Spin Room
Politics has brought to us the "spin room" with the "spinmeisters." Fairness is out the window. Truth is on vacation.
If you know the channel or newspaper and the commentator or editor, then you know what is going to be said before it is said. You know political position. You know which candidate. And you know that the candidate not favored is a LOSER.
Candidates make speeches. No matter what they say their advocates say their candidate won.
Proverbs 18:17a notes that when you first hear a matter it seems right. Many times I have sat in a courtroom and listened to a person present their case. More than once I have turned to the person beside me and said: "Well, this case does not need a judge. It is so clear I could make the ruling."
Time would pass and Part B of 18:17 comes to pass. The other party takes the witness stand. Before long I am saying: "Well, well, how interesting. I thought the first person was right. Now I am convinced the second person is right. I sure do feel sorry for the judge." Part B observes the wisdom of listening to both sides before making a decision.
Departing from politics, let us note that spinmeisters have their day. They may sound good. May even be paid for their opinionizing, which they call professionalism.
But whoever gets to be President of the United States soon learns that 300 million of the world's richest people are pretty selfish. We know sin at its best. We are in-grown. We love ourselves better than anyone else, think we are the smartest, most brave, most creative, and most deserving. Presidents soon learn there is a Congress. They learn there are newspapers that love negative stories. They learn that no news sells or travels faster than bad news.
Can we move along from the politics? How about the Church? We need to observe there are a lot of folks telling their side of the story about church these days. They sit on the witness stand with pomp and pomposity arguing their freedoms, their rights, and their entitlement. They make it sound so good, but there is a problem: their story is one-sided.
The problem is that when God is called to the witness stand His version does not agree with the first witness. God is not myopic in vision. He is not limited in knowledge by the school of thought of a certain university. He can not be restricted to the hands of a clock or the culture of an era. He is timeless. Eternal. His wisdom rules the ages...endless ages.
When He speaks it is not about the peculiar and self-satisfying circumstances of an individual. When God speaks He does not take the case produced by sin and try to justify wrong deeds and motives because some one thing good happened. When God speaks He speaks the Truth of the ages. He goes back to the beginning. To the Triune God. To holiness. To Truth. He makes judgments by Truth without time restraints. He does not rule based on personalities, but He rules based upon Truth unchanged from eternity to eternity.
The devil is wanting folks these days to live off of spinroom talk. The enemy of our souls is wanting us to "toss in the towel," declare our rights, platitude the gospels, insist that every man has the divine right to choose the god of his choice and the path of his pleasing, and de-throne Jesus. In effect, man is elevated. Jesus is demoted.
One day the spinrooms will fall silent. One day King Jesus will judge. One day only Truth will stand. Be sure, My Friend, to listen to Jesus' side. Be sure to make sure that Jesus rules in your heart. Do not be taken in by cheap talk. Do not be weakened by the temptations of the first argument that comforts you in the lowness of sin.
More and more I hear folks say: "I would rather be watching Andy Griffith or Three Stooges cartoons than TV politics. Can we go one step further? "I would rather be spending time with Jesus."
Keep your heart pure. Your mind clean. Your eyes fixed on the Coming of Jesus.
Much love
Pastor Bare
Proverbs 17:18 "The first to present his case seems right, but when the second witness presents his case, he reveals the truth."