Dwight A. Moody
Things are about to get tough: not for everybody, but for those of us who value human rights, earth care, product safety, public education, international cooperation, the just distribution of wealth, and the free flow of information.
The “shock and awe” that is to be unleased by the new regime promises to counter all of these values and the policies that flow from them. For ten years now we have listened to the unhinged rhetoric of Donald J. Trump, and not once do I recall him affirming any of the values listed above. Not once.
Money and power are what count in the dystopian universe of the new regime. They want to exercise power, and they want to get rich. Full stop.
Power and wealth are not bad things. History is rich with examples of people who secured and exercised great power oriented toward just and holy ends. Abraham Lincoln spent his years in office pushing the limits of presidential power in the effort to free the slaves and save the union. Today we honor him.
Decades later Eli Lilly built his pharmaceutical company to the pinnacle of success, then invested his wealth into an endowment commissioned toward three ends: education, religion, and community development. For almost two decades, my gospel work was underwritten by grants from the Lilly Endowment, and for this I give thanks.
Power and wealth can be used toward just and holy ends.
But who among us remembers Trump or his associates advocating for “human rights, earth care, product safety, public education, international cooperation, the just distribution of wealth, or the free flow of information”?
All of these humane values are disparaged under the four-letter word, WOKE.
Normally I avoid the four-letter vocabulary and squirm under their new-found dominance in public speech. But here is one four-letter word I happily embrace.
Woke is a shortened form of Awakened. Millions of us have been awakened to the values of “human rights, earth care, product safety, public education, international cooperation, the just distribution of wealth, and the free flow of information.”
We are derided and demeaned when, in pursuit of these values, we favor protection for LGBTQ people, prefer renewable energy sources, demand government inspection of products, support public schools, embrace peoples and governments around the world, vote to tax the rich and help the poor, and treasure truth-telling at all levels of human community.
These things—all of them—are the targets for the “shock and awe” campaign soon to be unleased. The new regime wants to protect white Christian people, use fossil fuel for energy, reduce government inspection of work places and products, fund private and religious schools, withdraw from international collaborations, reduce taxes on the rich and services for the poor, and beatify the man who lies more than any person to ever occupy the White House—perhaps more than all of his predecessors combined.
And in doing all of this, the new regime will bask in the blessing of a powerful network of religious leaders, all claiming to be motivated by the love of God, the example of Jesus, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Although, to be accurate, they never are able to cite the example or words of Jesus in pursuit of their vision of wealth and power. Or shock and awe, for that matter.
That last paragraph will be on my mind as I host “Sunday in the House” this coming weekend, 9 am EST on Sunday and also as I gather with friends for food and fellowship on Monday during the shameful celebration of wealth and power, shock and awe in the District of Columbia.
Ys, it is all about to go down. But through it all, I will remain steady, as long as God gives me breath, and strength, and clarity of purpose. Pray for me and pray for us all.
Dwight A. Moody
Things are about to get tough: not for everybody, but for those of us who value human rights, earth care, product safety, public education, international cooperation, the just distribution of wealth, and the free flow of information.
The “shock and awe” that is to be unleased by the new regime promises to counter all of these values and the policies that flow from them. For ten years now we have listened to the unhinged rhetoric of Donald J. Trump, and not once do I recall him affirming any of the values listed above. Not once.
Money and power are what count in the dystopian universe of the new regime. They want to exercise power, and they want to get rich. Full stop.
Power and wealth are not bad things. History is rich with examples of people who secured and exercised great power oriented toward just and holy ends. Abraham Lincoln spent his years in office pushing the limits of presidential power in the effort to free the slaves and save the union. Today we honor him.
Decades later Eli Lilly built his pharmaceutical company to the pinnacle of success, then invested his wealth into an endowment commissioned toward three ends: education, religion, and community development. For almost two decades, my gospel work was underwritten by grants from the Lilly Endowment, and for this I give thanks.
Power and wealth can be used toward just and holy ends.
But who among us remembers Trump or his associates advocating for “human rights, earth care, product safety, public education, international cooperation, the just distribution of wealth, or the free flow of information”?
All of these humane values are disparaged under the four-letter word, WOKE.
Normally I avoid the four-letter vocabulary and squirm under their new-found dominance in public speech. But here is one four-letter word I happily embrace.
Woke is a shortened form of Awakened. Millions of us have been awakened to the values of “human rights, earth care, product safety, public education, international cooperation, the just distribution of wealth, and the free flow of information.”
We are derided and demeaned when, in pursuit of these values, we favor protection for LGBTQ people, prefer renewable energy sources, demand government inspection of products, support public schools, embrace peoples and governments around the world, vote to tax the rich and help the poor, and treasure truth-telling at all levels of human community.
These things—all of them—are the targets for the “shock and awe” campaign soon to be unleased. The new regime wants to protect white Christian people, use fossil fuel for energy, reduce government inspection of work places and products, fund private and religious schools, withdraw from international collaborations, reduce taxes on the rich and services for the poor, and beatify the man who lies more than any person to ever occupy the White House—perhaps more than all of his predecessors combined.
And in doing all of this, the new regime will bask in the blessing of a powerful network of religious leaders, all claiming to be motivated by the love of God, the example of Jesus, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Although, to be accurate, they never are able to cite the example or words of Jesus in pursuit of their vision of wealth and power. Or shock and awe, for that matter.
That last paragraph will be on my mind as I host “Sunday in the House” this coming weekend, 9 am EST on Sunday and also as I gather with friends for food and fellowship on Monday during the shameful celebration of wealth and power, shock and awe in the District of Columbia.
Ys, it is all about to go down. But through it all, I will remain steady, as long as God gives me breath, and strength, and clarity of purpose. Pray for me and pray for us all.
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