Illogical

 Whether for good or ill, human nature is consistent. We can try to tell ourselves that man has changed over the centuries, that he has become more sensitive, emotional, inclusive, or accepting, but most of the time, sooner or later, that narrative falls apart faster than a cheap plastic chair at an overeater’s anonymous soiree. The mask stays on well enough as long as everything’s going your way, there is no opposition, and you can do as you please without consequence. Once there’s pushback, once smooth sailing becomes stormy seas, all talk of coexisting goes out the window.

By the by, can you be an overeater and anonymous? I guess when you’re first getting started, it’s possible, but a few years in, I think the whole anonymity angle is a non-starter.

Most people today just want to hear an echo of their own opinion spouted back to them. Anything requiring rational thought, or heavens forbid, a contrarian opinion, is enough to tear the fabric of their reality asunder and render them intellectually incontinent.

Since either the church influences the world or the world influences the church, and the only thing we’ve been influencing lately is each other to lukewarmness, our reactions to biblical truth have become less controlled and more vitriolic.

It takes a special kind of person to relish the thought of you in Gehenna because you disagree with them on the timing of Christ’s return. Usually preceded by a ‘you’ll see,’ I am then informed that they will be as Lazarus to my rich man, failing to dip a finger in water to help ease my suffering.

I mean, not for nothing, but for folks who boast about loving their enemies, you treat people who are supposed to be members of your body kind of crummy if you’re willing to sentence them to hell for disagreeing on a tertiary issue. Could you imagine if people really had the authority to send people to Sheol? That’d be entertainment worth popping corn for.

This train of thought came about due to a recent conversation with a friend. We were talking about prophecy, future outlook, and how certain things that were foretold a generation ago are beginning to take shape before our eyes, and being the innocent naïve he is, he said, “Maybe people will start to listen given that what you guys said would happen is starting to happen. Maybe they’ll finally wake up.”

I smiled a sad smile and shook my head. “No, they won’t,” I said. “Most people have made up their minds that they’re not seeing what they’re seeing, their lying eyes have deceived them, and their death grip on their opinion just gets stronger.”

I didn’t say this to be mean or to insinuate that this generation is more stiff-necked than their predecessors; I just went by precedent. People become illogical when their preconceived notions are challenged. They will twist themselves into pretzels, accuse the messenger of being a liar, and justify their reluctance to themselves, all so they can keep believing what they wanted to believe in the first place.

Jerusalem had been sacked, the people slaughtered, and those that remained were led into captivity and taken to Babylon. The king had been taken in chains and presented before the Babylonian authority, his sons killed along with his generals, and the few that remained in Jerusalem saw all of this play out. It happened precisely as Jeremiah had prophesied it would for forty years. No one believed him until it was too late because they reasoned that Jerusalem was too strong, too powerful, too well-guarded to fall. The Lord spoke, and they did not listen and, as such, witnessed the fulfillment of the words Jeremiah had spoken to them for decades on end.

They would ask Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord, and Jeremiah would inquire of the Lord, deliver the message the Lord had given, only to be summarily mocked and rejected, and asked to inquire of the Lord anew. We’ll keep asking until we get the answer we want. Like a prophetic eight ball that you shake if you don’t like what it’s saying to you.

One would think they’d learned their lesson. One would think that after seeing the fulfillment of what had been prophesied, going forward, they would heed the warnings of the man of God without delay or compunction. They would have if Jeremiah had given them the answer they were seeking, but alas, their ways were not God’s ways, and their thoughts were not His thoughts.

I would encourage you to read the forty-second and forty-third chapters of Jeremiah to understand the duplicity of men’s hearts, but in case you haven’t the time, it went pretty much like this:

“Ask the Lord what we should do, and we’ll do it! A handful of us are left, but we’re ready to listen and obey.”

“I can do that. I will keep nothing back and declare to you everything the Lord says.”

“Sweet! We owe you thanks, and this time we promise we’ll do everything the Lord says to do. Keep us updated.”

“The Lord says stay where you are.”

“But we think we should go to Egypt.”

“If you don’t stay where you are, the Lord says you all will die by famine, the sword, and pestilence.”

“You lie! God didn’t say any of that stuff. We’re going to Egypt!”

God doesn’t stutter, He doesn’t lose His train of thought, nor does He needlessly threaten anyone. Once He has spoken, it’s on the individual or individuals in question to obey the voice of the Lord or disregard it.

Obey, and I will build you up and plant you. Disobey, and I will tear you down and pluck you out of your habitation. The people made their choice, and God kept his word. Their destruction was the consequence of their disobedience, and no positive vibes or good feelings shielded them from the wrath of God.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.