I begin with a quote from Shakespeare instead of Jesus or Paul. It is from Romeo and Juliet whose families saw only wrong in each other. “A plague on both your houses.”
This is the season for half-truths. Could the speakers, defenders and promoters of their political views really believe the rest of us are so stupid we cannot see through their feeble intellectual attempts to manipulate us? Perhaps that is what upsets me. My vanity is at stake when I am taken to be a fool. Perhaps twelve years from now when my mental faculties have waned will I be taken in by the transparent foolish grabbing for power? But not this time around.
But as Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” This has been going on for thousands of years. The two most powerful contending political parties in Jesus’ time were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. One positive thing about the ministry of Jesus was He brought unity to the Sanhedrin. Both sides hated Him. He stomped on both sets of egos. If you want some very interesting reading try out Matthew 23 before going to bed this evening. Jesus was neither meek nor mild. And just as now the underlining issues were financial. Jesus cleansed the temple twice during Passovers. He cost them huge sums in lost revenue.
How grand it is to know that our real leader, our Heavenly Father, will never lie to us nor try to feed us half-truths. Hebrews 6:18 tells us that “it was impossible for God to lie.” By His very nature He is the Truth. It is Satan who is the father of lies. John 8:44.
Written by Roger Bothwell on September 5, 2012
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org