We Won't Get Fooled Again?

[Steven Budlong]

Dear Way Corps,I remember Dr. Wierwille saying that the two most evil things in life are religion and politics. And in my life I have seen this statement play out over and over again. I have seen it play out in all sorts of places. One place where I did not expect to find it on first glance was in the workplace, right? Haven’t you heard that the workplace is not the place for religion and politics? I have, but its all there. See, religion and politics are strange bedfellows, and we would be fools to think they don’t travel together everywhere.There are only a handful of institutions that genuinely respect the right of the individual to exercise free will within the bounds of decency and with respect to others. Most institutions have an agenda. It may be subtle, but it is there and you pick up on it. Say you start a new job. You enter a new work environment and you immediately fall into the culture of the place; what’s okay, what’s not okay, who do you please and what are the rules. Hopefully by the end of the day you have a sense of what is going on and you may think, “Gee, I am so glad to be working here,” or “Hey, this is not what I signed up for!” If you find yourself thinking the latter you will need to do a quick analysis and decide if you should stay or leave. Often we stay because we need the money or we have no other options or we are too proud to admit a mistake or we rationalize something silly and say, “This will be great for my resume!” Resume, what resume? You’re kidding, right? This is your life we are talking about, not a piece of paper. A resume is a piece of paper that lists your talents, achievements, education and so on. At best it is bait for a job interview or a conversation starter when that time comes. I have read plenty of resumes in my lifetime and I have learned to read between the lines and see the spin, the lies and the false credit that is so often shamelessly swiped from others. And there the candidate sits with a smirk assuring himself and myself that all of these accomplishments were his and his alone. But I digress…So before you surrender your soul to an institution ask yourself if the personal cost to you is worth it. That is something only you can decide. Sometimes the adventure is worth a very steep cost and sometimes it is not.So how would God have us really run things in this land of the free and this home of the brave, in our schools, offices and shops? The question might be asked, “How does He govern?” And the answer might be found in The Word:But Jesus called them [unto him], and said; ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:25-28)So here we see two forms of government. The first is man’s, which exercises dominion and authority over others. It is not unlike what Adam had when God gave him dominion and authority over all the living creatures on planet earth. But Adam transferred his God given rights over to Satan, didn’t he? And what does Satan do with dominion and authority? Well, what does any really good Lord of Darkness do, he exercises them as it pleases him. And he uses them for his own gain, his own ends, his own pleasure and he keeps mankind bound to the whipping post flogging him and saying, “you really like that, don’t you?” And after a while he gets numb to the beatings and considers that the Looney Lord of Darkness really does have it right, he really is trying to help by beating some kind of sense into him, teaching him a lesson or two. And he identifies with his tormentor and not with Christ. That is called The Stockholm Syndrome, which quite simply describes the behavior of kidnap victims who, over time, become sympathetic to their captors. We get the name from a 1973, hostage incident in Stockholm, Sweden. At the end of six days of captivity in a bank, several kidnap victims actually resisted rescue attempts, and then refused to testify against their captors. Sound familiar?In religion you see this too. I call it the subtle abuse of spiritual power. It is when a leader begins to manipulate the follower. It is when there is an agenda other than Christ. It is when a good thing becomes a cult. But what is a cult you ask? Well, here are my observations. You have a cult…When research begins with the answersWhen an individual is elevated above the doctrineWhen the propagation of an organization is more important than the needs of its peopleWhen the sacrifice of one can be justified for the good of the manyWhen the student cannot question the teacherWhen the follower cannot question the leaderWhen individuals cannot challenge rulesWhen people are obstructed from seeking outside counsel or a second opinionWhen one person’s tastes are imposed on othersWhen fear has replaced loveAnd when you are violatedAnd the list goes on and on. We have seen it all, haven’t we?Since I am blogging and since I am on the subject of spiritual abuse, you have to watch this. This is a link my sister sent me. Funny, sad or frightening? You decide. Then come back and finish this with me, okay?http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_soup/b29938_more_soups_on_what_hath_god_wrought.htmlNow for the refreshing part. What is God’s take on governing? It is simply selfless service, preferring one another in love. It is dying to your self that you might live unto him. Throughout the gospels Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as nothing less than a government operating by freewill offerings, voluntary and loving participation and the perfect law of liberty. Jesus practiced and preached self-government. His was a powerful and non-violent movement of the people, by the people, and for the people. He changed history by changing the relationship of man over man to God over man, with himself as the mediator. Much of what our country was built upon comes from the scriptures; we know that, we were taught that. Rejoice in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free and don’t be entangled again… don’t be deceived… get up, get out and do something for Him. Yeah, the one who is going to enhance your liberty, not subject it to the will of men. Remember, when you are serving men, you can’t always be sure whom or what they are servants to. You might want to be careful about that.Yours In Christ,Steven C. BudlongOops, one more thing! Lets end this with the words and lyrics of The Who, lets all power down our computers while singing “We Won’t Get Fooled Again!” You with me on this? Great song, no?We'll be fighting in the streetsWith our children at our feetAnd the morals that they worship will be goneAnd the men who spurred us onSit in judgment of all wrongThey decide and the shotgun sings the songI'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all around mePick up my guitar and playJust like yesterdayThen I'll get on my knees and prayWe don't get fooled againThe change, it had to comeWe knew it all alongWe were liberated from the foe, that' allAnd the world looks just the sameAnd history ain't changed'Cause the banners, they all flown in the next warI'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all around mePick up my guitar and playJust like yesterdayThen I'll get on my knees and prayWe don't get fooled againNo, no!I'll move myself and my family asideIf we happen to be left half aliveI'll get all my papers and smile at the skyFor I know that the hypnotized never lieDo ya?YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!There's nothing in the streetLooks any different to meAnd the slogans are replaced, by-the-byeAnd the parking on the leftIs now the parking on the rightAnd the beards have all grown longer overnightI'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all around mePick up my guitar and playJust like yesterdayThen I'll get on my knees and prayWe don't get fooled againDon't get fooled againNo, no!YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!Meet the new bossSame as the old bossCopyright 2008 Sojourner Media, LLC

[Dan Haas]

Steven, I really, really enjoyed reading your thoughts on this blog... I didn't go to the link, as my online time is short today, but I'll return and take a look.

The true Word is a living word; it comes out of union with God, whether it manifests itself in understanding (say, when we are reading the Bible) or if it comes out of us, as your words came out of you when you wrote this.

When the Lord gave his life, he showed what leadership is; he showed what love is. No wonder he has been given the honor and the glory that he has! It does my heart good to see leaders like yourself, doing what he said, and as he did.

[Steven Budlong]

And Bob,

I appreciate the preaching. There is nothing like the cool breeze of inspired God centered messages, and yours has put a spring in my step! Thank you.

Steve

[Bob Martin]

God bless you Steven!

Was reminded of Mark 8:15...
And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

The refreshing part is the leaven of the Kingdom...

John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

When Jesus was praying in the garden and inquiring of the Father if there were any other way to accomplish His will, he had to make a choice...
We have a similar though not nearly as intense choice to make...

If Jesus Christ had not given himself to be crucified then we could never have been "crucified with him." We would still be bound to our old man and to sin.

Gal 2:20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We have the choice of either continuing to walk by the old man, the flesh, or to lay down that life and walk by the spirit doing the Father's will...
It can be a tough decision if we deem any of our own natural abilities more valuable than the new creation of God in Christ in us...

Don't mean to preach, but I do appreciate your blogs...
They stir up Godly thoughts...

Thanks,

:) Bob