Tag: hate

One Grandfather’s Take on Marijuana

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Pastor Tim's PonderingsLeave a comment

“Evil thrives on apathy and cannot exist without it.” Hannah Arendt

            Today is my birthday. I’m now 61 years old. I couldn’t have imagined, as a kid, that I’d be this old. But here I am – a husband for 38 years, a father of three precocious daughters, and, of all things, a grandfather of four boys. As a kid, I was largely clueless about a lot of things, which is the way it’s supposed to be. But, as an adult, if we aren’t aware of what’s happening – especially because of indifference – well then, we have the beginnings of real evil.

            The State of Wisconsin, the place I have lived for the past thirteen years, now stands out as what I describe as a marijuana desert. In every state of the union, either medical marijuana or recreational marijuana, or both, are now legal. But not Wisconsin. State Republican House Speaker, Robin Vos, has stated multiple times, “We are looking to say medical marijuana for people who have a truly awful long-term medical condition should be something we at least consider…. I don’t think recreational should ever happen.”

            My grandson is thirteen years old, and has had epilepsy his entire life. Every time my little buddy is hooked up to an EEG (used to measure the electrical activity of the brain, via electrodes applied to the scalp) the data shows that he, at times, experiences as many as three seizures per minute. 

Granted, they are rarely the grand mal, big-daddy-of-them-all, kind of seizures. Nevertheless, they are still seizures. The best pediatric doctors in the Midwest for this kind of thing tell us something that doctors aren’t prone to say, that they are stumped. Little buddy experiences up to seven different kinds of seizures, and he has defied any kind of solid diagnosis as to the nature of the epilepsy, let alone even thinking about a prognosis – other than that, if unchecked, he will not live to see adulthood. 

Yes, he is on medication – lots of it – with unimaginable side effects. Yet, without the meds, he would be having literally hundreds of seizures in any given day. Even on a good day, he has dozens. And even though most of his seizures last only a few seconds, each and every seizure damages the brain, if only a little bit. Add up the thousands of seizures over the span of a thirteen year old life, and factor the tens of thousands of them he will yet have in the next years and it, in my puny limited understanding, doesn’t look promising no matter how you examine it.

            When supposedly well-meaning politicians, pundits, religious folk, and faith communities rant about the ethics and morality of ungodly “potheads” having a legal avenue for their recreational smoking, what gets lost in the mix are children and families who could potentially be helped by legalizing marijuana – by a carefully genetically engineered strain administered medically and safely. 

In this grandfather’s mind (and heart) the greater risk is to keep doing what we’ve always done and hope that all will work out okay someday. When it pertains to a child’s life – that kind of thinking doesn’t cut it for me. It’s nothing more than the banality of evil, of keeping some political constituents happy, above thinking about the life of human beings in your own backyard.

            As a Christian Pastor, encountering this kind of ignorance amongst both politicians and parishioners is nothing new. Far too many of my denominational meetings have been given to angry persons upset about abortion and gays. Whereas there are those who believe this country is, in the words of one man, “trampling our Constitution and we are being judged as a nation for killing babies.” 

Without me even attempting to deal with any rightness or wrongness to that statement, the only kind of good that that kind of proclamation did was personal to the proclaimer – he just got something off his chest, and maybe he felt better for it. But I was left wondering: What about women who have had an abortion?  I cannot even begin to imagine that if there was a woman in the room who had an abortion in the past having to sit and listen to a guy put a label on her as a murderer. There is enough regret and grief in many a woman’s own heart without having someone twist the knife for her.

            There is a reason why many people often do not want others to know what they really think about certain issues, and why they want to keep all their skeletons in the closet. They do not want to be judged and condemned, and they have every reason to think that they will be – whenever they hear the raving of “Christians” who believe they are doing God a favor by effecting holiness through noise. 

It is imperative that we all, especially the Church, do the best we possibly can in order to create and sustain a culture of compassion and care through continual monitoring of what actually comes out of our mouths. When there are oft mentions of “the sin of homosexuality,” peppered with defamation upon LGBTQ+ folks; whenever there is a stream of hateful references to particular persons in poverty, or groups of black and brown people; and, when there is a blanket denunciation of marijuana as always being linked with persons getting high; then there is not an atmosphere of grace that leads to life, but a culture of fear that leads to death.

            Where some see the “issues” of gay marriage and transgendered inclusion, I see people created in the image of God who have the same needs of respect and equality that I do. Where some see political “issues,” I see persons in need of God’s justice and peace and basic human rights and decency.  Where some see the “issues” of poor lower class people versus upper class wealthy people; or Latin concerns versus Black concerns; or blue collar people’s agenda versus white collar people’s agenda; or plain (white) Americans versus all the other hyphenated Americans; instead, I see people – people in need of grace, mercy, and peace, just like me, who need a seat at the table and are heard in their own right with listening ears from me.

            My daughter needs support with her special needs son who happens to have epilepsy.  I am glad I can be there for her and for him. I am glad my church and many others care about them. This old sinful world has enough shame and pain in it without adding to the pile through ignorance and strife. Before we use our tongues, let’s have some working knowledge and some basic education about what we are talking about.  Most of all, let’s have some basic decorum and some working knowledge of God’s grace.

            So, this grandfather says to those in political power: “Do you consider this situation of a young boy with a terminal condition of epilepsy acceptable?” Evidently so since lawmakers have purposely dragged their feet for years about medical marijuana. There are times when individuals need to be called out, and a situation must be named for what it is. This grandfather, for one, is calling out the Wisconsin legislature, along with Speaker Vos, and naming this for what it is: indifference to human suffering.

            As of today, it is unfortunately too late for my grandson to have any significant assistance from medical marijuana in the form of cannabis oil for his condition. His epilepsy has come too far, and his brain has simply had far too many seizures. The hard reality is that, apart from a miraculous divine intervention, my grandson (who, I might add, is one of the nicest people of any age you’ll ever meet) will likely never see adulthood. But that wasn’t true 10 years ago, when I was writing letters and, evidently, speaking into the wilderness – getting form letter responses, if any response, at all.

            The time for consideration is past. Debate the “issue” of marijuana all you want. Meanwhile, there are people in Wisconsin who live with chronic pain and have to cross state lines just to get some help and a bit of relief from their chronic conditions. It is not supposed to be this way. And it does not have to be this way. Never mind that medical marijuana has been shown to significantly reduce and even eliminate some seizures in children. Ears have been stopped up and eyes wide shut for so long that hearts have become hard – and cannot even have compassion on children who are, frankly and literally, dying.

            There is a biblical proverb which states, “People who respect others will be blessed, but stubborn people will have plenty of troubles.” (Proverbs 28:14) We expect kids to be immature. And we expect the adults in the room to have the requisite growth over a period of time in order to make wise, responsible, and mature decisions. It looks like there are lot of politicians in need of remedial learning. Their stubbornness has already led to too much trouble for all of us.

*The Epilepsy Foundation exists to lead the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and to accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures, and save lives. For more information, you may go to their website at epilepsy.com

**To learn more about epilepsy in Wisconsin, go to their website at epilepsywisconsin.org

***For information on medical marijuana and epilepsy: epilepsy.com/treatment/alternative-therapies/medical-marijuana

Against Hate (Genesis 4:1-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Cain and Abel by Keith Vaughan, 1946

Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!”

Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.

Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.

God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”

Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”

God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.”

Cain said to God, “My punishment is too much. I can’t take it! You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I’m a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me.”

God told him, “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.

Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man’s-Land, east of Eden. (The Message)

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.

1 John 3:11-12, NIV

Despite being brothers, Cain and Abel couldn’t have been any more different.

Abel became a shepherd. He took the absolute best of his flock and made it an offering, with the intent of giving God an appropriate gift. The Lord was pleased and approved of Abel’s actions because they demonstrated a good attitude and a sensitive heart. Abel’s belief and practice worked together.

Cain became a farmer. He cobbled together some of the leftovers from his vegetable harvest and gave them a nonchalant toss to God. The Lord did not look favorably on Cain’s actions because they evidenced a bad attitude and a hard heart. As a result, Cain became sullen, upset, and angry. His emotions reflected his actions. Cain didn’t listen to God. Instead, he let hate takeover and killed his brother.

God sets faithful people apart to demonstrate love and to be the hope of the world. God’s people reflect their divine image when lives are changed for the better; hatreds are overcome; failures are forgiven; grace melts hard hearts; selfishness is diminished; and compassion grows into blessing others – not hating them.

Humanity was created for love, not hate.

We know that we have transferred from death to life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The person who does not love remains in death. (1 John 3:14, CEB)

Love is the distinguishing mark of the spiritual person and the follower of Christ. The person with hate has so many barnacles built up on their underside that they cannot move through the water of life with any joy or fulfillment. What’s more, they drag down the rest of the fleet that seeks to move in concert together in love.

Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderers have eternal life in them. (1 John 3:15, NCV)

Yes, we ought to love – which means we also should not put up with hate. You and I are under no obligation whatsoever to listen to hateful speech and allow hateful actions. That’s because people are meant to be a reflection of God’s loving and healing acceptance of people. 

Love doesn’t let others spew hate in front of you, no matter who they are. Maybe you could respond to hateful words by saying, “Sounds to me like you need to let God pressure-wash some barnacles off your heart.”

If someone chronically complains to you, and there is never any love behind what they say, then there is hate behind it. In such a case, the person needs deliverance from the Evil One.

Every institution and organization on God’s good earth must have a zero-tolerance policy toward hate, and a 100% commitment to love. 

God has not called us to hate anyone, but to love. And God’s people are only the hope of the world when they love others. 

The world will know that there is a God in heaven, and a Christ in the church, when people within local congregations love one another, when particular Christian denominations go out of their way to bless others, and when the love of Jesus compels them to drip grace on the most unlovely of people. Indeed, they will know we are Christians by our love.

Cain is Exhibit A of modeling the way of hatred and death. He separated himself from his brother, Abel, in every way possible – relationally, emotionally, mentally, and finally, physically through outright killing of the body.

The message from Holy Scripture is: Do not be like Cain. Be like Abel. Love others. Do not hate them. Live for others. Die to self. Avoid violent speech and actions. Don’t be a murderer.

Lord Jesus Christ, through your death on the cross you disarmed the powers of evil. Help us, we pray you, to enter into your victory and to stand in your authority against all evil. Send forth your light and your truth. Bring to light the deeds of darkness and let plans of violence and murder be revealed. By the power of your Holy Spirit, convict those who have allowed their minds to be dominated by evil. Lead them to repentance so that they may receive new life and rejoice in your forgiving love. Amen.

Be Merciful (Jonah 4:1-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Jonah was really upset and angry. So he prayed:

Our Lord, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. That’s why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone.

Now let me die! I’d be better off dead.

The Lord replied, “What right do you have to be angry?”

Jonah then left through the east gate of the city and made a shelter to protect himself from the sun. He sat under the shelter, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh.

The Lord made a vine grow up to shade Jonah’s head and protect him from the sun. Jonah was very happy to have the vine, but early the next morning the Lord sent a worm to chew on the vine, and the vine dried up. During the day the Lord sent a scorching wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, making him feel faint. Jonah was ready to die, and he shouted, “I wish I were dead!”

But the Lord asked, “Jonah, do you have the right to be angry about the vine?”

“Yes, I do,” he answered, “and I’m angry enough to die.”

But the Lord said:

You are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of, a vine that grew up in one night and died the next. In that city of Nineveh there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell right from wrong, and many cattle are also there. Don’t you think I should be concerned about that big city? (Contemporary English Version)

Fear and anger go hand in hand. The fear of what sort of evil might happen often leads a person toward angry vitriol, even violence.

I once dealt with a woman who was so upset with her husband that she was literally shaking with anger. There was a time when her husband had been abusive, but thankfully, he gave his life to God, changed, and became a loving person. 

The thing that was so upsetting for the wife is that God saved her husband without punishing him for all the abuse he had dished out. She wanted some divine payback! The woman was actually furious about God showing grace and compassion.

This is not a novel or new experience. In the ancient world, the Assyrians were notorious for their brutality toward conquered peoples. They thought up forms of torture as a creative past-time. It was a violent culture, full of inhumane practices, and soldiers who were the scourge of the Middle East.

The violent ways of the Assyrians caught the notice of God. Divine judgment was hanging over the capital of the Assyrian Empire, Nineveh. So, God told the prophet Jonah to go and give the powerful empire a message of impending doom. (Jonah 1:2)

Jonah did not immediately obey God. However, he eventually went to Nineveh (after the infamous being in the belly of a great fish for three days and nights). The result was a great repentance of sin from the Assyrian people. 

The entire city turned from their evil ways. God saw this mass repentance and relented from sending disaster. Instead of destroying the city, with all its inhabitants and animals, the Lord was merciful and spared them. After all, God delights in seeing humility and the courage to admit evil and turn from it.

But Jonah had a serious problem with God’s grace toward the Assyrians. He was so upset and angry about the whole affair, that he wanted to die. Jonah was actually annoyed and greatly displeased by God’s goodness. Jonah wanted justice; he was looking for judgment. The last thing he wanted was divine mercy toward the very people who were experts at killing Jews. 

Yet, we must come to grips with the reality that God’s grace is so massive that it even extends to some of the most evil people in history. And Jonah wanted no part of that sort of theology.

God asked Jonah twice, “Do you have a right to be angry?” Jonah wanted destruction and pay-back for all the sin of the Assyrians. But God searches our hearts and exposes our expectations. Often, when those expectations do not happen, we are disappointed and become angry, even livid over the lack of retribution from God.

God wanted Jonah to share the same heart of mercy. And God still desires God’s people to have a heart that has grace and compassion, even in the face of terrible evil. Sometimes, God calls us to do what we least want to do in order to reveal what is really in our own hearts.  

Hating people to the point of wanting nothing but destruction upon them does nothing to bring about the righteous life that God desires. In Christian understandings, the blood of Jesus Christ has the power to bring healing and hope, even to the worst of sinners.

Whenever our fears turn to anger and we believe that God should bomb evil people off the face of the earth… or if we think our neighbors might be harboring ill-intent just because they are of a different race, ethnicity, or religion… or if we harbor bitterness because of real evil present in this world and want at least a little payback; then, we are no better than Jonah.

We end up looking just as ridiculous as Jonah, sitting at the edge of the city, pouting like a little kid.

Let’s grow up and rise above the current rancor that exists in so many places. Be concerned for the billions of people on this earth who need a merciful divine intervention and the grace of repentance that leads to new life. 

Pray for your enemies. Do good works for those who oppose you. Gain a bigger for the nations of the world. Remember what is really important in life. 

Any fool can rant and rave with anger against another; but the wise and gracious follower of God patiently and carefully prays and acts in ways that brings mercy and grace to others.

Merciful God, your presence of love in this world is truly amazing. Despite the real existence of evil on this earth, your grace cuts through it all and has the last word. Work in my life in such a way that fear is done away with and sinful anger vanishes, to be replaced with the love of Jesus Christ. Amen.

1 Peter 3:8-12 – Bless and Do Not Curse

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Ethiopian artist depiction of Jesus teaching on love

Finally, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble. Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing. For

The one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from uttering deceit.
And he must turn away from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the Lord’s face is against those who do evil. (New English Version)

It’s one thing to bestow a blessing to folks when they seem worthy of it – but it’s quite another thing when you have stinkers in your life. Bless the very ones who are abusive toward me? Some might think the Apostle Peter was off his rocker to instruct believers to bless the insufferable persons in their lives.

Peter, however, was only passing on what he had learned from the Lord Jesus:

“You have heard that it was said: You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. 

If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete. (Matthew 5:43-48, CEB)

The instruction to bless the hateful ingrates in our lives only seems strange when the avoidance of suffering and experiencing a pain-free existence is the summum bonum of life.

I get it. We don’t like to suffer. I don’t like to suffer. It hurts! I’m not really into pain. I’m not a high tolerance pain kind of guy. I have no problem taking a pain pill at the first sign of discomfort. Even so, I know there will be times I am going to have pain – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual – and there is going to be no way around it. 

To live in this broken world is to experience suffering. To suffer as a Christian, however, is different because we are following the way of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as Christ suffered, we can expect to suffer as his followers, as well. We are not above our Master. The real issue is whether we will suffer because of our own foolishness and selfishness, or because of our devotion to Christ in being kind, humble, and gracious. 

When insults come our way, we don’t need to respond in the same way with our own insults. Verbal cruelty is not the way of Christ. Anger, slander, gossip, lies, manipulative words, and belligerent bullying have absolutely no place in the kingdom of God for any reason. 

God takes a zero-tolerance policy toward hate speech, manipulation, and gaslighting.

The consistent witness of the New Testament is to bless and do not curse, to love and not to hate, to use our tongues for spreading words of encouragement and not of condemnation. Peter’s instruction and Christ’s teaching also totally jives with the Apostle Paul:

The Apostle Paul also learned from the Lord Jesus and upholds the need to bless and not curse:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…. Live in harmony with one another…. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:14-21, NIV)

Christians are to us their words for blessing, not cursing; for love, not hate; for truth, not lies; for building-up, not tearing-down; for proclaiming good news, not bad news laced with insults. 

If we suffer because of love, we shall receive blessing from God. If we suffer for giving-in to retaliation and our base desires for revenge, then we will suffer the consequences of our own stupidity.

God has called us to bless the world, not condemn it. 

Christians are to be on the front lines of spreading respect, civility, kindness, and the gospel. It is no problem showing love and respect to people we like. It’s a whole other ballgame to do the same for those who treat us with disrespect and hate.

Yet, God watches over all who obey him, and listens to their prayers. God will handle the hate-filled person; that’s not something we are to do.

Our task is to have a deep concern for humanity, both the ones we like, as well as the ones we don’t.

Loving Lord Jesus, you suffered and died on my behalf. It is a small thing for me to follow you and walk in the way of suffering. I know and have the confident expectation that blessing awaits. Keep me true to following you through all the adversity I face in this fallen broken world. Even so, come Lord Jesus, you who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.