Ideology, Fact, Truth and Freedom

An ideology is the specific collection of a body of men's ideas, that are connected. Ideas come from the human mind. An ideology usually develops within a group and becomes the central core of its beliefs. In our country, we can look at the 'isms' to see examples. Liberalism, republicanism, nationalism,  and conservatism are examples in the political field. In the religious field we have, denominationalism, non-denominationalism, taoism, buddhism, catholicism, trinitarianism, unitarianism, and protestantism to name a few. Each of these examples have a body of ideas built around a common ideological belief system.

Facts can be subjected to and manipulated by ideology using the tools of context and time. Here is an example. Let's say January has been a warmer month than usual. That could be a fact if you live at the equator, Miami beach or even in Chicago (not this year). Someone who believes that the globe is heating up might use these facts to support a theory on global warming (whether right or wrong). Facts can change; so can theories about facts.

Absolute truth does not change. It is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

The truth about Jesus Christ never changes since God first spoke about him as the promised seed in Genesis 3:15. He is the mediator today between God and man (I Timothy 2:5) In Revelations 19, he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.   

So, 'What is truth?' This is a question that has been asked throughout the ages. Jesus said that 'we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.'(John 8:32) Truth is the antidote to worry, fear, bondage, compulsion, oppression, depression, insecurity, loneliness and every other negative the world has to offer. It is the only thing that really works and continues to work when it is believed.  Big negatives started plaguing humanity when the first man and woman doubted the warning of God to not partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. All the remedies man has come up with to get lasting peace fails. Drugs, alcohol, man-constructed religion, entertainment, money and yes, ideologies all fall short, very short of what God's infinite love and wisdom has given us.
God has provided so much to man to see the truth. The natural world that God created, formed and made teaches us about the truth (Genesis 1:20). The word of God is truth. Jesus Christ lived the truth. He is the way, the truth and the life. The spirit of God at work in the hearts and lives of those who have seen the truth and the gift of holy spirit and it's enablements confirm the truth.

My belief that God exists does not come from an 'ism' or man's ideas about God.  God is the source of all truth. When I started seeing that, freedom started to become a reality for me and I am still growing in that freedom. Absolute freedom comes from God. Until the entire human world understands this, the negative things of this world will not change. Individuals gain the freedom Jesus talked about as they develop a relationship with God. Romans 10:9-10 says it so simply:

⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Marriage and Family Life -It's Complicated - David

David was a great man. As he rose up to help deliver Israel from its enemies, he gained in stature.  At the same time, his family expanded and so did the complications. From the Old Testament, we know that David had more than 8 wives, more than 20 children.  As I read on in II Samuel, the rivalries and pressure seem to come more and more from the family.

I am reminded of the disfunction in Jacob's family. Polygamy causes problems and was not part of God's original creation. It was initiated into culture by one of Cain's offspring. It became part of the culture in succeeding generations. It was part of the culture at David's time. Polygamy was not in God's design when he put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Whenever something isn't the best in a given situation, it gets 'complicated' carrying with it burdens and pressures.

God placed Adam in the garden to work and enjoy. He made Eve to be a 'help meet' as a strong support, under-girder and companion. The marriage relationship is a unique godly arrangement. God made men and women to be different, yet equal.

'Different, yet equal' is a big deal.  It is not 'same and equal'; it is not 'different and unequal'.  In the feminist movement we see a blurring of 'different and same' and the other side of that is the blurring of 'equal and unequal'. In addition to this, every individual, male or female, has distinct traits, abilities and upbringing. The bottom line for all relationships is love and respect if it is going to be a genuine relationship.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:33

We should certainly not let the confusion of the world determine our definitions of love or respect. Hollywood or even Hallmark movies should not be defining love for us. God is the author of love. Respect or reverence is for the person. We should be respectful to one another in all our dealings.  This does not include respect for beliefs and ideologies if we disagree. Every person has a right to believe whatever they want to believe, but no one has a right to force us to believe what we don't think is right. This goes for marriage relationships and adult family relationships. In fact it is the standard for all adult relationships.

If verse 33 in Ephesians 5:33 is to be the standard for marriage, polygamy would obviously put a strain on a marriage.  Raising 20 kids with 8 different mothers would definitely be tough. God made things so simple because he loves us. Man has complicated things throughout the ages with his own inventions and excuses.

Nathan the prophet

The word 'prophet' congers up many images to the modern mind.  Many years ago, I used to think of a prophet as the guy with a beard standing on the corner yelling "Repent!" Haven't seen one of those guys in a while and my understanding of the ministry of a prophet has changed quite a bit.

Many people think that a prophet only foresees the future. A prophet speaks for God (present past or future). His job is to speak what God wants spoken to his people and warn people as to the consequences of their actions. An example is found in I Samuel 20. The people had rejected God and asked for a king.  Samuel was charged by God to listen to them and 'protest solemnly' (warn) by telling them the down side of of having a king rule over them. God wanted Samuel to listen first then warn them.

In my trek through the Old Testament I have gotten to know several prophets.  The first use of the word prophet comes in Genesis 20 referring to Abraham and it is an interesting story for it first use. Key words in that record are prayer, restoration, and healing (this is the first use of the word 'healing').  Abraham got into a serious situation because of fear. Prophets are not perfect. It is an interesting study to read.

During David's reign, Nathan, the prophet, appeared on the scene. The name 'Nathan' means 'a gift of God'.  Prophets are truly a gift in that they relate the truth from God's heart. It is a loving ministry which genuinely looks after God's people by listening to God.

In II Samuel 7 we read that David wanted  to build a house for God and at first Nathan told him to do what was on his heart.  As it turns out Nathan was speaking from his own thinking. That same day, God told Nathan to tell David that he would not be building the temple. Nathan went back to David and related God's words to him. It was God who would make this decision and it was David's son Solomon who built the house.

Nathan appears next in the famous record of David and Bathsheba. David had inappropriately exerted his power over a married woman and further complicated the matter in trying to solve his indiscretion by having her husband sent to the front lines of a battle where he was killed. Nathan was sent by God to confront David. He didn't yell at him to "repent". He told him a story about a single lamb belonging to a traveler that was slaughtered by a wealthy livestock owner to illustrate God's heart on the matter and David woke up as to what he had done. David recognized his own untoward actions and repented. Psalm 51 shows his heart in his recognizing his sin and that of going to God for help to heal him and restore him:

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51

David eventually married Bathsheba and they had more children, two of which appear in the genealogies  in Matthew and Luke.  Bathsheba (as wife of Urias) herself, is listed in the Matthew genealogy (one of four women listed) and is part of the Christ line genealogy.

Nathan appears again at the death of David to help protect Bathsheba and her children and to make sure the right descendant of David inherited the throne.

Prophets don't have X-Ray vision, they have God vision. Nathan didn't read David's mind as he was trying to clear up his mess and making more of a mess. At that point, maybe David would not have listened. He went to David to get him to see what he had done. Prophets don't see right through you. They hear from God and then act. It is a very loving ministry because what's right comes from God's heart.

The Lesson of Kudzu

When I went to visit my parents in South Carolina, I noticed a strange vine growing up and over the tops of trees, houses, fences and anything else it could grow on top of. My Dad who knew a lot about botany, told me it was a plant called Kudzu that came from Japan and had been planted in areas that had trouble with erosion. It has been planted along the and overpowers everything quickly. Kudzu is very oppressive stuff!  It steals the light of the sun from everything! It destroys everything it it path. I saw many broken down shacks where it had grown over the tops of, covered and destroyed.

The thing is that Kudzu seemed like a good idea to solve a problem and make agricultural work easier, but it is a monster in disguise, a wolf in sheep's clothing!  Many, many things in life are like the Kudzu plant. I often have had grand ideas to do something that seem so perfect and when all was said and done, they turned into dragging doldrums.

So much in this world is full of hype! So many things and ideas are pushed at us. We fall prey to the latest rage, fads and the desire to be 'with it'!  The outtake many times on following what goes on around us and not our heart, in the end, oppresses us. All that we experience in life can be evaluated by the peace in our heart.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:17

The mind in the above verse is the intellect. Understanding is what we do with our minds.  God's peace goes way above and beyond all that we think. Sometimes our minds seem so over-jammed  with what we perceive is going on around us and what we have to do, it is hard to get up and out from under all that pressure.  We just have to let go  and let God's peace get us up. That is when we become ready to rock and roll!

The peace of God is so real.  We don't just act peaceful, doing peaceful things, we are inwardly peaceful. God loves us even in our scrambled yucky moments.  He doesn't want anything stealing the light  of his son away from us or have anything overpower us. He wants us to live free. Sometimes we just need to chill and let God's light warm us and let him guard us from something overshadowing our peacefulness!