Is "tribalism" ok or racist?

We are most comfortable with those who are most like us. 

Why?

Because we are more affirmed and feel safer (more comfortable) around those like us. It is common ("natural or normal") for everyone to feel this way. It is not unique to any one group. 

Why?

It takes a lot more self-denial and sacrifice to relate to those who do not have the same values and interests as we do. If we are to have any interaction with others that we have nothing in common with or are least like us, our focus and energy must be on them and less on our interests and needs. ¹This kind of interaction is more about giving than getting. It requires less effort and sacrifice to interact with those most like us.

For the above reasons, being with those most like us tends to energize us. Being with those least like us tends to drain us. If we are not full of love, loving others different from us is impossible to maintain ⁷long-term. 

For the same reasons, harmony is more pleasant and enjoyable than disharmony. We are naturally drawn to harmony. Harmonious relationships tend to energize us. Those that drain us tend to be challenging with more conflict.

There is also a practical benefit of working with those who are most like us. When we are in a joint effort, uniformity can result in greater cooperation and efficiency. This is good, not bad.

Some accuse others of racism for having these sentiments and being naturally drawn to those most like themselves. Yet, if we are honest, this is common with all groups. 

Is this ⁵racist? If so, every last one of us - regardless of our ethnicity - is a racist. Hanging out with others for the above reasons is common to everyone. 

Some call this ²tribalism. But is tribalism racism? It is no different from when you and I prefer being with loving friends or family ("our tribe") rather than with a group of strangers.

Having ³these sentiments is common in all relationships and "groups." The very act of accusing someone else of being guilty of this - as if they aren't themselves "guilty" - is exercising this very attitude by this accusation.  

This is why a loving family is so valuable (if we are blessed enough to have one). A healthy, loving family is a place where we are best known for both our strengths and flaws, and still most accepted and embraced. It is usually where we feel most free to be our real selves, with the least concern about ridicule or rejection.

Racism, on the other hand, is very different. It is an attitude of superiority based on one's ethnicity (group/"tribe"). It is believing we - our "group" - are better, ⁶objectively, more important or valuable than others. This may be true subjectively - i.e. more valuable to us - but not objectively.

But isn't this also true of friendships? No one considers having friends racist. Good friends are good, important, and valuable to us personally. They encourage and strengthen us. That is a good thing, is it not?

While close relationships may be more important to us subjectively, they are not necessarily so objectively.

On the other hand, it is not wrong to love those who are ¹different from us. It is what we are called to do. In fact, as followers of Christ, we are called to love those opposed to us, i.e., our enemies. It just takes the most energy of all interactions and ⁴directly the least immediately rewarding, if not harmful - but potentially the most rewarding indirectly. 

To be able to love those least like us is not natural but ¹supernatural. For this reason, it is good to love others who are different from us. It requires greater dependence on God to love others sacrificially. 

In fact, it is impossible to love sacrificially until we experience the sacrificial love of God offered to us in and through Christ. 

God calls us to this because this is how He loves us...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. " - Matt 5:43-48

But again, is it wrong to gravitate to others we are most like and have the most in common with? This is actually the basis for friendship. No one would suggest friendship is wrong. Yet some would have us believe it is and call it ⁵"tribalism" - which is the "first cousin" to racism according to those who throw these derogatory labels around.  

The irony is it is usually actual racists that push the narrative that being drawn to others most like us is wrong when, in fact, everyone participates in friendship and considers it not only perfectly normal but healthy.  

We are all far more alike than different.

One thing all of us have in common, that unites us at the strongest and most basic level, is we all desire to be loved, valued, affirmed, and important, i.e., we are designed for love because we are designed to be in relationship with God, who is love. We are all like God, who continuously gives and receives love among the Father, Son, and Spirit. We are in His image.  

And what is God like? The most valuable person of all. Without Him, nothing else exists. We are valuable by virtue of being like God - i.e., in His image.

In summary, it is not wrong or racist to feel more comfortable around those who are more like us. Nevertheless, we are called to a higher standard and to reach out and love those who are least like us, even our enemies. Not loving those different from us is not racist. Unloving, yes. Racist, no. 

For a discussion on identity politics Click here

For a discussion on the joys and challenges of giving, click here. 

To see if God has anything to say about immigrants or immigration, click here.

For a discussion on values, culture, and racism, click here.

For a discussion on racism and the necessity of forgiveness, click here

For a discussion on what divides us, click here.

For a discussion of the harmful nature of identity politics, click here.

What is the nature of racial privilege? Click here for a discussion.

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Footnotes:

¹People who are culturally different from us can have one main thing in common with us. A relationship with God through Christ. This connection is stronger than any natural ties we may have with those most like us culturally, intellectually, in appearance, etc. This is the most significant and deepest common denominator we can have. Especially those least like us naturally. What lovers of Christ have in common is even more significant than the connection among a loving family - though very much like it in important ways. 

If we are among others who have this deep spiritual connection with God, we are dealing with others who are focused on giving and not getting. This is the strongest possible bond we can have with anyone, even immediate family who do not have a love relationship with Christ. True believers are people who seek to love their neighbors as they love themselves. This is the greatest and most unifying value of all. This is also why Christ called loving God and others the greatest commandments.

When this is the central focus of a group of people, it is the strongest point of unity and overrides all other differences. In fact, it allows us to enjoy the differences of others as their uniqueness is a reflection of the creativity of God. This is unity within diversity.

This is why a strong church can be filled with a diversity of cultures and ethnicities yet still be united under this most central point of unity. A relationship of receiving love from our Creator and loving Him in return and our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is greater than any differences and can override them all when we are governed by love.

The two greatest commandments are the greatest not simply because we are told they are but because they summarize the purpose of our existence and the very nature of God and His creatures, i.e., to love as we are loved.

Anything we place a higher value on over our relationship with the Creator is a form of idolatry. Nothing is more valuable than God. Not our culture, race, vocation, or even our family.

This is why churches segregated by race or culture - e.g., white, black, Hispanic, Jewish, etc. - are likely not as honoring to God. To be segregated in this way is to value our culture and personal preferences over loving and valuing God and our neighbor. 

If we are separated by a language barrier, that is a separate issue that can be addressed on a church-to-church basis. But outside of this...

 "...in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise." - Gal 3:26-29

²Some subcultures are so strong they have their very own "lingo."  Some examples would be the hip-hop world, the technology world, the academic world, the world of sports, the medical or health world, etc.  These are subcultures within a culture. 

³Having common values is so important that if we do not, it can even lead to husbands and wives separating. We call it "incompatibility" when, in fact, it is actually a matter of love, or the lack of it. 

⁴By directly, I mean we rarely gain any direct benefit from those we seek to love who are different from us. The benefit we may gain, however, is from seeing others blessed by our efforts to love them. It is an indirect gain. This is not something that comes from them, but comes as a result of loving others as Christ loves, i.e., seeing them flourish because of our efforts. This is what God is like. We are acting like God when we love in this way.  

⁵There can be a problem with tribalism, but it isn't racism as some assert. The problem is it is basically about me, my needs, my wants. So in that sense it is wrong and contrary to our initial design, not because it's racist. 

This focus on self is the result of our rebellion against God and our failed attempt to be our own God. Based on the current condition of the world, it is clear we have failed miserably at being our own gods.

Everything is a mess because of our rebellion. We are now missing the love we once had in a relationship with God, caused by our choosing to disconnect from God, the very Source of love. Now we go about trying to fill that void caused by His absence through created things and our own efforts to obtain them.

The fact is we weren't designed to be our own god and to make life work without the only true God. We were designed to be in union with Him. The source of love, life, and all things, and experiencing a constant flow of love from Him. This enables us to pass love (from Him) on to others. 

We are not an endless spring of love. Only God is. We, on the other hand, are vessels or conduits that can hold and pass on the flow of love from God to and through us to others.

The main point about tribalism is it's not unique to a certain race but common among all humanity, for we have all rebelled from God. But this is not racism as is asserted by some. It is the broken condition of all humanity -  including you and I - not a particular group or race.

⁶ VS subjectively, where someone or some group can be more valuable to us personally.

⁷ Unless or until we find out that all humanity has far more in common at the most fundamental level of who we are as bearers of God's image, i.e., we are all designed by God to love and be loved by Him and to pass on that love to others. This is God's greatest desire i.e. will, directive, commandment etc.

Why do we struggle?

Whatever struggles we go through are only the ¹struggles God knows we need to go through to refine us, draw us closer to Him, and make us more like His Son (Rom 8:28-29). He ¹allows struggles so we might display Him better and delight in Him more. This is for our greatest joy and His highest glory i.e. He is our greatest joy and honoring Him is our highest pursuit. 

God knows exactly what He's ¹doing (and allowing). Nothing is by accident or catches God off guard (though it may catch us off guard).

The why, how, and when of our struggles are by God's wise and loving ¹design, no matter how it might seem the opposite at the time. 

The bottom line? 

God is simply calling us to trust Him more fully. This is the purpose behind everything we experience. Whether our experiences are good, bad, or ugly, the end goal is always the same i.e. His highest glory which is also our greatest good and joy.

The very fact that we struggle with the things we do is because there are lessons yet to be learned from (and through) them. Otherwise, our struggle would cease being struggles.

As we learn those lessons, the struggle subsides. There is less internal turmoil and greater calmness — even though the outer turmoil (circumstances) that cause us to struggle may or may not change.

We experience a peace that is beyond reason (it "passes understanding" Phil Phil 4:6-7), i.e., a peace that doesn't make sense in light of our circumstances. This is the essence of contentment (Phil 4:10-13). It is resting in God. 

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Footnotes:

¹struggles are the internal and organic outcome of our distrust of God. God works according to our trust or distrust. You could say how God works mirrors what we most need. The more we trust, the less internal turmoil we experience i.e., we are less anxious and upset over difficult circumstances.

malicious intent or unintentional incompetence

Have you ever meet someone who always assumes the worst behind others hurtful actions? Are you someone who approachs life this way yourself? Many do and aren't even aware of it. They go about life with a chip on their shoulder and always seem to be on their guard against others hurting them. 

Why is this? It is almost always due to past hurts. As a result, they're jaded and ¹quick to assume there is malicious intent behind others actions i.e. they think someone is "out to get them." When, in fact, they are more often than not the victim of unintentional incompetence or weakness by the offender, instead of ill intent.

There are people who definitely hurt others out of willful and malicious intent deliberately. But not all. ³I would guess most don't.

I know this is true for myself. Often I have hurt someone, not even knowing how. If I didn't know how I hurt them, clearly I didn't have bad intentions in doing so. 

I would venture to guess this is true for the vast majority of us when we offend others or are offended.

Why does someone assume the worst behind hurtful actions? It is usually because of past hurt(s) they experienced that they have buried and not let go of. As a result, ²they harbor bitterness and are jaded towards anyone who hurts or mistreats them (or hurts those they care about), and they assume the worst intentions behind the offender's actions.

When an offense occurs, does intent matter?

Absolutely. Even our legal system distinguishes between premeditated murder and manslaughter. As a result, the former is a greater offense that carries a greater punishment.

The bible also makes this distinction..

"And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more." - Luke 12:47-48 ESV

Knowing that someone hurt you unintentionally rather than maliciously makes a difference. It takes some of the "sting" out of the offense and makes it easier to forgive.

The good news is that whether we hurt people and cause them loss or harm intentionally or unknowingly, there is one who took on and experienced the full consequences of the pain we cause others so we don't have to. His name is Jesus. Have you met Him yet? If not, He'd like to meet you.

For a discussion on the underlying primary wound we all experience, click here

Are we a victim or an offender? Click here

Being a victim or playing the victim? Click here

For a discussion on the difference between being sinful and finite, click here.

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Footnotes:

¹To assume the worst possible motive behind an offense may be more an indication of our own intentions, and that we are vindictive vs ignorant because we harbor bitterness over a past offense and have not let it go, i.e., because of bitterness, someone may have malicious intent behind their offensive behavior more than someone who is not bitter. As a result, they assume and project this same motive to others.

²anger and bitterness affect how we interpret everything around us and what happens to us. If we are bitter, we go about life with a victim mindset rather than a learning, growing, and overcoming mindset. As a result, we often skew and misinterpret things instead of seeing them clearly as they truly are. 

³the sad part is people like this tend to trust no one and are suspicious of everything. This skews everything they see and causes them to misinterpret circumstances and experiences in life and the world in general, especially regarding their view of God and Christ. 

I'd go so far as saying that atheism has far more to do with bitterness than intellect. If you haven't noticed, atheists are usually very angry (indignant and self-righteous) in a subtle but mean and cutting way. Particularly in their attitude towards God and those who trust Him. 

The conversion of CS Lewis is particularly revealing. He lost his mom early on in his life and became an atheist. This is true of most atheists. Something painful occurred in their life that triggered them to go in that direction.

Praising God is for our benefit

Praising God (worshiping, honoring, and glorifying Him) is for our benefit not His. 

God, who is ¹worthy of all praise, is still fully God whether we praise him or not. He doesn't need us or our praise to be complete or fulfill something lacking in him. He is not ²diminished by our lack of praise nor in need of it. He is the same God with or without us or our praise. 

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." - Acts 17:24-25

Our praise is for our benefit and the benefit of ³others. For this reason He truly and fully enjoys our praise yet doesn't need it at the same time. 

He is not on an ego trip when he calls us to worship and glorify him. He is seeking to love us by calling us to partake of Him in all His love to the fullest extent possible. He wants us to know and experience Him in the fullness of His love bad enough to die so we might experience this.

God knows we are most fulfilled and whole when we are honoring him. He knows this is essential to our well being and maximum flourishing - better than we do. This is why He regularly calls us to glorify Him.

For a discussion on the humility of God, click here. 

Is God self centered? Click here.

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¹God is worthy of the praise of all humanity and deserves praise from all creation, if only because God is the Creator and maintainer of all things. There are many reasons to praise God but this is the fundamental reason by which all men and women should praise him and the only reason necessary even if there were no others reasons. 

²God is diminished in the eyes of others by our lack of praise for Him. But He is not diminished in the essence of His being. God is fully God with or without our praise. This is because He is the God of all glory, honor, and praise within the dynamic, overflowing community of love among and between the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit. 

³Others need to see our praise and love for God - and the resulting faithfulness and obedience to Him - to be drawn to Him. When they are, He is delighted for their sake and ours. It brings Him joy in same way the Father and Son find joy in each other, in, by, and through the Spirit. 

Leaders vs Dictators

Leaders vs Dictators 

A good leader believes in and respects the ¹rule of law and seeks to enforce it. He/she sees truth and law as objective realities, not something they create. 

A strong leader is unwavering in the enforcement of the law and is guided by the ¹rule of law. Unyielding enforcement of the law is not a dictatorship. 

A dictator considers themselves the law and seeks to overthrow objective morality and true law, so they can become the law-giver.

A good leader recognizes the law and acknowledges there is an ultimate ¹law-giver (God) who is the highest (ultimate) authority and not them. 

In the dictator's eyes, they see themselves as the highest authority. This, in large part, is why they seek to be a dictator i.e. to gain power. 

Ironically, this is why a dictator will accuse a law enforcer of being a dictator. The law and those who enforce it are a direct obstacle and threat to dictators who are lawbreakers seeking to establish themselves as the only absolute authority and ruler over others. 

This is also why dictators despise followers of any religion, because followers of a religion see themselves as answering to a higher authority other than those who seek to rule over them. 

Dictators do not recognize that law comes from a source outside of themselves. They believe instead they are the law or should be if they are not.

For a discussion on the basis of morality, click here.

For a discussion on what it means to "obey the authorities" in Romans 13 Click here

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Footnotes:

¹To understand the founding of the United States of America and what distinguished it from all other governments up to that point, we must understand common law, it's historical, philosophical and theological underpinnings. If you do not know this background you can not truly understand the USA and how it has drifted away from its original moorings but seeking to return.

What did the founders of the United States mean by common law? 

The founders of the United States—figures like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and others—understood  "common law" primarily as the English legal tradition they inherited as colonists. This was the body of unwritten law developed over centuries through judicial decisions (precedents), customs, and practices in England's courts, rather than through comprehensive statutes or codes. It stood in contrast to "statute law" (enacted by legislatures) or civil law systems (like those derived from Roman law on the European continent). 

* Core Meaning to the Founders

Common law embodied principles of justice, rights, and procedures that were seen as ancient, customary, and rooted in reason and immemorial usage. Key aspects included: 

- Rights and liberties — Protections like trial by jury, due process ("law of the land"), habeas corpus, prohibitions on unreasonable searches, double jeopardy, and safeguards for property and contracts. Many viewed these as "birthrights" of Englishmen, traceable back to documents like Magna Carta (1215), which the founders often invoked. 

- Judge-made development — Law evolved case by case through court rulings, guided by precedent (stare decisis), but judges were ideally "finding" or declaring existing law based on custom and reason, not inventing it arbitrarily. 

- Limited government and rule of law — No one, including the king or Parliament, was above the law. This included remedies in equity (fairness where strict rules fell short) alongside common law courts. 

The founders were steeped in this tradition. William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769) was enormously influential in America as a systematic explanation of it; many lawyers and statesmen studied it. 

* Context in the Founding Era

Before independence, colonists repeatedly appealed to common law rights against British policies they saw as violations (e.g., in petitions and the Declaration of Independence's list of grievances). The First Continental Congress in 1774 declared that the colonies were "entitled to the common law of England." After the Revolution, there was debate:

- Many saw it as their inheritance, adapted to American circumstances (e.g., rejecting feudal elements or monarchical overreach).

- Others, especially Jeffersonians, worried about federal judges imposing a national common law, fearing it could undermine republican government or states' rights. The Supreme Court later ruled in cases like United States v. Hudson and Goodwin (1812) that there was no general federal common law of crimes—federal power was limited to statutes and the Constitution. 

States generally received (adopted) English common law as it stood around the time of independence or settlement, modified by local conditions, statutes, and constitutions. The U.S. legal system remains a common law system today (with exceptions like Louisiana's civil law roots). 

* Relation to Founding Documents

- The Declaration of Independence (1776) grounded rights in "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" and "unalienable Rights" (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness). Founders often saw natural rights as underlying or harmonious with common law protections, not in conflict. Grievances against King George III frequently referenced violations of English constitutional and common law norms. 

- The Constitution and Bill of Rights built on this foundation. For example: 

  - The Seventh Amendment preserves the right to jury trial "in Suits at common law." 

  - Criminal procedure rights in the Fourth through Sixth Amendments (searches, self-incrimination, confrontation, jury, etc.) drew directly from common law practices. 

  - Terms like "judicial power" in Article III were understood against the backdrop of common law courts deciding "cases" and "controversies." 

Founders like James Wilson and John Adams emphasized common law as a bulwark for liberty under popular sovereignty, not parliamentary supremacy (which they rejected). They adapted it: America had written constitutions as supreme law, appeal to natural rights for justification of independence, and republican institutions. 

In short, when founders referred to "common law," they meant this inherited English system of customary, precedent-based law that protected individual rights and limited arbitrary power—viewed as compatible with (and informed by) natural law principles. It was not "judge-made law" in the modern pejorative sense of activism, but a reasoned evolution of customs and decisions serving justice. This background deeply shaped how they designed the Constitution and understood its terms. Debates persisted (e.g., federal vs. state application), but the core tradition endured as the foundation of American jurisprudence. 

In referring to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" what did God have to do with law in the mind of the founders 

In the minds of the American founders, God had everything to do with law—specifically as the ultimate source, author, and authority behind the moral order that undergirds legitimate human government and rights. The phrase "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" in the Declaration of Independence (1776) was not a vague or purely secular reference. It reflected a widespread founding-era understanding, drawn from classical, Christian, and Enlightenment-influenced natural law traditions, that law is not merely a human invention but rooted in a divine moral framework discoverable by reason and, for many, confirmed by revelation. 

* What "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" Meant

Founders distinguished (yet saw as harmonious) two closely related ideas: 

- Laws of Nature: These were the moral principles and rules of human conduct implanted in creation—accessible through reason, conscience, observation of human nature, and the "moral sense." They included self-evident truths like equality in natural rights, the wrongness of harming innocents, obligations of justice, and the duty to pursue happiness without violating others. These were not primarily physical laws (like gravity) but ethical ones governing free human behavior. Thinkers like Cicero, Locke, and Blackstone influenced this view. 

- Laws of Nature's God: This emphasized that these natural laws derive their binding authority from God as Creator and Lawgiver. God established the moral order of the universe, including human relations. The phrase pointed to God's will as expressed in creation (nature) and, for many founders, also in Scripture (revelation). As James Wilson (signer of the Declaration and Constitution, Supreme Court Justice) explained, God's law for humans is communicated "by reason and conscience, the divine monitors within us, and by the sacred oracles [the Bible], the divine monitors without us." 

In short, God was the supreme Legislator. Human laws (including the adapted English common law) had to conform to this higher law or lose legitimacy. Violations of natural law—such as tyranny—justified resistance, as the Declaration argued against King George III. 

* Key Influences on the Founders' View

William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (widely read by American lawyers, including many founders) was pivotal. Blackstone wrote that the law of nature is "the will of [man's] maker" impressed upon creation. When God created humans with free will, He laid down "certain immutable laws of human nature" discoverable by reason. This law is "superior in obligation to any other" and "dictated by God himself." Positive (human) law contrary to it is invalid. Founders adapted this to reject parliamentary supremacy in favor of higher principles. 

Other figures reinforced this: 

- James Wilson: Natural law flows from God as the source of justice and moral obligation. Only God deserves absolute obedience; governments derive just powers from consent and must align with divine moral order. Wilson saw common law as ultimately rooted in this framework. 

- Thomas Jefferson (primary drafter of the Declaration): Rights come from the "laws of nature" and are "endowed by their Creator." In earlier writings, he affirmed God as the giver of life and liberty together. While Jefferson was more rationalist and skeptical of orthodox Christianity than some peers, he still grounded rights in a Creator who designed human nature with moral capacities. 

- John Adams and others: They viewed politics as a "divine science" and saw the common law as arising from the laws of nature and dictates of God. Alexander Hamilton described an "eternal and immutable law" constituted by the Deity from human relations to God and each other. 

The Declaration mentions God four times overall ("Nature's God," "Creator," "Supreme Judge of the world," "divine Providence"), showing a theistic framework where God is active in moral governance and the affairs of nations—not a distant clockmaker who abandons creation. 

* Connection to Common Law and Government

This understanding tied directly to the founders' view of "common law" (as discussed previously). Common law was seen as an inheritance of customary rights and procedures that, at its best, reflected or at least did not contradict natural law. Judges were to "find" law aligned with reason and justice, not invent it against God's moral order. Human governments exist to secure God-given rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness). When they become destructive of those ends, the people have a right and duty to alter or abolish them—because ultimate sovereignty rests with God, not kings or majorities. 

Founders were not uniform in theology (some leaned toward Christian orthodoxy, others toward rational theism or "theistic rationalism"), but virtually all agreed that: 

- Rights are unalienable because they come from a source higher than government (the Creator). 

- Moral law is objective, universal, and authoritative because it reflects God's design for human flourishing. 

- Just civil law must conform to this higher standard; otherwise, it becomes tyranny. 

This provided the philosophical foundation for independence, republican government, and limited power. It was "common sense" to them—not novel invention—drawing on a long tradition where God, nature, reason, and (for many) revelation converged on justice. 

In essence, to the founders, God was not incidental to law but its origin and sanction. Without this divine grounding, rights would be mere grants from government (revocable at will), and law would lack transcendent moral force. This belief helped justify revolution and shape the constitutional order that followed.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick

Proverbs 13:12-14 ESV

[12] Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

[13] Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment (¹from God) will be rewarded. [14] The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

The "tree of life" is mentioned in several verses (10 in total) but in only three books - Genesis (3x), Proverbs(4x), and Revelation(3x). The beginning, the "middle," and the end of the Bible. As we look closer at the above passage, we can see a connection in all three books. 

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a ²tree of life.

How does obtaining what we desire bring us life? What constitutes life?

It is experiencing a sense of ³value, importance, significance etc.

When we obtain what we desire, it makes us feel valued, cared for, important. It gives us a sense of purpose and meaning. When we don't, we feel neglected, rejected, ignored, worthless, cast aside, forgotten i.e. it makes the heart "sick..."

13 Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

What was the "word" Adam and Eve despised..."Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die."

What would have been the reward for Adam and Eve, if they had obeyed? Wisdom i.e., knowledge of good and evil learned through dependence on (trust in) God not independence from (distrust in) God. Seeking to be their own god led to death, not life. 

14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. - Proverbs 13:12-14 ESV

Wisdom is knowing the difference between good and evil. To act wisely brings life and avoids harm, destruction and death.

Death and life are compared and contrasted in vs 14 just like the two trees in the center of the garden of Eden (Gen 2:9, 3:3).

Why does God say obtaining what we desire is like a tree? Trees bear fruit. The tree itself is not life but eating fruit from the tree brings us life i.e. not only nutritionally but emotionally as well i.e. a sense of being valued and cared for. 

And what does that eating consist of i.e. how do we eat its fruit?

Obedience. It is through our obedience to God we experience life. Obedience addresses what we must do to have life in contrast to what we are not to do which brings death.

Obedience brings life. Rebellious disobedience brings death. Wisdom or true knowledge of good vs evil helps us see the difference so we experience the former and avoid the latter.

Eating from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented disobedience. It was evidence that we are not wise when we act on our own and attempt to be our own god.

For a further discussion on where desire comes from click here.

Was there anything evil about the tree of a knowledge of good and evil, click here?

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Footnotes:

¹"...but he who reveres the commandment (¹from God) will be rewarded." 

To revere the words of God is to revere God i.e. "the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom." Prov 9:10

²What is the essence of life? To experience our significance, importance, value. In a word, to be loved.

How does our experiencing significance, importance and value give us life? Because God is significant, important, and valuable i.e. He is life and we experience our own value in honoring and enjoying His. In this way we are like Him i.e. in His image. 

God is Father, Son, and Spirit. The Spirit emanates from and manifests through the love and joy the Father and Son have in seeing and experiencing the infinite worth and beauty (glory) of the other. We were designed to participate in this relational dynamic. We experience our glory (significance, worth, importance etc) as bearers of His image by partaking in His glory.

"And this is eternal life, that they know (ginóskó - intimate, relational, or experiential knowledge) you, the only true God (i.e. true Source of life, love, and all things), and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." - Jn 17:3

³why do we need to experience a sense of value, importance, and significance? So we can appreciate and enjoy the value, importance, and significance of God i.e. we can only do so to the extent we experience our own in, by, and through experiencing His.  

In order for us to appreciate and enjoy Him, we must have corresponding qualities within us that match up or align with who God is - the all-glorious Creator of life, love, and all things - in order to partake of and experience these qualities in Him. I.e. we must be like God - in His image - in this same glorious way, so we might partake of His greatness, significance, importance, and value.

Everything that is, exists because God created and sustains it. If God were not, nothing else would be. This makes Him the most significant, important, and valuable being of all other beings or things. He alone is the Alpha and Omega -  the King of kings and the LORD of lords. All things are from, through, and to him. To Him be the glory (the recognition of His infinite worth/value), forever and ever. Amen!

whats wrong with the forbidden tree?

Was there something inherently wrong with the forbidden tree?

There was nothing inherently magical, different or evil about it. Eve saw that it was good for food and beautiful to see (Gen 3:6). It probably was very similar to or the same kind as the tree of life near or next to it (Gen 2:9, 3:3) - Don't forget, before Adam and Eve rebelled, God said all the trees were good for food (Gen 1:12; 2:9, 16-17).

The main purpose of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil didn't lie within the tree itself. 

The primary purpose of the forbidden tree was to see whether Adam and Eve (and now we) would follow God's direction as instructed  i.e. would they trust God and follow His directions or not?

The fear of the Lord (perfect regard and respect for God and His directions/instructions) is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom = true understanding of right from wrong. If Adam and Eve had listened to God's direction - i.e. had proper regard for Him and respected His direction to not eat - they would have taken the first step onto the road of true wisdom and understanding of right from wrong - good and evil - the right way i.e. by following God's direction and not trying to gain this knowledge on their own i.e. through their independent (rebellious) efforts of taking from the tree against God's instructions.

To gain knowledge of good and evil, the right way was to trust God and His word (His warning) and act accordingly. To believe (trust) God even if His word didn't make sense (the tree looked good for food, so what's the problem with eating from it?) regarding the direction He gave or circumstance(s) He allowed. We are to still trust God - believe He's good and desires our good - no matter what we encounter or how little it make sense. 

This is our struggle to this day (we are walking in the same footsteps of our original parents - or ancestors, if you wish). We either believe God is good in any and every given circumstance and situation or we don't.

The purpose of the tree was to simply test whether they trusted God or not. It was a test of whether they recognized their total dependence on God for true life and wisdom or believed they could somehow find it on their own - be their own god - and make life work without Him.

They chose to believe the lie that they could gain wisdom - and thereby life - without God by means of the forbidden tree. 

The tree was forbidden so they might acquire wisdom the right way i.e. through obedience to God's direction. 

They rebelled and rejected His direction and instructions. They did not trust God but suspected He was holding out on them (as the serpent suggested), so they turned away from Him and toward created things instead for life e.g the forbidden tree, each other, and their own understanding. As a result, they experienced just the opposite - death - exactly as God warned. 

We do this today as well and wrestle with our obedience to God daily. We regularly are faced with decisions to trust or not trust God every day.

Only by faith in His love for us - proven by Christ bearing the consequences of our rebellious disobedience - are we empowered to live for Him. Sending Christ to restore us - by living the life of obedience we should have lived and suffering the consequences of disobedience that we should have suffered - is proof on an infinitely grand scale that God loves us and wants what is best for us, even in our rebellious distrust. 

"The just (righteous) shall live by faith" is quoted in 4 different places in scripture for an important reason. God wants to be sure we "get it." It is the means by which we partake of and participate in the gospel - the "good news." We not only enter into God's kingdom by it, but we live out His kingdom daily through it. 

For a discussion on the gospel of the kingdom, click here

death and hell defeated

When Scripture says Satan is defeated and Christ now holds the keys to death and hell, what does this mean? 

This is simply saying that death no longer holds the same meaning and effect it once did. Satan and death no longer have the final word regarding our eternal destination i.e. our eternal separation from God and loss of all the gifts of life we now enjoy. When we are in Christ, death now means we are ushered into his presence when we die and exit this veil of tears. This is why Paul said,

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:“Death is swallowed up in victory.”  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Co 15:54-57

This does not mean pain and suffering (or Satan) are eliminated in this life, or that death no longer exists (people die every day). It simply means if we are in Christ, death no longer signifies judgment and our ultimate separation from our Creator, nor do the accusations of Satan that we are worthless, guilty, and justly condemned. Why? Because our acceptance by God is based solely on Christ's efforts, not ours. 

Pain, suffering, and death have been conquered, neutered, defused, altered, and are even redeemed and used to bring life in this present world (i.e. to draw us closer to God, who is life). Ultimately, they will no longer be useful or necessary and will eventually be done away with altogether. 

If we are in Christ, they are no longer tools or instruments of destruction and eternal separation from God but are now used as a means of deliverance from our focus and preoccupation with self.

Death no longer means final and eternal death because the sting of death has been removed. Before Christ, the sting was that it ultimately led to condemnation and eternal separation from the Source of life, love, and all the blessings of creation. It no longer does for those who are in Christ. Now death is used as a means to life and ushers us into His presence in this life, with fullness of life awaiting us. 

" 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' " The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  1Co 15:55-57

Christ fulfilled the demands of the law and our just condemnation for all the harm we caused others by ignoring it!

2Co 12:7  So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited (who do you think gave the thorn...it wasn't Satan himself. And note it is described as a gift, not a curse or punishment).

When the Bible says that Christ now holds the keys to death and hell, it does not mean he's eliminated these, but by his resurrection, he overcame them, and now he's redeeming and using the challenges for our ultimate good and his glory. All this is offered to us if we receive His gift of eternal life in, by, and through Christ! Only through Christ is this true. 

Words of life or death?

All God's commandments are given so we might find, expand, and preserve life. God calling us to obey Him is an invitation to advance, grow, and multiply life i.e. God - through His commandments - is calling us to flourish, not: 

Decline — gradually becoming weaker or less successful 

Wither — shriveling, fading, or losing vitality (often used for plants, success, or energy) 

Fail — not succeeding or collapsing 

¹Struggle  — having great difficulty or barely managing 

Languish — losing strength, growing weak, or remaining neglected 

Deteriorate — becoming progressively worse 

Stagnate — showing no growth or development; staying stuck 

Wane — decreasing in strength, power, or prosperity 

Flounder — struggling clumsily or failing to make progress 

Perish — dying, decaying, or coming to an end 

But when we trust and obey God, it often looks and feels like death (i.e. the above list) when in reality it is the path to life. 

"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Cor 12:10 

When I am weak in my natural strength, I am strong in the strength God gives me.

Christ told us that if we wish to find our life, we must lose it. If we are to live as He designed us to, we must die...i.e. die to seeking life on our own terms; outside of or apart from God. 

The fact that we bristle so much at God's commandments reveals and exposes how much we distrust him and are in rebellion to Him. When we trust and love God, we gladly embrace His direction (commandments), not avoid them. 

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." - 1 John 5:3

It is our rebellion that Christ came and bore the consequences of, with all its harm and destruction we see all around us. When we trust the work that Christ did on our behalf, we are no longer in Adam, who rebelled, but in Christ, who obeyed. 

In Christ, His obedience is assigned to us as if we were perfectly obedient to God as Christ was. We are now the righteousness of Christ i.e. we are in Christ (who obeyed) and no longer in Adam (who rebelled).

For a further discussion on going from Adam to Christ, click here.

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Footnotes:

¹Struggle is the natural consequence of our rebellion and disconnection from God, the source of life, love, and all things.

After we turned away from the Creator (Source) in rebellion, nothing worked properly as designed and intended. 

Can there be peace on earth?

Due to humanity's spiritual bankruptcy (i.e., brokenness) and the resulting inclination to first take care of "number one" (ourselves), there will never be a complete utopia in this life - the goal of ¹all economic or political systems.

To have a true utopia, the individual parts must be sound. A system, no matter how perfect, cannot work properly if the individual parts are not whole and working properly. 

If you build a wooden structure with boards eaten out by termites, the overall structure is unsound and must be reinforced or artificially propped up (externally with a rigid structure i.e. laws), or it will collapse under any sustained weight or pressure.

This does not mean we should abandon living a ²productive life and seek to love God and our neighbor as He has called and designed us to. However, the only way we can organically (internally) is when we are fully plugged in, united, and engaged with Him who is the Source of life, love, and all things. If we are not in union with the Source of life, we are empty vessels at best, focused on filling the void - or trying to. This results in us being takers - in need of being made whole - not givers. The emptiness must be filled in the way it was designed to be if we are to be givers. 

The solution isn't implementing (or imposing on us or others) a particular economic or political system ¹externally but our being fully connected and plugged into God himself, which is an internal solution that restores wholeness, resulting in things working outwardly (externally) as designed. 

Hanging plastic fruit on a tree does not make it a fruit tree. Only giving it  internally what it needs - i.e. watering, fertilizing, and giving it sunshine (or rather Sonshine if you will) - will cause it to bear fruit.

If all the individual parts of a system - i.e., you and I - are not sound, the system will not work, no matter how perfect the outward design of that system may be. Any system composed of flawed individuals (parts) can only result in flawed and inferior outcomes. 

For this reason, a perfect system will never work; only perfect values and people willing and able to pursue them. 

Ultimately, this can only occur through people who recognize the greatness, worth, beauty, and glory of their Creator, and their dependence on Him and accountability to Him.

The solution ultimately is spiritual (internal), not political or economic (external). It is in first knowing God and then making him known (the first and second greatest commandments and motto of Columbia International University - the college I attended), not just in word but in deed. To make Him known, we must first know Him in all His infinite love to and for us. 

The real question isn't if there can be peace on earth, but how and when will it occur. For more on this, click here.  

For a discussion on giving as you have received, click here.  

For a discussion on obedience as the fruit of abiding, click here.

For a discussion on being fruitful, i.e., sewing and reaping, click here.

For a discussion on the basis of morality, click here.

For a discussion on what it means to "obey the authorities" in Romans 13 Click here

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Footnotes:

¹I am referring to economic systems - such as socialism or communism - externally imposed on us by the state and not internally and organically advanced. We are social-relational creatures, and as God's image-bearers, we are designed to receive and give love, not forced to.  

However, we are also spiritually bankrupt and broken - i.e., unplugged bearers of God's image made to be in union with (plugged into) their Creator. We can no more fully be who we are designed to be than a Christmas tree, ornately decorated, sitting in a dark room, unplugged from the electrical outlet. 

For more on our brokenness, click here.  

²We are clearly instructed in many places within the bible to be "fruitful." Most of these verses address spiritual fruit. However, spiritual fruit is usually manifested by actions that often produce material fruit. In fact, any action that produces material fruit should be driven spiritually i.e. by the Spirit/Love. If it is, it is valid. It is spiritual in motivation (i.e. for God's glory) with a material outcome.  

For several posts addressing operating in the Spirit, click here. 

³There is nothing wrong with personal consumption. Not in itself. If we do not consume vital resources -- water, food, shelter etc. -- we die. Consumption is not just necessary but vital. 

A pursuit that is solely driven by personal and excessive consumption as a substitute for God (i.e. an idol) is our challenge, not consumption itself. 

*Private ownership of property and the opportunity to acquire property through diligence is assumed throughout the bible. The founding fathers who penned America's Constitution and the Declaration of Independence acknowledged this when they declared we had a "right" to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What most don't know is that the pursuit of happiness is the right to the fruits of our labor, i.e., property.  

Christ instructs us to pray for his rule and reign to come on earth as it is in heaven. 

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." - Matt 6:10 

Is this a prayer to usher in the Kingdom now or in the future? Both. 

For a discussion on what the kingdom of God is, click here. 

Disconnected from the Source of all things

We suffer because we, along with all of humanity, are ¹disconnected from our Creator; the Source of life, love, and all things. As a result we no longer function as we were designed to. In a word we are ¹broken.

We also suffer because the rest of the created order is in bondage because of our choosing to turn away from God. 

Therefore we experience both internal and external turmoil and suffering. 

Our rebellious distrust of God is the core reason for all ²pain, suffering, corruption, and death.

God did not (and does not) cause evil or suffering. It is the absence of God the causes suffering. Pain is the organic result of our choosing to reject and walk away from Him; to live independent of Him and attempt to make life work without the Source of life, love, and all things. 

If you turn off the light switch (or unscrew the lightbulb), the light goes out. The one who made the light switch isn't the problem; the one who doesn't use the device as designed is.  

However, God uses the resulting pain of our disconnection to reveal to us that He is the ultimate Source of love, life, and all things. Pain itself is not good. But God uses it for good by showing us our need for Him who is not only good but best. He is best because He is the Source life. We were created to experience our highest good in and through a relationship with him, not by surrounding ourselves with creature comforts.

Pain does not have the last word regarding suffering and evil; God does.

How does God use evil for good?

 

Suffering can reveal to us how life does not work (as intended) without Him, so we might be drawn back into a loving relationship with him i.e. learn how to flip the light switch on or screw in the light bulb.

He does not (and did not) cause evil itself but he does use it. It becomes a tool to turn us back to Himself and shape us, making us a more perfect bearer (reflector) of His image i.e. He uses it to make us more like His Son who is the perfect reflector of God so we too might also reflect Him in the same way.

God is greater than evil (suffering). Evil doesn't win, God does even in and through evil. 

¹For a further discussion on being broken click here.

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Footnotes:

¹We are not completely disconnected objectively. In Him we live, move, and have our being. Without Him we (or anything else) would not be.

But we are disconnected subjectively, consciously, willfully (by our choice), and personally.

²Pain is the ³loss (or absence) of the good things God has created that we use to ease or mask our pain. Pain is a reminder to turn back to God, our ultimate good, and no longer turn to the good things we use for self comfort. 

Nothing is wrong with creation in itself. It is the misuse of it that is our problem. Creation is not the Source, but only the means by which God seeks to convey his love and goodness.  

The reason created things don't work long term - meet our deepest need - is our need is permanent not temporary - we are designed for infinite love (God's love) not temporary comfort. Created things are temporary. They do not have life in themselves but are sustained by Christ. "... And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together"

³For an extended discussion of this last point, click here. 

Which comes 1st, grace or humility?

Which occurs first? Our seeing God as the Source of life, love, and all created things more clearly or our being weaned from an ¹inordinate delight in created things? 

Several places in scripture teach that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. This indicates humility comes ²before grace (i.e., the gift of ³God revealing Himself more fully to us) or at least humility is the means of experiencing ongoing and increasing grace. 

We must recognize attempts at being our own God - our arrogant independence - do not work long-term, i.e., we must humble ourselves. We must die to live. Death to our attempts to save ourself comes before life. 

God is our greatest happiness. Anything that increases our union with Him is good, even (and maybe especially) pain.

For a discussion on the necessity of humility click here

 

How do we discover God's love in our pain? click here

For a further discussion on the primary role of pain click here

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here...and here.

The greater the evil the greater the opportunity for healing/

grace click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job, click here.

For a discussion on the value of paradox, click here.

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Footnotes:

¹Why do we hold on to and pursue created things so tenaciously? It allows us to temporarily cling to our independence from God. We want the delights of creation without the humility of admitting they are all gifts from our Creator or the necessity of our submission to and dependence on Him. 

²The old saying is you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. 

However, you can also salt its oats. 

The choice to not drink is up to the horse. Salting its oats is up to someone else. 

While the choice to humble ourselves precedes our experience of grace, pain is often a means by which we are humbled. We often have no control over painful circumstances, even though we have control over how we respond to them i.e. we can either humble ourselves in response to pain or become defient and rage at God for it.

³it is not because God is hiding that we can't see Him, but because our pride - our tenacious clinging to our independence - blinds us to seeing Him clearly. It takes humility to see and appreciate humility i.e. to see Christ as the humble servant He is. We can't see or grasp what Christ is truly like without humility because He is humble. 

Without humility we project on to God arrogance when He says we should honor and praise Him i.e. we don't see Him correctly. We suppress the truth in our unrighteousness i.e. our unbelief and valuing (worshiping) created things over our Creator (Rom 1:18-23).

Yes Christ is the Lion of Judah but he is also the Lamb of God who willingly humbled and submitted himself to the Father to be slain... and that for our sake and the Father's glory i.e. he did this for the sake of others.