Miscellaneous: “When genocide was called good.” | Ben

The Bible is filled with examples of people doing bad things and thinking that they’re doing good. Probably one of the best examples of this is when genocide was called “good” in the book of Esther. Now, to be clear, the one who said it didn’t know what he was saying. But I think the point stands because the person he said it to, did. 

Allow me to explain. 

This moment comes after King Xerxes (a bad guy) was convinced by Haman (an even worse guy) to make a new law permitting force against the Jews. Cleverly, Haman never tells the king which people group he meant to kill. His entire speech is a masterclass in manipulation. But shockingly, neither does the king investigate further. Why the king had no follow-up questions is not clear. Though it probably had something to do with Haman bribing Xerxes with an exorbitant sum of money. Thus, seeing the dollar bills rolling in, the only response the king gives is to say in Esther 3:11, “do with them as it seems good to you.” (Emphasis added) 

It is often said, “Ignorance is bliss.” But in this case, I think we can all agree that ignorance is stupidity. Without even knowing the details, this aristocratic buffoon called the “deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race” good.[1] As in, the exact opposite of evil. This is literally like saying that the Holocaust was a good ol' time for the Jews living in the 1940s. 

Now, when I first got to this point in Esther’s story, I thought, "How could anyone plot the destruction of an entire people group and think of it as a good thing?” And what’s interesting about that question is that it’s similar to the ones I’ve had before. Such as when I wondered, “How could two teenagers walk into a high school in Columbine, CO and kill 13 people?” Or, “How could someone hijack a plane and fly it into a building?”  Or, most recently, “How could a person claiming to be Christian, storm the Capital?”

Admittedly, none of those questions are easy to answer. Humans are complex creatures with varying motives. And so, narrowing things down to just one explanation may be so simplistic that it isn't beneficial. However, every solution must have a first step. Thus, I think a good starting point is this: a worldview devoid of a biblical foundation will regard “good” as evil and “evil” as good. In each of those scenarios, a failure to know right from wrong led to great heartache.

But this problem isn’t new, is it? We need only look as far back as the 1930s and 1940s to get more than enough examples in world history. Such as the aforementioned Holocaust, where nearly 6 million Jews lost their lives, over a million of which died in Auschwitz alone.[2] Or how Joseph Stalin's communist ideologies led to a self-induced famine called the "Holodomor," where at least 5 million people died of starvation in what was supposed to be the breadbasket of Europe.[3] Even more shocking was that those who didn't die had to resort to things like theft, murder, prostitution, and even cannibalism—yes, cannibalism—just to survive.[4] Why? Because Stalinism convinced the masses that the farmer was oppressing the people. That lie spurred communist agitators to take the farmer’s land, often killing them in the process. And, ultimately, this collectivist mindset gutted the farming industry, leading to food shortages. 

Moving away from recent history, examples in the Scriptures of evil being regarded as good are so numerous you don’t even have to leave the very first book to get your fair share. For instance, Eve took the forbidden fruit because it appealed to the eye (Gen. 3:6). Sarah mistreated Hagar because it pleased her (Gen. 16:6). And Lot willingly offered his daughters to a violent mob saying, “do to them as you please.” (Gen. 19:8) 

When we alone become the arbiters of truth, "good" changes from an objective principle into a subjective preference. Rather than some fixed standard determining what is allowed, our individual circumstances become the determination. Determine the parameters of your own good, and “good” can be whatever you want it to be. Thus, should you feel strongly about something, it no longer matters whether you’re taking something you shouldn’t or hurting an innocent. So long as you feel like it's right, it must be right. Right? This line of reasoning is what leads humanity towards the Holocaust and the Holodomor alike. It motivated Eve to take the fruit, Sarah to abuse Hagar, and Lot to offer his daughters. Without some true north to guide us, our thoughts and feelings will tend to overrule the rules. 

It is no secret we are born believing that we are right and everyone else is wrong. Ironically, what does feel wrong is when someone tells us what to do or what not to do. Anyone who's ever tried to reason with a child gets a distinct impression that they think themselves infallible. And maturity does little to dull this inclination.  A toddler pitching a fit because they’ve been told not to eat the yellow snow is no different than a man-baby losing his mind because he can’t go into a store at the height of a pandemic without wearing a mask.[5]

At our core, we like to think of ourselves as gods, and no one can tell us what to do. Thus, to be the gods of our own destiny, “good” must be made in our own image. And precisely because of this, the human race has done some horrific things. 

For example, here in my own city, a woman took the bodies of her deceased niece and nephew and hid them in the trunk of her car. Apparently, the five-year-old boy weighed only 21 pounds when he died and had been deceased for about two months before they found him. Whereas the girl, who was only seven, seems to have been in a suitcase since May of 2020. Now, no one would argue how tragic this story is. But before we begin to distance ourselves from this woman, allow me to remind you that within the shores of the United States in 2017, 13.5 women out of 1,000 aged 15-44 had an abortion.[6] Admittedly, this is a historic low, lower than when Roe v. Wade legalized abortions in 1973.[7]  And while I hope and pray this trend continues to drop in the coming years, I must say that even one abortion is still one too many. The deaths of 862,320 unborn children in 2017 is no less tragic than the bodies of two children being hidden in the trunk of a car in 2021. 

So, why make this comparison? Because we live in a world of cognitive dissonance where the latter is rightly condemned, but the former is curiously debated. Most people view the world through their own lens of "good" and "evil" rather than God's, and it is often the innocent who pay the price. Rather than condemn evil, our world condones and even commends it (cf. Rom. 1:32). God says, “My creation, my claim.” But the world counters with, “My body, my choice.”[8]

But there is a harsh warning in Scripture for those who would pervert the definition of what is good and what is evil.  

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” 

Isaiah 5:20-24 (ESV)

The degradation of truth leads humanity further down the road of debauchery and depravity, leading to its destruction. And while God is merciful (cf. Ex. 34:6-7), longsuffering (cf. Ex. 34:6; Rom. 2:5), and not willing that any should perish (cf. Pet. 3:9); a day of reckoning is coming (cf. Mat. 25:31-46; 2 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 9:27). I wonder how many will go into eternal darkness thinking they haven’t done anything wrong.

Going back to the story of Esther, Haman thought the massacre of an entire people group—the young, old, men, women, and children—and the plunder of their possessions was good. Xerxes, a monarch who was supposed to protect his people, instead put his "stamp" of approval on genocide (cf. Esth. 3:10, 12). Just because something is legally permissible does not make it morally acceptable. And both men would end up dying untimely deaths because of their duplicitous morals. Haman is hung on the very gallows he himself had made for Mordecai; whereas, Xerxes would later be assassinated by one of his own ministers.[9] Fitting ends for wicked men. 

Thus, whether in this life or the next, God will avenge the victim. He will defend the defenseless. And He will right every wrong.  It is our choice whether or not we will align with what God thinks of as good. A worldview devoid of a biblical foundation will regard “good” as evil and “evil” as good.  You are either the man throwing the dice trying to control your destiny, or you're the man trusting the One who tells the die where to fall (cf. Esth. 3:7; 9:24-32; Pro. 16:33). The one man defines for himself what is good, while the other allows God to define it for him. 

Which one are you? 

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[1]            Andreopoulos, George J., "Genocide," Encyclopedia Britannica, January 14, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/genocide, [accessed, August 6, 2021].

[2]            Frost, Natasha, “Horrors of Auschwitz: The Numbers Behind WWII's Deadliest Concentration Camp,” January 23, 2020, The History Channel, https://www.history.com/news/auschwitz-concentration-camp-numbers, [accessed, August 17, 2021].

[3]            Applebaum, A.. "Holodomor." Encyclopedia Britannica, November 12, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/event/Holodomor, [accessed, August 17, 2021].

[4]           Coates, Ta-Nehisi, “Grappling With Holodomor: Thoughts On Timothy Snyder’s The Bloodlands,” January 3, 2014, The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/grappling-with-holodomor/282816/, [accessed, August 18, 2021].

[5]           Yong, Ed, “How The Pandemic Now Ends,” August 12, 2021, The Atlantic,https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/08/delta-has-changed-pandemic-endgame/619726/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29, [accessed, August 13, 2021].

[6]           The Associated Press, “Number of abortions in U.S. drops to lowest since they became legal nationwide, report finds,” September 18, 2019, NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/number-abortions-u-s-drops-lowest-they-became-legal-nationwide-n1055726, [accessed, August 6, 2021]. 

[7]            French, David, “How To Be Pro-Life in Joe Biden’s America,” February 7, 2021, The Dispatch,  https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/how-to-be-pro-life-in-joe-bidens, [accessed, August 6, 2021].

[8]           Piper, Kirstie, “Bodily Autonomy and “My Body, My Choice,”” June 3, 2021, Focus on the Family, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/bodily-autonomy-and-my-body-my-choice/, [accessed, August 17, 2021].

[9]           Wikipedia contributors, "Xerxes I," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xerxes_I&oldid=1036598990, [accessed, August 6, 2021].

Redefining Priorities - Stephen

 “I had learned the lesson from a fellow struggler… who taught me that the secret of success is not ‘busianity,’ it is ‘Christianity.’ None of the great saints of the church made his or her mark by trying harder, only by loving more completely.” 

– Calvin Miller, “Life is Mostly Edges: A Memoir” 

 

When I began this blog a year ago I started it with the mindset that I needed to do something with the free time the pandemic had given me. My responsibilities at work, like that of many, had slowed down dramatically and abruptly. This allowed for more time with family and enjoyment of the great outdoors. Still deep down there was a yearning to accomplish something and be what I defined as “productive.” Have you ever wondered where this internal pressure to prioritize work comes from? 

 

The American dream has a lot to do with this never-ending work ethic. The idea that we are a self-made country built upon the backs of self-made people resulting in self-made comforts has indwelt the hearts of many Americans even to this day. And, before I go any further, let me be clear: laziness is not the opposite of this work ethic, satisfaction is. 

 

As the pandemic brought about a sudden stop to the busyness of my life I was faced with a real conundrum—a desire to do something when nothing needed to be done. This American dream mindset or mere self-motivation was driving a car that had nowhere to go. This force caused me to go crazy until I finally sought God’s Word for His answer to my obsession for prioritizing productivity and accomplishment. 

 

As we read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 our 21^st century minds find appreciation for just about all of them. We still think it is a good idea not to kill, steal, lie, or covet other people’s “stuff” including their spouse…which the commandment ironically includes right next to one’s animals. (A good excuse for when my wife asks if I was born in a barn.) Some of us might even have an ornate listing of these commandments in our home so that we can conveniently point to the “Honor thy father and mother” one when our sweet kids turn into teenage monsters and the Bible is the only thing keeping us sane. 

 

Yet there is one commandment in God’s “Top Ten” that we give less attention to. You hardly hear anyone quote it, memorize it, or point to it at any given time. And I think there is a reason for that. Which led me to this question: was it our innate ability to get our priorities out of order that caused God to implement the Sabbath in the first place?

 

According to Exodus 20, God gave the commandment of the Sabbath for two reasons. First, God knew the Jewish people needed a day to focus on the holy as if they wouldn’t naturally do it themselves.Secondly, God also knew they needed a day to rest from the work of the other six days as if they wouldn’t naturally do this either.

 

Have you ever considered how out of place this commandment seems? God is literally commanding this group of people to reflect right next to commanding them not to kill each other. None of these commandments are more important than the others, they are equal. God is equating the priority of physical rest and spiritual reflection with their need for physical life. 

 

Fast-forward to today. Many in our world are still consumed with the priority of productivity and accomplishment. Although the Sabbath commandment was fulfilled by Christ who has now become our true rest there is still a lesson to be learned. Modern believers of God should still be the ones who are willing to set aside their personal goals in all other priorities if need be. Choosing rather to find satisfaction in prioritizing Christ’s accomplishments on the cross and from the grave. 

 

But why us? The answer is simple—because our entire faith is based upon that very thing.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;”

Titus 3:5-6

In other words, our soul’s fulfillment is built upon what God did, not on anything we do or can ever do. It’s centered on His accomplishments and none of ours. 

 

So, in our fast-paced world of workaholics seeking fulfillment from their own achievements may we truly find God-given satisfaction in that. When we can’t accomplish what we desire or to the level we think we need to achieve to be accepted by those around us, may we prioritize the fact that we are already fully accepted by God through what His Son has already done. 

 

Redefining Priorities - Ron

This month, Stephen has asked us to redefine our priorities and not wait until the last minute to write our posts for Middlings. As you know, Ben openly rebelled against this admonishing. I have shifted all of my priorities for Stephen, however, and instead of napping on this fine Sunday afternoon, I have decided to write my post. Later tonight, between the hours of 8-11 P.M. (when I would normally panic-write), I will be giving myself many mental high fives and back pats of congratulations for my several-hour-lack of procrastination.

In all seriousness, I knew what I wanted to write about this month as soon as Stephen reminded me of the topic two weeks ago because I could not find my list. Love versus truth. That is what I wanted to write about. Unfortunately for me, I wrote about that topic back in February. In fact, the post that I wanted to write for redefining priorities, I essentially wrote for redefining love. In that post, I argued that what the world calls love must be tempered by truth.

Apparently, not everyone has read my post from February, because the world is still prioritizing love over the truth. I genuinely thought I’d have seen wholesale change by now. At the risk of being perceived as a “one-trick pony,” I am still going to write about prioritizing the truth because it is something we must do. If you want to take a jump over to my February post, you will find a humbly-written, but still majestic, ode to speaking the truth in love. In the post, I wrote, “If we truly love, we must be willing to speak the truth. Speak it in love, of course. But speak it all the same.”

One could quote the Apostle Paul as saying, “the greatest of these is love,” and one would be correct. But the world is not starved for love. The world is starved for truth. Truth is necessary to answer the big questions of life. These are questions such as:

• Who am I?

• Why am I here?

• Where did I come from?

• Where am I going?

Statistics tells us that most teen/college age students leave religion because of a search for truth, and they find that science answers more of their questions than religion does. They leave, in part, because church leaders and parents are not properly teaching a biblical worldview. Maybe this is because they don’t understand it themselves, or maybe it is because they were raised in a generation that didn’t ask questions. But culture has been asking for truth for quite some time:

• Johnny Cash – 1970 – You better help the youth find what is truth.

• John Lennon – 1971 – All I want is the truth, just give me some truth.

• Prince – 1998 – What if half the things ever said turned out to be a lie? How will you know the truth?

• Creed – 2001 – What is the truth now?

• TFK – 2005 – We want the truth. Give us the absolute. We need your help, ‘cause we’ve got nothing left to lose.

• Muse – 2013 – I want the truth!

Today, we have to deal with phrases like, “speak your truth,” “fake news,” and “truth over facts.” To be fair, that last one was said to be a mistake. While I doubt that the statement was purposefully made, I think the sentiment aligns well with our culture. If there is no objective truth, and if your truth is what you feel at any moment, then culture certainly does choose truth over facts. We also have to try to discern between real and fake crimes, doctored pictures and videos, and re-written textbooks.

There are those who say, "'love at any cost' is a better way to live than 'truth at any cost'" (@jeremy.jernigan), and this not only aligns with culture, it also sounds good initially. But prioritizing truth is vitally important. So much so, that Scripture says, “…let God be true, but every man a liar…” in Romans 3:4.

To finish off my post, I just want to point out some biblical truths that will need to be sacrificed if love (as the world defines and redefines it) is going to be the ultimate value:

1. God exists and He created everything. Paul makes it clear that mankind cannot ignore God’s handiwork as evidenced through creation in Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Even Darwin admitted: “The impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe with our conscious selves arose through chance seems to me the chief argument for the existence of God.”

2. God is personally knowable. We are concerned not only that God exists, but that there is relationship between Him and man. God has revealed Himself to mankind in a general way through creation and in a special way evidenced by His divine words and acts contained in the Bible and life of Christ. To say that God is knowable is to say that He relates or has personality. God is personal in that He knows Himself; He thinks or acts. God’s self-awareness, His emotions, and His self-determining will make up the core of His personality. “I am the first and the last, and there is no God besides me” (Isaiah 44:6). The God of the Bible also has sensibilities. At times He is portrayed as sorrowful, angry, compassionate, jealous, and able to show satisfaction. This shows that God is willing to reveal Himself in an anthropomorphic, personal way to us.

3. God is perfectly holy and demands holiness. (Leviticus 11:44-45; 1 Peter 1:15-16)

4. God will judge unholiness. The holiness of God necessitates the judgment of God. God must be a judge because His holy nature is antithetical to sin. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever will destroy it (see: Flood, Sodom & Gomorrah, Nadab & Abihu, Canaan, Israel, & Judah). God judges because He is One Who is wise, discerning, and able to know what should be judged. Biblical Christianity believes that God is all-wise, all-knowing, and stands alone as the One qualified to discern truth from deceit.

5. All of mankind is in rebellion against God. (Romans 3:10-18, 23; Romans 5:12)

6. The judgment for sin is eternal death. (Luke 16:23-31; Matthew 7:23, 25:41)

7. God made a way of salvation. (Romans 6:23b; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; John 14:6)

These truths, presented as absolutes in Scripture, become increasingly offensive to those at enmity with God. In the final, Jesus claims to be the only avenue through which peace with God the Father is possible. Holding fast to these truths may come across as intolerant and unloving. Make no mistake, if we continue to deprioritize the truth, even in the name of love, we will end up like Michael Gungor, spouting off platitudes that mean nothing: “Jesus was Christ. Buddha was Christ. Muhammad was Christ. Christ is a word for the Universe seeing itself. You are Christ. We are the body of Christ” (Twitter, @michaelgungor, July 23, 2021).

This month, and every month, prioritize the truth. And if you are on the struggle bus trying to prioritize your daily tasks (which is almost assuredly what Stephen wanted us to write about), speak reminders into existence by using Siri, Alexa, or Google.

Redefining Priorities – Ben

August 2, 2021, Ben Hyrne wakes up from a restless sleep as his three-year-old son pile drives him in the solar plexus. He’s spent most of the night tossing and turning in what the Holiday Inn claimed to be a “queen-sized bed” but was really a modern-day take on a Catherine Wheel. No matter. He was looking forward to the day. After all, his family was going to a construction-themed amusement park. And even though schooling wouldn't resume for some weeks, it would be a fitting end to their summer escapades. 

As he lovingly tosses his son across the room to safely land in a sprawl on the other bed, Ben picks up his phone. The time read, "7:29AM."  Ben thinks to himself, "Man. I can't believe the kids let us sleep in so long." But as his eyes blearily focus on his notifications, he notices a text from his friend, Stephen Sapp. He begins to read and his stomach is at once in a knot. A round turn and two half hitches kind of knot, too; not one of those simple figure-eight ones. The text was from the night before, and it said, "Ben you good for kicking off Redefining Priorities tomorrow?"

Stephen, of course, was talking about The Middlings Blog. It was Ben’s turn to start off the month. But Ben was not “good for kicking off Redefining Priorities.” 

Ben had utterly forgotten. 

Ben had been entirely focused on this mini-vacation to the exclusion of everything else. 

And what was the topic again? Oh right. “Redefining Priorities.” Even in his sleep-deprived state, the irony of his situation was not lost on him. Especially when his loving wife, with all the glee of a schoolgirl on Christmas morning, points it out to him over breakfast. 

Ben then proceeds to confess that, in fact, he had absolutely nothing written. He apologizes. He is forgiven. And he is then told, in a kind but stern way, to get the post up by the next day.  

And so, here he is. Typing away at his keyboard. It’s 10:35PM. He’s wearied from his day and more than a little burned from the sun. But he types. Hoping that something worth reading would come to him so he can post this to the blog and go to bed. 

If only Ben had made himself a reminder in his calendar. Dear reader, he lives and dies by that calendar. He once put a reminder in his calendar about reviewing his calendar just so he doesn’t forget something important in his calendar. And yet, despite all his best efforts, he had forgotten something important. 

And what’s the moral of the story? How do you position your priorities in such a way that you don't end up like Ben? The timeless lesson is this: When you learn of a deadline, put it in your calendar. 

Ben couldn’t find anything in Scripture to support this point. But if the Apostle Paul were alive today and knew of such things, no doubt there would be something written about it. So, don’t be like Ben. If it’s important enough to remember, it’s important enough to put it in your calendar.