anything, you should feel pity for him... not rage.

The same is true of your coworkers and internet trolls. Feeding rage with rage will only result in bad work relations and flame-wars... not the spread of the gospel.

Remember: never wrestle with a pig... you only get dirty, and the pig learns nothing.

What I Am Not... (Part II)

Looking around Facebook can be a confusing and demoralizing past time. It, more than perhaps any other modern invention, makes us focus on what we aren't and what we do not have. This can go the way of lusting after what we have, or the way of that stuffed shirt Pharisee from Jesus' famous parable. "Dear Lord, I am SOOOOOO thankful I'm not like them." Neither are healthy... and by not healthy, I mean that they are the spiritual and metaphysical equivalent of eating a greasy spoon burger with a pound of cheddar and a slab of bacon on top.

One dude did get the whole "I am not" thing right though. His name was Dave. He was... smart, to be sure. A bit of a boss and a whole lot of righteous indignation. As is usually the case with those who get righteously angry a lot, he failed to get righteously angry with himself as much as he did with others. It only got worse as he got older.

He was pretty much the cream of the crop by the time he was 55, had the whole world in his hands, you could say... and then he made a critical error: he stayed home from work.

Small mistake? Maybe. But if there is one thing that I have learned over the past several years, it is that bad things happen when you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Anyway, he ended up staying home. He ended up chilling on his roof. He ended up ogling some dude's wife while she was taking a bath... and then things pretty much went downhill FAST. There was some hanky-panky, there was some murder and then there was a kid. And only after that did Dave finally figure out that maybe he should have gone to work that day after all.

Sound familiar? Good. King David of Israel? 1000BC-ish? Ruler of most of the Mediterranean at the time? Yeah... that guy.

David, while chosen and beloved of God... had finally pulled the rug out from beneath his feet. He was standing over nothing, and realized how far he was about to fall. Confronted with this, he realized what he was not:

He was not righteous. "There is no one righteous... no not one." We can only fool ourselves for so long. But then, realizing his own inability to pull himself up by his own bootstraps, he fell upon the mercy of the court:

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin! For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me." (Psalm 51: 1-3, AMP)

When you are facing death, spiritual or physical, you reevaluate everything. You realize there are things worth living for... and perhaps the only shot you have at life is admitting how small you are.

"Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful]. Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart." (Verses 4-6)

But this is what we all hate: losing control. We are consumed with our haves and our wants and our lust for power. I am in control... and even if the stupid government is out of control and war is everywhere... at least I can rule my own life and emotions and my crap is my crap and no one elses!

Wrong. You are not. Let it go... breathe.

Breathe, and embrace the "am not"s. 

You aren't in charge... and don't let that be a curse. Let it be a blessing. You don't have to rule the world... you are free. Free to live... and move... and have your being... all while finding your "haves" in the Almighty Creator of every epic story ever told.

What I Am Not...

One of the most problematic problems I have discovered over the past few years is how little the platitude of describing yourself as only a Christian really solves. TL;DNR: \

Skeptic: "Who are you?"
Good Christian Boy: "I am a Christian." 
Skeptic: "What does that mean?"

We need new ways to elaborate and describe ourselves, and often I have found myself describing myself in the negative. Not "oh, I am a horrible person," but more "I am not an X, Y, Z."

I know, I know... the age old piece of advice is that we are to describe things in the positive. Give people solid projections to grasp. But sometimes deduction can be so much more fun.

If I say that I am not "X," then I have successfully narrowed down what I AM. If I say that I am neither "X," "Y," or "Z," you have an even BETTER idea of who I am. Let me give you two examples:

Person A: "I like puppies, rain storms and ice cream."

Person B: "I don't like running, Jane Austen and I have never owned a cat."

Right off the bat, I have a clearer picture of person B. Maybe this is just me, and maybe it's just that I used a bad example... but to me at least this makes sense. And in a world where I am bombarded with information for a good 16 hours a day, it is useful to know what you are not and thereby establish what you are.

I am not a political savant, nor do I hate the military.

I do not hold that the entirety of the Levitical law still applies today.

I do not agree with PETA and their views... even less their advertising.

I do not hold that anyone but God has the ultimate right to end a life.

I do not believe that climate change is bad.

I do not understand Obamacare.

I do not study as often as I should.

I do not leaving my backpack at home.

I am not perfect.

I do not like sinning.

I do not know how to stop of my own accord.

I do not know how to live as I ought to.

I do not always know how to talk to God.

...and then... you are left with a few certainties: the primary one being that falling to your knees in humility is the only way to figure out what is going on.

I am finite. And therein lies the ultimate "I am not...":

I am not God... and now I know where to start.