Tag Archives: fear

Burned Out

I came across this post while browsing the Facebooks, and I was already thinking about how often anyone who doesn’t agree with the Right on my friends list gets called a sheep or treated as though their one and only motivation for everything they do is fear.

Mario Murillo has this post about responding to the government response to the pandemic. While I can get behind a little bit of it, most of it feels like skepticism and fear peddled as “the true faithful’s viewpoint.”

He does say fairly that, whether you feel like you should re-open your church or keep your church closed, the important thing is that you are doing what you feel led by God to do, and not just trying to appease some government or politicians. The person keeping their church closed should be seeking to please God, and the person opening their church should be honoring God and following His lead, NOT thumbing their nose at politicians or trying to rebel against authority.

I can appreciate that as a sort of reasonable olive branch extended to people on both sides. He even implies that pastors who seek to follow God might keep their church closed as an act of obedient faith.

But then he descends into all his reasons why we should re-open, making arguments that I feel work just as effectively against his case as they provide support.

First, anything less than “re-open everything now” is falling into the evil plans of the Left.

The funny thing to me is that while everyone on the “re-open now” side is accusing the other side of fear, they’re operating out of fear just as much. Oh, they call it wisdom. “Never trust the government! Or Big Pharma! Or science!” But it looks and feels like paranoia.

It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you! I saw a YouTube video about this. (/sarcasm)

Murillo claims that the goal post was moved, that we all were lied to, that the new end state requirement is “having a cure.”

No one is anticipating having a cure, but they do want to try to develop an effective vaccine. Those are different things. Vaccines don’t always work for everything; Dr. Fauci even warned Congress about this just recently, though I feel like the headline is misleading.

Developing the right vaccine is a process, and they’re trying to end up with something that can help counter the spread and the danger of the disease. But no, it’s not a cure, so maybe be more careful with your choice of words.

Murillo also says, “What about the flu?” as if that’s not the most tired argument. “The flu kills about 40K a year and we aren’t shutting down for that…”

But we’re already at 90K dead in about 4 months at most since corona came to the US. So, since we’re already more than double the number of deaths in less than half the time all while taking the most drastic preventative measures to stop the spread that any of us can probably remember within our lifetimes, can we shut up about comparisons to the flu?

But yes, it’s the Left that’s exaggerating everything. You know, as they do. Thankfully the Right is ever the bastion of truth. (sarcasm again. They should make a font for it.)

No, actually, most of what I hear from the panic-stricken Right is an exaggeration as well. “Our coronavirus response? It’s so good. We’re doing really well. Everything is great. We’re the best. We’re the reasonable side.”

When facing an unknown and dangerous situation, most people aim to err on the side of caution, because you can regret overreacting to a thing, but can’t really take back under-reacting to a global pandemic. There isn’t a reset button on this game we’re playing.

Murillo says that our witness will be ruined because so many people feel as though government tyranny is upon us, and some churches will have gone right along with it. “How do you think people will view us when they realize that their freedoms are being taken away?” (Sure, no fear on this side of the debate, just wisdom.)

I’ve seen plenty of witness ruined when people look on dumbfounded as church-goers flout the restrictions and demand to meet in large groups. We look bad to a large portion of the population when we can’t comply with restrictions for safety; to them, it seems like we’re content to put our neighbors and friends at risk, which is generally considered “not loving” behavior.

Some don’t get upset at us, however. They laugh and eagerly anticipate the faithful catching the virus, something they then use as an emotional appeal to “Where was your god when you were meeting to worship him?” It’s a weak logical or philosophical argument, but it plays well in the soundbites and memes of social media.

Murillo says the courts are striking down some elements of these lockdown orders.

Great news! Isn’t it?

It’s like the system of checks and balances in government still functions just fine. I was assured this was tyranny on the rise in the previous paragraph but now you’re telling me that tyranny is being stopped by the tyrannical government. Well, thank goodness!

Oh, but the clincher is “the litmus test” for reopening or not. “Find me one single avid fan of America remaining closed who does not also hate Trump.” These people would rather see thousands die than see Trump reelected! (In other words, here’s a dose of fear of the other side, mixed with politics, because we know that politics is the most important thing when we’re talking about your faith.)

“There’s no way God is in that—and you are going to get burned.”

But what about the stories of churches suffering losses of members or even pastors who got coronavirus after pushing back on the restrictions? A quick Google search brings up dozens of results of pastors dealing with the physical, immediate consequences of their stance.

(I tried re-finding the stories I read, which are described below, but I couldn’t pull them out of the wide range of similar stories with pastors who are more blatant or belligerent in their insistence that yes they must hold church and no little virus is going to stop them.)

Many churches are experiencing needless pain and regret. There’s a pastor in Canada now saying, “I wish I could go back and do it different” after two members of the congregation are dead and a few dozen got covid. Their group actually practiced some level of precaution and social distancing. There’s a choir of over a hundred members that went on meeting in the Pacific Northwest, and (if memory serves) 81 of the 120 or so got covid.

You’re telling me God is in that? You’re telling me those people didn’t get burned by a willful insistence to keep on doing normal things in the face of a pandemic?

Murillo throws in that the courts consider some of these governors and politicians “criminals.” Again, his word choice is incendiary and meant to elicit a reaction from the base. These politicians are not being charged with crimes. The judicial branch is exercising its authority to put a check on the executive branch by saying, “No, you don’t have the right to do that.” That’s how our system of government is designed to work. But ok, the Left are the ones always exaggerating everything.

All that aside, let me get back to this idea that anyone who disagrees with or opposes re-opening does so out of hatred for President Trump.

I have better things to do than to hate him, although I have a lot of issues with how he has handled the job. I also don’t consider myself an “avid fan” of America remaining closed.

See, that’s the problem with all of this. It’s all described in extremes, either because they know a highly polarized audience will rabidly consume fresh meat and keep the support going strong, or because they will then have the wiggle room to say, “Oh, I wasn’t talking about anyone who is being rational about this… I was merely talking about the vocal fringe on the other side of the American political spectrum.”

In so many of the posts and views shared on socials, it’s all-or-nothing, acting like only two options exist. Either you support opening everything and returning to normal with no restrictions or changes… or you’re a fear-mongering sheep trying to destroy the economy! Either you support closing everything and staying indoors until the end of forever, or you are literally trying to kill everyone’s grandma!

A rational person might conclude, “These are complex issues, with a lot of factors, some of which we may not even be aware of at the moment. We have to make careful decisions that try to take all these considerations into account.” That usually leads to some middle-of-the-road, common ground, “I respect your stance but I hope you also respect mine, and together we should respect these facts.”

Not with the current state of the Republichurch party.

It all feels like a big game–maybe a little too much like a televangelist’s pitch. “Don’t trust THEM, they’re out to getcha! Trust me, and pray about sending me support money. They’re trying to make you afraid! I, however, am merely a humble servant sharing truth as I know it.”

Yeah, no thanks.

Yes, I see fear from the Left in the media and on socials. But I see so much more fear from the Christian Right – the very ones who in the same posts proclaim how much everyone else is motivated by fear.

“Do you know what George Soros said? Do you know what Bill Gates did? Do you know about the shadow conspiracy that’s working to take over the world and strip us all of our freedoms? YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THEIR HANDS BY GIVING IN TO FEAR! Whereas I am sane and calm and Aware of Things.”

I like Murillo’s point that the church should be a beacon of hope for America. Would that we had more Christians in America and less political pundits—people sharing a Gospel that transforms lives instead of a diatribe that secures votes, showing the love of a transcendent God instead of blind devotion to a party or movement, souls sold out to Jesus instead of selling out to win another election.

I’m not feeling burned; I look at the Right, and I feel burned out.

Not Yet

Your promise still stands,

Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness.

I’m still in Your hands.

This is my confidence:

You’ve never failed me yet.

Elevation Worship has a song called “Do It Again” that is high on the CCLI and music app charts for the genre. It’s a strong tune with a driving beat and a lot of room to rock out with the worship band, yet the song also has a heartfelt, universally relatable theme, somewhat like a prayer:

God, this bad situation hasn’t changed yet, but I’m trusting You while I’m in the middle of it.

My wife and I both love the song, and I worked it into a testimony at church, relating a particular instance of God’s goodness to my family in the midst of a crisis (which I’ll share in another post).

However, my wife is not at all a fan of one word in the song: yet.

“God hasn’t failed us at all,” she explains, “and He’s not going to. We may not always get the answers we want, but God doesn’t let us down… and that word ‘yet’ makes it sound like maybe He might.”

I agree.

And yet…

To me, there’s this humanity, this frailty revealed in that wording. There’s a weakness that lurks in the lyrics just like it lurks in my heart, where even though I belt out that “This is my confidence: You’ve never failed me,” a little choked up voice adds a “yet” with a quiver or whimper.

Doubt whispers that maybe this is the one time. This is the exception. “Yeah, God came through before, but how sure are you?”

Maybe what I thought God was going to do isn’t what He has planned. Maybe the storm isn’t going to miraculously clear up and the waves aren’t going to suddenly fall into calm. Maybe He’s not going to say, “Peace, be still” this time.

I do have a testimony to share about how God met me and my family at a point of desperation and need. I have plenty of evidence of His goodness expressed through others and through sudden changes in our circumstances.

But I also see some dark clouds of the unknown looming over me, and the horizon is dimmed by billowing storms of delayed answers to prayers. It feels like as soon as one batch of questions and concerns are resolved, they tag new ones into the ring.

I apologize as I’m vaguebooking a bit here (we’re not on Facebook, so, blankblogging? blurposting?) mainly because I don’t even know all the questions or details of some of what’s on my mind.

One of the memory verses I am reviewing this week is Isaiah 41:10. It feels more appropriate than I would like.

“’Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬ ‭NASB‬‬

I also relate all too well to the man who–in response to the assurance that with God, all things are possible–cried out, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

Surely He helps us in times like this. Great is His faithfulness, and His promises still stand. He’s never failed me…

Yet.

Elements of Critique: Constructive

It’s every creator’s not-so-hidden fear. Someone is going to see, hear, or read their work and walk away saying, “It sucked. I hated it.”

Many of us struggle to put our precious babies out there to an audience, because we fear the reception they’ll receive.

That’s part of why critiques are so important. They’re not just a corrective measure to help identify flaws and strengths in a work. They’re also about building confidence…

So long as everyone agrees to provide constructive criticism.

It’s great to hear good things about one’s efforts. For me, there’s nothing quite so delightful as seeing how others receive something creative of mine, whether a song or drawing or piece of writing. Critique groups can help point out the good stuff in our writing. “Sad scene, but well written.” “I thought that was a nice touch that communicated that character’s voice well.” “That’s a strong, descriptive verb. Good choice!”

Now I have to be clear: Constructive criticism is not warm fuzzy accolades and blowing smoke to make someone feel good. “Oh it’s so delightful, I love the way you came up with sentence structures no one has ever used before! I really felt like I knew your cardboard cutout supporting characters by the way they had no redeemable virtues! You don’t even need to build a believable conflict into your story. It’ll be published for sure!”

Even though a critique group often includes friends, we don’t gather to puff each other up and gloss over weaknesses.

Constructive means we’re building something, and many building projects start by tearing down what presently stands in a given place. So it might feel painful to see all one’s flaws exposed and highlighted, but a good critique does just that…

In order to build on the strengths that remain once the flaws are removed.

In the military, we have an unwritten rule that certainly applies elsewhere. “Don’t just tell me the problem. Come with a solution.” Constructive critiques are like that.

“I didn’t like this part” gives the writer an indication of where to look for a problem, but it doesn’t capture what the problem actually is. “The grammar here is wrong. ‘The display of colors capture my attention.’ should read ‘the display of colors captures’ because it’s the display we’re talking about.”

“I didn’t like the way this solution presented itself in the story because it felt too much like a deus ex machina – in swoops the hero who happens to have just the device needed to stop the villain and save the damsel in distress with 3 seconds left on the timer of the bomb.” The next part is the most important. “Could you try… (potential fix) instead?”

A constructive critique doesn’t just point out flaws and present fixes for each error. The goal is to make the writer stronger, more skillful. So why not present an explanation that helps them identify similar problems elsewhere in their work?

I mentioned I joined Scribophile recently. It’s an online critique community where you earn points to post your own works by giving constructive critique to others. I’ve got a chapter up for critique, and I got thoughtful feedback from one of my followers on the site.

Warning: Work in Progress
Warning: Work in Progress

Take a look at some of these examples:
“I think this disrupts the flow here, I’d try to integrate it with the above” – along with a suggested cut of a clunky phrase and a reworded sentence to include the important elements.
“I would keep with the slow soothing dialogue, rather than the command. It seems a bit out of character.”
“How does this growing power make Lyllithe feel internally? Is her head buzzing? Or does she start to feel exceptionally warm? Perhaps more and more confidence is welling up as the doubts recede?”
“Hmmm, I find this draws me away from Lyllithe too much, and right now I am fully invested in her.”
“Since you used ‘focused’ in the sentence, there’s no need to say ‘attention.'”

Problem, explanation, solution.

This gives me feedback I can build on.

If you’re stopping by for the A to Z Blog Challenge, thanks! Tomorrow I’ll be looking at Dialogue. Maybe I’ll have something constructive to say.

They See Me Rollin', They Hatin'

A good friend of mine (who sometimes — occasionally — posts things on the internets) proposed a joint venture:

How would you feel about a role playing group that plays once a month for about four hours, records the sessions, and posts the highlights as a podcast?

I love the idea, because I greatly miss having an RPG group. But this has been done before, so what’s the hook?

We can try using D&D Next as a way to introduce it and test it out.

Fantastic. I only know a little of what I’ve heard or read in forums online, so a hands-on D&D Next experience would give me perspective and potentially be useful for readers/listeners. Certainly more than “check out the stupid antics of our RPG group” would.

I’m looking forward to the idea, but there are a few technical tests to run and we need a fourth member, so this isn’t happening tomorrow, just sometime in the Future ™. That’s assuming we don’t all lose our motivation and get sucked into some other distraction.

Then I was chatting with my wife today, and she mentioned how she lost a friend on Facebook over D&D. How do you lose a friend you barely know over D&D?

The source of all evil!
The source of all evil!

People fear the unknown, and if all they’re given is misinformation or worst-case examples, it’s easy to villify “that thing those people do” without ever giving it a chance or at least some rational thought. A lot of our friends are Christians, and sometimes we can be the worst at getting good information on a subject. Harry Potter is a tool of Satan in the “culture war” to introduce kids to witchcraft, right? And Star Wars is a tool of Satan to get kids hooked on New Age ideas. And Twilight is a tool of Satan to make kids stupid…

Well, maybe there’s something there.

But all too often we go off half-cocked on whatever the new cultural phenomenon is, and in the 80s, D&D got the same mistreatment from the Christian community. “People sit around in the darkness with candles casting spells!” and “Kids kill themselves when their characters die in the game!”

Hardly. More like “Friends sit around a table and interact in person telling stories, instead of acting like zombies staring at a TV screen or the light of a smartphone.”

But myths are hard to dispel. (Dispel… like dispelling MAGIC! Now my words are starting to incorporate witchcraft terminology! See how easily the evil creeps in?)

Spreading warts since... never.
Spreading warts since… never.

My family and I were at a park the other day, and in the course of playing around, we found a toad. After some effort, including a hilarious moment when the frisbee we tossed onto the toad started hopping around the sandbox, we successfully captured the beast.

We released it, and moments later, a little girl was watching it closely with wide eyes. Her parents stood close by, and the mom said, “Did you pick that toad up? That’s a horrible idea! That’s how you get warts!”

No, it’s not. But that’s been said so long, many of us believe it’s true.

To my Christian friends, is it possible we are all too willing to believe the scary news about whatever the next thing is, rather than investigate for ourselves and find the truth? My first-hand experiences with D&D and other RPGs have been nothing but positive. You can find some of those accounts in the Gaming category on this blog.

And to any RPG friends, maybe you’re curious what D&D Next will look like. Or maybe you’ve had a bad experience and can use a second opinion. Or maybe our group will discover that it really sucks, and we’ll post rants complaining about the dumbing down of the traditional game. In any event, I expect it will be a fun ride.

So stay tuned for updates, and keep an open mind.

D&D Next is not the Devil.

…or is it?