Cleverly devised tales

‘F or we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (the apostle Peter in his second letter written to Christians encouraging them to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, 2nd Peter 1:16).

The combination of politics and religion (faith) in any conversation ends with few minds changed but emotions high and very volatile. My goal is never to inflame emotions but to challenge those who think and encourage the faithful in their faith.

I like combining faith and politics – it is challenging. When someone says they keep their faith out of politics I do not believe them. It is impossible to keep faith from influencing one’s politics or politics from weakening one’s faith.

Money, fame, power, popularity, self-aggrandizement, instant gratification are all held up to us like the old carrot on string hanging in front of the donkey to get him to keep pulling and working.

Money, fame, power, popularity, instant gratification, and the other lures of our culture lead us down a path that is narrow – it is a path to destruction.

Getting back to the apostle Peters’ warning, “… do not follow cleverly devised tales …” the problem with this is that in our modern culture, instant communication, the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify exactly what cleverly devised tales are.

The only way to know “cleverly devised tales” is to know the truth.

How are people trained to identify counterfeit or fake twenty-dollar bills? By being trained to identify and know what an authentic twenty-dollar bill is. To know a fake, one must know the truth.

This applies in politics too. Republicans and Democrats are rushing to tell their followers what they will do if elected. How do we know what is true? Examine their past actions.

Did you know the really good magicians will talk to you the whole time they are disguising their hand and body motions – words distract, words confuse, words obfuscates our view and misleads us away from the truth.

Regardless of what President Trump says in his speeches, examine his actions. Regardless of what Vice-President Harris says in her speeches, examine her actions.

For both, their past actions speak the truth to who they are, what they are and what they will do.

I strive to never attack a person or personality. Personal attacks gain nothing and the Holy Bible discourages outbursts of anger, personal attacks and ridiculing and harassing others.

However, the Holy Bible does encourage me to “examine” a person, listen to understand them, and then compare their actions and words to biblical standards. An old adage I apply in my life is “Seek to understand then to be understood.” Listening to, observing the candidates, and examining their past actions reveals who they are and what is in their heart.

We read, “But the Lord said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as mans sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Still another view or evaluation of a person’s leadership (think service, servant, servanthood) is learned by the work of their life. A true leader knows they are not to be served but to serve others. I watch how others react when they are treated like servants – their reaction tells me what is in their heart and what kind of leader they are.

The political pundits will scoff at my suggestion to examine, listen, and observe – but it is what I am directed to do. On what basis will you make your decision?

Clayton P. Adams, West Memphis, Arkansas, email: claytonpad amslll@gmail.com.

Clayton Adams

Time in the Word