Conflation

 We are a lazy generation, and getting lazier still. The other day I watched a woman having a full-blown meltdown because the local grocery store didn’t have the tap feature for credit cards, and she had to swipe it instead. I get that it’s exponentially harder to make an up-and-down motion with your beefy fingers than it is to tap a screen, but that’s no excuse for almost bringing the pimply-faced cashier to tears.

We see it everywhere, this crack in our illusion. Everyone seems to be missing a step, from the waitress that doesn’t care that you wanted French fries and not broccoli with your Reuben to the disaffected gas station attendee who can’t be bothered to turn on your pump for a good three minutes while you’re doing the Dixie shuffle and blowing warm air into your cupped hands.

I can live with broccoli over fries or waiting a hot minute for my gas to flow, but what I cannot abide is intellectual laziness. Especially when having to do with theology and the Bible. When I see how sloppy and slothful some people are in presenting the Word and the machinations they perform to make the Word fit their narrative, I get the sinking feeling that the Bible isn’t taken as seriously as it ought, even by self-anointed spiritual leaders.

One of the worst practices I’ve been seeing, especially regarding the last days and our role in them, is the conflation of two different and unique ideas. Without a better explanation, when you conflate something, you take two things and mash them up into one thing. I know that sounded a lot like Kamala Harris’s ‘you have one big country and one little country’ explanation, but sometimes it’s best to keep it simple.

For this writing, the two things frequently conflated in Christian circles are the wrath of God poured out on the ungodly during the time of the tribulation and the persecution of the godly suffered at the hands of the godless. These are two separate and independent things, one from which you are shielded, the other you must endure.

Most people know some, if not all, of Psalm 91 by heart. Few have taken the time to really think about what it’s saying and what level of calamity would need to occur to see a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand. Even so, you are assured by the One who can make it so that no harm will come near you.

You will see with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked, but their punishment is not yours. Why? Because you have made the Lord your dwelling, and as long as you are in Him, no harm can come to you.

This is the hope we have. This is the hope we carry. This is the hope that will see us through the season of persecution that is soon to blanket the earth. When Jesus says all nations will hate us for His name’s sake, He’s not trying to be bombastic or edgy. He is just stating a fact, assuming those who follow after Him are wise enough to prepare their hearts for the eventuality thereof.

This journey has become like an onion, layer upon layer, but we’re getting there, ever so slowly, step by step.

I should have, just for the fun of it, posted in big, bold letters: For the rest of this powerful series, go to my Patreon and access it for only $19.99 per month, or $200 per year!

That is, I’ve found the preferred adjective when Christians try to sell you something. It’s powerful, brother, either that or inspirational, but inspirational is more for the ladies. If you can manage powerful and inspirational, that’s akin to a holy grail, and eventually, you can find yourself quoted on a wood placard in Marshall Goods.

Anyways, you’ve got to get your levity in wherever you can. A joyful heart is, after all, good medicine. No, I don’t have a Patreon, nor do I plan to.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.