Rejecting Grace (Left Behind Is A Lie, Part Five)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. ~Daniel 3:16-18

I saw this a little bit ago.

Reopen Arizona nuts sang Amazing Grace to close out their pro-virus rally, and the host encouraged them to hold hands or touch each other. I wasn't going to write anything again today, after taking yesterday off. Then I saw this mess. Sorry, but I gotta say something.

In the Bible and Christian theology, the Grace of God stems from the death of Christ on the Cross, His sacrifice being given for all of humanity, in effect, as a substitutionary atonement, and His Resurrection in turn becomes our resurrection as we are all given Eternal Life because of it. Eternal Life stems from compassion, not from selfishness. He who must gain his life must first lose it. He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep, for that which he cannot lose.

In effect, it's the ultimate "If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can even imagine."

But that requires holding to a certain set of principles, even when it's not convenient or fun or easy. You have to at least try to be the better person, all the time, even when there's no benefit in it, hold to the Truth even when you have to acknowledge that you might not win. That's what those three brothers in ancient Babylon did. But if not, let it be known unto thee O King...

You can't just follow the Truth when it's convenient, you have to do it all the time, because it's the Truth...otherwise you don't believe in it. That is the message of Daniel 3. God didn't have to save those dudes, they said so themselves. Sometimes when you know that the only thing between you and Eternity is a half-rusted steel door, you gotta kick it open and charge in anyway. Duty is duty, respect is earned, by every action, every day. Sometimes we gotta do hard shit, and if somebody doesn't make it, well you gotta settle up after. But that requires actually believing this stuff and belief in the afterlife and having faith in something greater than yourself. It is in that way that a group of men and women, a city, or even a nation can become greater than the sum of its parts.

More to the point, I think social distancing implies giving a certain grace to other people. We don't know why might have this virus, anybody might, including you. We all have to give a little, so that the greater whole might survive.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind but now I see

Was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils and snares
We have already come
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far
And Grace will lead us home
And Grace will lead us home

~Traditional Christian Hymn by John Newton.

That's basically the total opposite of the ME! ME! ME! attitude of Donald Trump, the Reopen protesters, and the Trump Supporters.

Notice the sign? These fools are singing Amazing Grace, while touching each other just to spite social distancing, and while somebody's holding up a sign calling Arizona's Republican governor a Democrat and a douche-bag.

I'm sorry, but the same people that taught me the words to Amazing Grace also taught me that name-calling and profanity were wrong and should be avoided. Most of the serious Christians that I know, or ever have, do not often use foul language and many try to avoid using it at all.

And those same people taught me that unless I had a good reason not to, that I should obey the law, and in turn we have legal processes in America for changing the law, and for protecting those who expose evils and injustices that happen under color of authority.

None of those seem to involve fighting with the cops, if I recall correctly.

It's funny how Blue Lives Mattered, until they didn't because White ninnies who are driven by their desires and wants, obsessed with convenience and afraid of change decided they wanted something.

And they can't be bothered to extend the slightest bit of grace even to people whose jobs it may be to keep them alive, whether they be cops or medical professionals or Democratic and non-insane Republican politicians.

Social distancing, as many people including medical professionals and public health experts feared, has become just another culture war battleground to the Tribal Republicans.

These Fucking People would rather call J.B. Pritzker, the Jewish governor of Illinois, a Nazi because he's trying to keep them alive. I'm fucking sorry, but I used to be a conservative and that just doesn't compute.

Democrats and at least some Republicans are doing their level best to try to keep their people alive, and getting nothing but crap for it from Trump Republicans.

I guess there really are people out there who will fall down and worship the statue when they hear the music, or dance around the fire shouting "Unga Bunga" before they go out and try to find somebody to throw into the volcano to placate their primitive fire gods.

Meanwhile Trump, his cronies, and most Federal elected Republicans are doing nothing but trying to use this virus shit to shovel more money into their pockets

At least as I was given to understand things it's hard to spend money when you're dead.

The thing is that the grace you give to others, either spiritually or by social distancing comes back to you. Or doesn't, as it were, in that you don't get sick. What you put into life, eventually comes back around. As you sow, so shall you reap. I for one find it appalling that conservatives and supposed-Christians are the ones rejecting this basic core belief of not only Christianity...but in fact any decent religion...immediately on the first time in living memory that we as a people are put to this fairly simple test.

They are rejecting grace, in favor of some golden image, in favor of some harsh legalistic system that obviously does not benefit them, because they associate social distancing, much less Unemployment Insurance, with being of the other tribe, or being weak or something.

As an aside, I know what I've done, you can think I'm weak all you want. Come at me and you'll find out otherwise real quick.

What's worse is, I'll bet you money that when they get sick, they will want that grace that they denied everybody else to be shown to them anyway. In a spiritual sense you cannot do this, you cannot reject grace for others while expecting to get it yourself. As you sow, so shall you reap. God is not stupid. That's how you end up in hell.

The vast majority of us are being asked to do very little in this mess, stay home, find other ways to do the things you do, don't go out as much, get it your own damn self. Stay home and fuck your wife instead of going to the strip club, etc. You can still get dinner from a restaurant, is being expected to take it home and eat it with your own knife and fork really so damn hard? You can still cut your own hair, get a Pornhub subscription, and order even non-essential stuff online. This shit is hard and inconvenient for everybody, it's not just you, it's not about you. Most of us ain't being asked to do shit but adjust a little.

A minority of us, emergency services, essential workers, and health care professionals, are being asked to shoulder a crushing burden. The rest of us get to stay home and do what we want, and in my state get paid pretty damn well for doing it. I'll take that over people who think social distancing means to shut down the break room any day, and if that offends your ideology, fuck you. Self-interest and basic survival tell me I need to stay the fuck home, and wear a mask if I go to the store or any other place where there's people around.

If I am to expect grace myself, I have to give it to other people. Service before self. If the only thing between me and eternity is this mask I'm wearing and the fact that there's fewer people around, bet your ass I'm going to take that option no matter what the laws and procedures say. If even George W. Bush gets that, then what's my excuse if I don't?

We rise or fall together.

And we are determined to rise.

Together we rise, or none of us do.

Rejecting grace because you think it will hurt your political opponents will only cause you to hurt yourself.

Part Four.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

~Matthew 4:5-7

Part Six