I mentioned it a while back, but I’ve felt an almost gravitational calling to faith in the last few months. If you’re not a person of faith or with an interest in or curiosity about faith, this post may not be of much interest to you. I’m also not an expert in the scripture, so this is one BadIdeaGuy’s commentary on an ongoing attempt at understanding the workings of scripture. If you’re looking for actual religious advice, seek a professional. If this is a spiritual emergency, please supplicate yourself and pray…
I have to preface this further by saying that I’m a flawed individual in many ways. I’m a hypocrite because with my childhood church-going I learned a lot of God’s rules of the road and have been very disobedient. I almost think, from a judgement perspective, it’s better to not ever have been taught “the rules” than to know them and rebel against them. This is not to say that you shouldn’t educate your kids, just if happenstance had you not learning and falling it may be worse than being taught what’s right and ignoring it.
For a believer who’s strayed, the Book of Matthew was a good reminder of the story of faith including the Sermon on the Mount. Reading C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity (a discarded book from a local high school library), I found that I could somewhat relate to Lewis’ position (I should look up the quote to do it justice, but I’m paraphrasing) that the Sermon On The Mount is a challenge that’s unachievable. For a while, chewing on that thought, he’s probably right, but at the same time, once you start excusing bad behavior because “nobody’s perfect” you kind of wind up sliding down the slope where our society is, and in many cases where this BadIdeaGuy finds himself.
I guess the more that I read, the more fearful I become. Not only have I allowed some of my choices to go adrift, but I find that we’re surrounded by them. If you look at the seven deadly sins, there’s almost a network gameshow or reality show for each one. That’s the trick, I guess, is how we’ve discussed normative morality and ethics (link), and when you base your morals on what’s gone on around you and not the teachings of Christ, the scale slides in the wrong direction. If I read the scripture correctly, heading off to judgement with “well, I never murdered anyone” as your backstop isn’t going to really cut it.
I do find that the structure of the Bible offers us a blueprint for perfection in the function of the individual and society. It isn’t going to be easy, for those who choose to pursue it. But it is possible, as described in Matthew :
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14.
As I said, the path to destruction is a superhighway to hell, and inertia in our society will lead you there. You can’t live life for others, but you can try to be a waypoint for others.
Right now for me it’s easier to call it being an “upright” man than “righteous”. Maybe that’s another intended consequence of modern society, that words like “righteous” have been tagged with connotations (see also “evangelism”). But really it is righteousness that I’m getting at.
One blog post cannot cover the rules of the road, but the ten commandments are a good starting point. When you think of SHTF scenarios that could crop up, what set of rules could FEMA provide you with that would work better than those God gave to Moses and the Israelites?
So when one looks at the Sermon On The Mount, you must realize it’s not the root of the word insurmountable. When you pray at night, it’s also worth reflecting on the things that don’t reconcile with the teachings of faith that you’ve done during the day. If you do this, be prepared to make good on the things you realize that aren’t good. I believe this type of self-awareness via reflection will help continuous improvement, and help prevent future fallen behavior.
Think of it this way: I had a halfway-serious pact with my roomates in college that if anything ever happened to me, they’d destroy or remove the pornography from a designated drawer before my parents got there. While I utilize the anecdote in jest, pornography is incredibly destructive. But using the same line of thought, if judgement comes for you, you’re not likely to have time to sweep a life of sin under the rug successfully, and your friends can’t do it for you. If you haven’t even been trying, you are out of luck.
My brain also contains an alternate theory on heaven and hell. I believe that you can create hell on Earth for yourself through your actions. If you’ve ever gotten backed into a corner because of bad behavior, you know the feeling I’m talking about.
I challenge you to read (especially the red lettered words if you have that type of Bible) the Bible for yourself. I may write more about this but I can’t take the place of the teachings you’ll find there.
If the SHT proverbial Fan and lawlessness is rampant, I believe that for your corner of the world, the teachings of Jesus Christ are a solid blueprint for how groups should behave. Then we can call it “righteous” behavior. I found recently that Survivalblog had an interesting piece on self defense as Christians (link), but (and I’m sure Mr. Rawles and his guest-poster Tim D. fully understand this) self defense isn’t the only blueprint that we have been given. If you’re like me and intend to pioneer the rebuilding of some society sometime after SHTF Day +1, you need rules, and the legal code of the United States is a lot heavier than a Bible, and more cumbersome too!
All of this is dealt with in scripture, and that’s what I’m finally coming around to. It’s all laid out, it doesn’t need transcription to 2009, and it works when you try it. I may continue this as a series discussing the rules of the road, but in any case, you should keep a copy of the Bible in your kit (if not on your bedside table), because maybe if you don’t believe now, you may have a revelation after SHTF events unfold.
It’s hard not to believe that God isn’t trying to get people’s attention. As I mentioned, man’s sinful nature seems to have the bully pulpit in our society. But believers can have a reality show of their own in this day and age. The challenge: you have destructive and sinful obstacles to living a righteous life all around you (and this is, of course, not particular to our age), but you have to make it through the narrow gate to get the ultimate prize. And for once, there’s a negative outcome other than not getting the prize for those who don’t make it through.
I’d ask that my readers who are of faith pray for this individual to travel in the righteous direction and in turn I’ll offer a shotgun prayer that you all find the righteous path and stick to it.