A friend and pastor shared this 3-1/2 year old website post with me from Dr. Del Tackett, and I can’t seem to get it out of my head. I want to share it with you and add my own commentary in this space.
Dr. Tackett points out two progressions in scripture that are inarguably reflected in culture today. I’ll tackle the first progression in this post, because I have my own comments I would like to add. I would suggest you read the second progression in the post linked above. I fully agree with Dr. Tackett, but have nothing additional to add to his conclusions.
In the weeks both pre and post election, you need to look no further than your own social media feed and interpersonal relationships to see the first scriptural progression play out right before your eyes today.
I try – and often fail – to live my life according to a Biblical worldview.
What the heck is that? A biblical worldview is a way to understand the world through the lens of biblical teachings. It means interpreting life, ethics, history, science, and human behavior based on principles and truths from the Bible. Those who hold a biblical worldview believe God is the creator of the universe, humans are made in His image, and Scripture (not government, I say with my finger virtually wagging) defines moral standards. It also encompasses beliefs about salvation, the purpose of life, and the coming judgment. Essentially, it’s seeing reality in a way consistent with biblical values and narratives.
It is through this worldview that I try to make sense of the issues of our day. When the Spirit of the Age (briefly defining the Spirit of the Age – I use it to encapsulate the accepted beliefs of current popular culture – “the they”) calls an issue “complex” or “nuanced”, I go to the Bible to see what it says, and often find the issue is not complex or nuanced. “They” just make it that way. The Bible is plainly clear on nearly all the issues the Spirit of the Age tries to complicate. Abortion. Marriage. Gender. All the biggies used to divide society are made clear in the Bible. The Bible is either true or it’s not. There is no in-between. And it is a pretty good idea for a Christian to live and believe that the Bible is truth and the Holy Word of God.
That’s a Biblical worldview – and that’s how I try (and often fail) to live my life.
Back to Mr. Tackett’s suppositions – Scripture Track 1
What follows is largely a quotation of his work, linked above, with my own observations mixed in.
Scripture Track 1 is from Proverbs, and it introduces three kinds of people: the simpleton, the mocker, and the fool. I bet you can hit your social media feed right this instant and easily identify all three. These three are contrasted with the wise and are first introduced together in Proverbs 1:22,
How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?
The simpleton reminds me of the common, garden variety, comfort-addicted suburban normie. Now before you fly into offense and outrage, let me explain myself. I like the normie. I am the normie. By every measure, the comfort-addicted suburban normie should just be able to go to Starbucks and then to work and then pick up the kids and go to soccer and then go home to get a little dinner and then Netflix and chill. Comfortable. Normal. Simple. A good life.
You see, the risk is when the common garden-variety, comfort-addicted suburban normie (simpleton, in the scriptural comparison) becomes so normal and so simple that they ignore the truth – God’s truth – and fail to stand up for what is right.
They’re giving puberty blocking hormones to kids in my kid’s school, and not notifying their parents?! Deep in my normie heart I know it’s not right, but I’m not going to say anything. You do you, boo. There’s a biological male showering with our middle school daughters and playing on their volleyball team?! Again, my normie heart knows it is wrong, but meh, who am I to judge?! What? Venezuelan gangs took over two apartment complexes in Aurora?! Well, it’s only two, and it’s in Aurora, not Timnath.
It’s spiritual death by a thousand paper cuts. I get being a normie. I want to be a normie and just live my life and pursue happiness. But when that which is blatantly wrong – when that which is evil openly infests the good, the true, and the beautiful – then the normie must stand up and pursue righteousness. If they do not, then the normie – the simpleton – becomes the fool. And being a fool is an open rejection of God:
Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!
Psalms 14:1
When the simpleton (normie) becomes the fool, then much is lost. The fool hates and denies the truth. Not “their” truth. Not “lived experiences.” God’s truth, holy and righteous, as defined in his Word (the Bible) and lived and exampled by those who are wise and firmly grounded in a Biblical worldview. The fool rejects the truth in favor of whatever he gathers from the world (it was on social media, it must be true) and the pleasures – the comfort – that he can derive from these falsehoods.
Once they have fully rejected the truth, the fool can slide further. The fool can become the mocker. The mocker is a militant fool, arrogant, prideful, and self-righteous:
Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance.
Proverbs 21:24
Mockers fuel division, pick and encourage fights, and wallow in the ensuing abuse:
Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too. Quarrels and insults will disappear.
Proverbs 22:10
And note the mocker’s contribution to culture – to the Spirit of the Age:
…everyone detests a mocker.
Proverbs 24:9
And if a mocker goes unchecked by the simpleton (normie) and the wise:
Mockers can get a whole town agitated…
Proverbs 29:8
Ain’t that the truth?! We normies would be lying if we said we hadn’t sat back with a bag of metaphorical popcorn, watched it happen on social media or in our workplaces and schools, and derived a certain kind of sick entertainment from it. Let’s be real!
When a culture (we normies) allows the mockers and fools to have any credibility in society – when we allow them to amass power and position – we will find ourselves up against a militancy that does not rest in its desire to destroy a society in search of the good, the true, and the beautiful:
For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.
Proverbs 4:16
The evil has flourished, and their deeds have been done.
Now it is time for me to tick off fully half of you reading this.
I love you, but I must calls them the ways I sees them: For the last four years, this nation, and much of the state of Colorado, has been led by mockers and fools. People who ignore scientific fact and gaslight to the nth degree. People who mock us for our belief in the sanctity of life and our ability to actually define what a woman is (Two X chromosomes, anyone?) No, men can’t have babies. No, an 8th grade girl is not a housecat, and the thought of putting a litter box in a classroom for her is utter foolishness.
We’ve watched the fools be foolish and the mockers mock, and we’ve tried to keep to ourselves. It’s one thing for the fools and mockers to live in their own delusions, but now the expectation is that we acknowledge their lies as the truth. There’s only one problem, it’s not the truth.
So how should we normies try to live as wise in the twisted times in which we live? We must stand tall as examples of the wise. We must live and example the truth – not “our” truth – not “lived experiences” – but God’s truth as detailed in His Holy Word. We must not accept lies as the truth. We must not only seek righteousness, we must stand for nothing less.
Many normies are living in denial of the decay taking place around them. Worse yet, they recognize the decay and are too comfortable to stand against it. They may expect government to take care of it for them. Jefferson was right, “The people get the government they deserve.” Let me add, the people also get the society they desrve.
Until the great mass of common garden variety, comfort-addicted, suburban normies (yes, the simpletons) make the conscious decision to step outside their comfort, shake off the simpleton, and decide to live for the truth and as one of the wise, society and government will continue to reflect the decay made possible by the unhindered fools and mockers.
Hinder them. Do so with the way you seek truth and live in wisdom. Government can’t change the mind of the mocker or the fool, but you can, by living in and as the light. The wisdom. The truth.
Christians are called to be lights in a world darkened by the confusion and moral decay brought on by unhindered mockers and fools. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5:14-16:
You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Or to steal a coveted sentiment from the left, “be the change you want to see.”
Be an unmistakable source of wisdom, truth, clarity, and moral conviction, even when the mockers and fools of the world seem intent on erasing it.
