Social and Spiritual: Rebellion

         The sound of the airplane motor died, fading away into the jungle’s orchestrational dissonance. The silence felt heavy on their ears, merely adding to the dankness of the humid air, sweat, and heavy hearts. This small band of men was so prepared, but, in the back of each mind, under each sweaty chest, lay uncertainty—what were they prepared for? Jim Elliot beckoned to one of his fellows, “Nate, come here,” his voice dropped lower as the pilot approached him, “I see them. This is wonderful, Nate! Don’t you understand?”

       “Of course I do, Jim. It’s what we’ve been working towards for months,” replied Nate Saint, “Maybe the chief is with them,” he guessed excitedly.

       “Ok, boys,” Jim addressed the rest of the excited group, “This is an opportunity to share the Truth with men who are familiar with nothing but lawlessness. Remember, glorify Him!” A murmur of agreement met his ears, and, with that, Jim and his four companions stepped from the trees to speak with the ten rugged Auca warriors standing on the sand bar.

        It was January eighth, 1956, and Jim Elliot and his friends would be dead within minutes, killed by lawless men. The law was broken, and their blood was witness to the horrors of man’s rebellion against God and society.

The multi-faceted rebelliousness of men is directed towards God through contempt for society’s laws.

Although it may seem unrelated, men intravenously rebel against God through disobedience of the law. First, men twist the law to their own advantage; secondly, they determine right and wrong by emotions; and, lastly, they fight against it, in a blatantly hateful manner.

Men are conniving creatures, who, in their rebellious state, twist the law to their own personal gain. This is perhaps one of the most subtle ways in which men can disobey society, since it is not shameless, open rebellion. Consequently, we, as sinners, use this guise as an excuse. John Locke tore away all pretense, etching a limn in his book, The Second Treatise on Civil Government: “For though the law of nature be plain and intelligible to all rational creatures, yet men, being biased by their interest, as well as ignorant for want of studying of it, are not apt to allow of it as a law binding to them in the application of it to their particular cases.”¹ In other words, Locke points out that, humans, in either a purposefully wicked manner or in ignorance, side-step or keep the moral law, as is timely and convenient. A perfect example of this twisted way, is David’s actions pertaining to Bathsheba. “It happened, late one afternoon when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.”² Instead of resisting what was wrong, David took things a step further by finding out the name of this woman. Even when he was informed that she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, he decided to side-step the rules…just this one time. After, David received news that Bathsheba was pregnant with his child, he was desperate to cover up his wrong doing. At first, he tried to compel Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba, in order to eradicate suspicion, but, after that failed, he side-stepped the moral law…again. This time, David had Uriah brutally exterminated during a battle, making Bathsheba his own. “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”³ No matter how smoothly and craftily David camouflaged his malfeasance; he had sinned against the Lord and against the law of the land. If anyone had discovered David and Bathsheba’s adultery, the law would have demanded their deaths. “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So, you shall purge evil from Israel.”⁴ The laws of society and God are never to be side-stepped or twisted, even when convenient.

In their flimsy emotional estate, humans will not only plot to over step the bounds of the law, but they will also impulsively judge right and wrong according to their angry passions. This side of humanity is dangerous, for when anger takes hold of us, we, sinners, lose the rationality which God granted to us. Even the most just men in Scripture became lawless when consumed with anger--“Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.”⁵ My reader, does this action sound premeditated or wise? No, it was an outburst of unrighteous anger against the people of Israel, and this Moses “was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth”⁶. Eventually, this same anger caused Moses to sin so grievously that God punished him by barring his entrance into Canaan. During the golden age of Israel, Joab, David’s general, brutally murdered a rival, Abner,“[striking] him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel, [Joab’s] brother.”⁷ In this case, Joab took the law into his own hands, dealing out punishment, according to his sinful anger against Abner, who, for all intents and purposes, was innocent. For further illustration, the writer of Song of Solomon eloquently expresses the strength of human emotions: “…for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”⁸ Indeed, humans are impulsive, and being“partial to themselves, passion and revenge is very apt to carry them too far, and with too much heat in their own cases”.⁹

Lastly, men openly oppose the law, authorities, and those who refuse to take part in rebellion. Although blatant, this vein of resistance comes in both physical violence and verbal opposition. The latter brings to mind Miriam and Aaron’s opposition of Moses, demanding why they were not equally qualified to speak to God, as Moses did; “such resistance many times, makes the punishment dangerous, and frequently destructive to those who attempt it.”¹⁰True enough, if Moses had become angry and taken matters into his own hands, he surely would have failed in his attempts—God was the only one who would or could do the right thing. “‘Here my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself know to him in a vision…Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.’”¹¹ After the Lord firmly rebuked Miriam and Aaron, his presence lifted, and Miriam was struck by leprosy “as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away”.¹² Such an event proves that men should not challenge the authority God has appointed. The life of David presents a couple more examples: first, the rebellion of Absalom, secondly, the murder of Ish-bosheth. During a peaceful lull in David’s reign, one of his sons, Absalom, a young man, in whose charisma the people deliciated, decided that he wanted take the throne. After months of fighting and civil war, David’s general killed Absalom, and gave him a dishonorable burial. Years previously, several men tried to win David’s approval by killing the son of his rival. During Ish-bosheth’s (the son) noon-day nap, the men stole into his apartments and brutally murdered him, taking his head to David as proof of their deed. David, instead of rejoicing in their lawlessness, punished them accordingly, justly. Truly, this is the most blatant form of rebellion against state, God, and others, punished by those who have a true sense of justice.

Yet, there is a question that arises in the minds of disenters: since the moral law and the laws of society are not one, how does a rebel disobey God when he disobeys society? The answer is simple, and painted for us clearly in Scripture. Jesus clearly states that we are to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s , and to God the things that are God’s.”¹³ Here, Jesus defines that there is separation of church and state, but, He, as God’s Son, commands that we obey the ruling authorities. His word is law, morphing our disobedient actions against “Caesar” into direct disobedience of his word. In addition to this, Paul encourages believers to “do what is good, and you will receive [the authority’s] approval…not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience”, enforcing this command with a qualifier—“for he is God’s servant for your good”.¹⁴Without a doubt, God has made it clear that if one disobeys the laws of society, they break his holy law.

Men intravenously rebel against God by disregarding the laws of society using various techniques: men use the law to their own advantage; secondly, men follow their own anger instead of the law; and, lastly, they fight against it, using violence against those who would stop them. Dear reader, although we may shake our heads, proclaiming in our innocence inwardly, we need to stop and take a closer look at our actions. What do we owe our fellow men? We are commanded to give them love and respect… friends, siblings, parents, teachers, pastors; all those placed in our lives with a purpose. Do we perfectly show them the love which God has shown us? Do we never complain about taxes or side-step the traffic law because “we’re in a hurry”? As humans we tend to minimize our own shortcomings, but never stop and realize that those so-called mistakes, mishaps, one-timers, and white lies sent God’s Son to the cross to die for us. “God sent forth his Son, born if woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”¹⁵ Therefore, obey the law, as he did, obedient unto death, truly glorifying God by truly serving others.

1. Locke, The Second Treatise on Civil Government, pp 70, paragraph 124

2. 2 Samuel 11:2

3. 2 Samuel 11: 27b

4. Deuteronomy 22:22

5. Exodus 32:19

6. Exodus 12:3

7. 2 Samuel 3:27b

8. Song of Solomon 8:6

9. Locke, The Second Treatise on Civil Government, pp 70, paragraph 125

10. Locke, The Second Treatise on Civil Government, pp 70, paragraph 126

11. Exodus 12:6

12. Exodus 12: 12

13. Matthew 22:21

14. Romans 13:3-5

15. Romans 4:4



The Oxymoron of Pain

We don't like to talk or think about hard times. It does not matter the term, "hard times" may include, we just don't like discussing. Why? It seems that people would want to discuss their problems, ask for advice, and receive comfort and honest input.  Although the previous scenario is seemingly logical, one must dissect the content of these “hard times”: depression, financial trouble, physical or mental illness. Some troubles in life are like nicks and scratches, but damage of this caliber is like a bullet to the back. Think about it this way: would a seriously wounded man want to tell his doctor about the entire detailed sequence of his shooting? No, instead he would want to be cared for, not be badgered by an inquisitive physician. During these scenarios, when people are shot down by hard times, they are vulnerable. Hurting, they don’t even know how to move on, or if they even want to move on. Unfortunately, the people who love these wounded, want to help, they want to heal. Often, they don’t comprehend the suffering, so, like a hasty nurse, they handle the wound too roughly, and the patient flinches, afraid to trust. People attempt to be comforting, all the while, saying things like “It’s ok”, “Don’t worry”, “It’s not a big deal”, “Cheer up! You don’t need to be sad”. They mean well, but it feels mean.

                Once, a friend jokingly informed me that people think about the person or thing which they hold dearest in the split second before their death. I laughed at the time, but the more I thought about the statement, its credibility grew. We all know that when things get tough, we fall back on those things which we hold dear (i.e. family, close friends, religion).  Why wouldn’t we think about the dearest thing when the most horrible event occurs? All to say, this is our opportunity to help those who are hurting. They are in a painfully vulnerable; therefore sensitivity is required. (Openness and trust come slowly, and cannot be forced.)  Inquiry and analyzing is hurtful, but a smile, a hand to hold, and an encouraging word are needed. Emily Dickinson said it best: “Saying nothing...sometimes says the most.” The easiest circumstances to encourage are in times of mutual hurt—often times one person opening up and discussing their pain, creates a comfortable environment for trust.  Proffer your own information, asking for advice and help, breaking down any walls of pride or hostility. People are proud; often afraid of what other people will say if they share their “dark” secrets, because, in their wounded state, they feel that no one could possibly be as sad, sinful, or hurt.  “No one could ever be in this place.” “No one will understand.” The list goes on, while these emotional walls create complications.

                Sophocles once remarked, “There is no success without hardship.” This leads us to my point: the oxymoron of pain. I mean, in short, that pain (and hardship) is avoided, dreaded, and shied away from. Although we should not make foolish decisions or purposefully cause pain to others, pain and suffering should be embraced. It is the foundation of our lives, it teaches us how to live and love. It gives us a new perspective for life, a new hunger for beauty, and a golden sense of wisdom. Throughout hardship, it will be apparent what and who are truly important, who will stick, and who (even when anxiety, poverty, and sickness sets in) is cheerful. This, my dear reader, is the oxymoron of pain: a path of hurt that leads to joy.