Thursday, November 24, 2022

Weaponize

 Hey, Cobblestone,

The plan was for me to be writing the third installment of the “Faith Does” series. I can’t pull it off today. Sorry. I was supposed to be telling you about the next great thing Cobblestone would be doing to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep (ourselves) unstained from the world (James 1:27), but my cynical streak has the upper hand at the moment, so I’d better leave off the topic and deal with this enemy within.

As of this writing, it’s the early morning of Thanksgiving Day. Three of my younger grandchildren are asleep elsewhere in the house; the sun is dispelling the dark of night; and I’ve just had two cups of the best coffee on the planet. Who could possibly be cynical in circumstances like these? (A visual for you: my hand is slowly rising.) As often as I battle cynicism – which is to say, a lot – this is a tougher fight than usual.

Time to call out the big guns. Cynicism has a chink in its armor, and one weapon hits it every time. Before I give up the secret, I’m going to take a wild guess and say I’m not the only one among us who maintains a low simmer of cynicism, living life waiting for the other shoe to drop. From what I’ve seen, it’s not uncommon for cynicism to pick up a few allies – intellect, vocabulary, an overly ambitious newsfeed, maybe some achy joints – in its efforts to cast a pall over any given day. Maybe I’m only writing to three people this morning, but hey, if you’re one of the three, here’s what I got for ya: Gratitude.

I’m urging you to weaponize gratitude. Use it to push back the onslaught of cynicism. Cynicism doesn’t fight fair; don’t bring a fair fight. Hit it where it hurts and kick it while it’s down. Your big gun comes out of 1John 4:1-4…
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Greater. Infinitely greater. Whole other league. No possible comparison. The Spirit of God, in you – greater than he who is in the world. Maybe you were expecting me to launch into a quaint, Norman Rockwell-ian list of things to be grateful for. Nope – going nuclear, right from the get-go.

The apostle goes on to say… In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1John 4:10). The Spirit of God is in us because Jesus made a way for him to be in us, and he is the one by whom we know how to navigate this cynical, screw-loose world. No weapon formed against us shall prosper, because the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world – like atom bomb versus BB gun.

Gratitude, properly directly directed, goes to the Father before it goes anywhere else. His love is the starting point for anything we may be grateful for. Gratitude attached to circumstances will run out of ammo real quick. Gratitude rooted in the love of God is inexhaustible. That’s the stockpile I choose to draw from in this moment – and to be perfectly honest, I can’t type as fast as cynicism is retreating right now.

Put it on the run, Church. No need to apologize. The love of God makes this day and every day bigger and brighter than circumstances, on their own, will indicate. Greater is he. The skirmishes with cynicism will come and go, but now you know the one thing that always wins the firefight. Can’t say I didn’t tell you. I’ll get back on track next week with the “Faith Does” series – meanwhile: lock and load.

And if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go take a place at the breakfast table with some truly adorable little humans.

Grace and Peace (for the good fight),

John

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