How then shall we live?

Believers have asked throughout history:

In light of God’s commands and in light of circumstances, opportunities, and moral obligations, how shall we live?

The answer varies since God’s plan for each of us is distinct and unique. But  there are also general principles and circumstances that apply to all of us. 

To tackle the question , we me first understand the idea of tension.

The principles of God’s word are often in tension with one another.

The very nature of God demonstrates tension. God is good, loving, and forgiving.But to base one’s view of God on just those attributes could lead to lasciviousness and winking at sin. So the bible also teaches us that God is holy and he expects that if we love him, we will not live as as we did before, but will put on Christ and live as new creations. The two, seemingly opposing charachteristics are in tension with one another. The tension is intentional and provides balance.   God is love AND God is Holy. A balanced, rightly divided viewpoint grabs hold of one without letting go of the other.

The calling of God on our lives also involves tension: we are to provide/protect for our families and we are to lay down our lives to change/reach the world. Sometimes we get the tension right, sometimes we don’t. We can read the annals of missionary advances and church growth books and literally see the trail of broken marriages and families where ministers grabbed the gospel and let go of their responsibility to be present for their families. Alternately, we can see from the state of modern America that much of the church has just been busy living and attending to their own affairs and we have neglected to make engaging the world a priority.  We are to be the salt of the Earth AND the  light of the world. Tension between two good and valid principles is an important aspect of how we live our lives in a balanced way.

The tension between government and the consent of the governed is also important. We have failed to restrain the evil nature of our would be rulers, and things are about to get very ugly.   

God has instituted rulers among men to punish evil and to do justice. But rulers are sinful humans and are prone to abuse positions of power. When one set of officials is given too much unrestrained power they inevitably become corrupt and sometimes they become despotic. It was for this reason that the founders of the United States contrived a multi-branch and multi-entity government so that the tension would be there between the branches to restrict their thirst for power and their corruption. 

In modern america, the tension has failed, the checks and balances have been undermined, and the nation sits on the edge of collapse, teetering. The next election may or may not move us back from the edge, but those who are addicted to power will not stop their pursuit of it even if they are voted out of office. They will simply shift strategy to bottom up socialism instead of top down fascism. They will attempt to use violence and class warfare to achieve their ends instead of backroom deals and gradual usurpation of rights.

In the times we live in, a one world government is now emerging from the shadows and into plain sight. Powerful corporations, central banks, secret societies of uber wealthy elite have been centralizing power from behind the scenes for decades. They are now openly using political ideologies and tension between economic class, religious worldviews, and ethnic groups to set the conditions for worldwide feudal system where they are the only rulers. 

They offer a world where dissent, liberty, and organized resistance are not just forbidden, they are crushed ruthlessly. In the future they imagine for us there will be no tension. Their plan is complete global domination. They think they get to choose what rights others have.  They plan to grant only the rights required to keep the sheeple useful productive and docile and they will revoke rights at their whim.

The fate of future generations depends on how we handle the very salient question: How then shall we live?

I believe WE must restore the tension.

They seek to induce total dependence, we must reduce our dependence on a world that is growing increasingly hostile towards people of conscience and conviction.

They seek to herd  us into the cities (UN agenda 21), we must return to the countryside and grow our own food.

They seek to educate our children in their dogma, we must educate our children ourselves at home.

They seek to fund the consolidation of their own power through  merging banks, media, and even nation-states. They achieve this through our consent and our taxes. We must reduce their power by adopting voluntary simplicity, intentional community , and   self reliant barter / trade networks.

They seek to grow the size of government, centralize power (first federal, then global governance) and establish a single totalitarian regime. We must champion inalienable rights and pursue a policy of non-acquiescence with laws that seek to remove our rights. We must work tirelessly for local and state sovereignty with other liberty minded  groups.

They seek to silence us and intimidate us, we must be bold, now, in educating our neighbors.

They seek to route all our communications through the web so they can monitor and censure any dissent (FCC), we must use (old school and innovative) information sharing methods that are secure and resilient.

They seek to devalue all paper currencies and replace them with a single worldwide electronic currency (SDR), we must revert to precious metals and durable goods for trade and for wealth preservation.

They seek to force us into a global collective (like Babel of long ago), we must revert to family and community units that can stand together in self-reliant unity.

They seek to play god with our lives, we must humble ourselves before the true God and pray fervently (2 Ch 7:14).

They seek to tell us that they own the water that falls from the sky (some western states already restrict collecting rain) and that we have no right to what God gives freely. We must refuse to surrunder our God given rights so that the rights of future generations are secured.

They seek to centralize all food production (Monsanto), we must propagate non-hybrid seeds and raise genetically diverse livestock without reliance on high technology.

They seek to route all charity through the state (welfare, entitlements, state approved churches) so that no gratitude is owed to any competing ideology. We must be charitable and relational, and we must refuse to co-operate with state sponsored redistribution of wealth (such as inappropriate questions on census forms).

They want a pastor in every pulpit who will keep the flock docile (like in Nazi Germany) as they execute on their agenda, we must boldly serve as the salt of the earth and the light of the world without fear of reprisal for speaking out.

They want our people to be motivated by self-actualization (be the best you..), we must preach a crucified Christ that requires his followers to count the cost (in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer..) and obey God instead of man when the two conflict.

They don’t mind docile dependent Christians because when hunger and fear are widespread, most will join the great falling away and will surrender their rights gladly for a bowl of porridge. We must refuse to participate in the great falling away.  Instead we should anticipate and prepare for a long period of trouble.

They seek to reduce the population of the earth through war, famine, and disease, we must attempt to be one of those Jesus spoke of -> “He who endures to the end will be saved”.

Human nature demands tension.

It turns out that  in answer to the question, “How then shall we live?” , our choices are tension or tyranny.

I choose tension. This is what “having done all, stand (eph 6:13)“ requires of me.