STUPEFYING

I Was Just Thinking About - - - 

There is a story that could begin with the words, “Once upon a time…” However, this story would not be a fable with a happy ending but a newsworthy story about intentional deception based upon the audacity, effrontery, insolence and shameless boldness of a man known as Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economics professor known for his role in advising the Obama administration on the Affordable Care Act. Demonstrating intellectual swagger and audacity Gruber was recorded and reported by ABC News as saying: “Gruber has made controversial comments in the past, but they don’t compare to the comments that came to light this week in videos where he refers to the ”stupidity of the American voter” and In another, when speaking about the Affordable Care Act tax credits said, “American voters are too stupid to understand the difference.” With his arrogance and insolence, he allowed that the American citizenry was easily stupefied by and with the deceptive rhetoric being used. The British Dictionary defines stupefying as: “to render insensitive or lethargic; to confuse or astound.”

The stupefying approach appears to be a clear and present danger for this generation in our nation and for the culture at large. Following the President’s 2015 State of the Union address, “MSNBC chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel emerged as a rare voice that to condemn the President’s rhetoric on foreign policy as both unrealistic and, in many cases, simply not true. After being asked by anchor Brian Williams for his thoughts, Engel began dissecting the President’s perceived world outlook: “Well, it sounded like the President was outlining a world that he wishes we were all living in but which is very different than the world that you just described with terror raids taking place across Europe, ISIS very much on the move.” In other words, he was indicating that the address was fantasy and myth. It implied that the intention of the rhetoric was to stupefy and mislead the public.

Is stupefying applicable only in the area of politics and government? Does it extend throughout the culture and impact the area of religion and the Church? Within the religious culture, there are any number of people who are graciously referred to as gullible.They are known for their readiness to ingest the “sound-good” words of the nefarious who proclaim “Peace, Peace when there is no Peace.” In Jeremiah 8:10-12, we have this description of the nefarious messengers who are beguiling the gullible and stupid: “From the prophet even to the priest Everyone practices deceit.They heal the brokenness…of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace. Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They certainly were not ashamed, And they did not know how to blush…” Before anyone cringes at the use of the word “stupid”, consider the words of Psalm 92:5-8, “How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O LORD, are on high forever.”

Paul began his writing to the Church at Corinth, I Corinthians 1:2-4, with these words: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…” Paul was also clear about the inherent dangers of gullibility when he wrote in Philippians 1:9-10, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,” In the confusing and deceptive culture in which we live, great care must be exercised to guard and increase our knowledge and discernment regarding Jesus Christ, the Living Word, as well as the written word of God in the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God alone, Hebrews 4:12, “…is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Consider these things with me.