Phyllis Beveridge Nissila

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” (1 Corinthians 3:19, NLT)

I doubt there are many left in today’s crazy-go-round world who have not refreshed their memories with a look-up of the word “irony,” if it has disappeared down the memory hole of grade school vocabulary classes, because I think this political era might well be known as the Irony Age, taking its place after the Stone, Bronze, and Critical Thinking ages (I just made up that last one, but know what I mean?).

Why do I think this?–because ironies of political ideology, word, and deed are proliferating faster than flies in a bull pen just now.

Here is a short list from just today’s news:

• It’s now the color of your skin not your character by which you are judged.
• Those who want to get rid of police protection are still heard to scream, “Call 911!”
• Essential services seem, now, to be looting, burning, and/or vandalizing (so no quarantine needed), but many hospitals and emergency services still have to observe certain virus-distancing measures; thus, staff is limited when you DO find someone at 911 after having been looted, burned, and/or vandalized, whether as victim or perperator.
• Not all people matter in this era of “diversity”.

But my post is not really about the obvious, rather, it is another effort to encourage everyone (read me, too) to keep in mind the “biggest picture,” i.e., that which helps keep perspectives focused, emotions cooled, and minds cleared.

But how is this possible, especially when so many are losing hope in law and order as evil seems to also be proliferating…?

“Biggest Picture”?

Any true investigation of the “ages of mankind” reveals that to some degree or other, irony is always present.

Even in the best of times, flawed humans expose our, well, human nature that is often seeded with the usual “sin suspects,” you might put it (greed, envy, lust, wrath, etc.), and of course we can’t market our intentions with THOSE words, after all!

Nevertheless, we do work hard to shine up our darker motivations because we know the masses can usually suss them out unless, by artful verbal deception (laced with heavy doses of  brain washing and mind control thrown in for good measure), the proposals are dressed up in enough of the Propaganda Pipers’ “Pied”–multi-hued, figuratively speaking, cover.

In the worst of times, our darker side flames up, figuratively and literally, especially absent restraining forces such as the rule of law.

Christians would add, particularly absent “The Restrainer” who many prophecy scholars believe to be the Holy Spirit Who exposes, tempers, and tames the Destroyer who, also in the bigger picture, is the real perpetrator of unrestrained evil.

And in the “biggest picture yet,” as both camps (evil and good) search for discernment for not only the most powerful tools with which to either deceive and conquer the masses or to free the masses, it is an unspoken but also obvious given that “we ain’t seen the (greatest irony) yet”.

Greatest Irony?

I am referencing the Divine Irony, so to speak, implied in the opening verse, where God, as in the God who knows “the end from the beginning,” and Whose “purpose will stand,” is neither duped nor deceived.

God knows irony, too.

Furthermore, His purpose is Good News for those who choose to put their faith in Him (here’s a suggestion as to how)–which is the eternal best of times–and Bad News for those who choose not to–which is the eternal worst of times.

Today would be a very good time to seriously consider the Good News outcome, if the reader has not already done so.

Why?

Well, in another Divine Irony, God the Holy Spirit has also nullified, you might put it, the “sting” of the Bad News by giving humanity a heads-up as to the “end” by providing quite a comprehensive collection of prophecies related to all the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How details, which explains why to make the best choice now. Here is a good place to begin reading up–or refreshing your memory–on this, too.

In other words, as dark and deceptive as things are getting on the streets and in the halls of power these days, the love, light, and freeing power of God’s plan shines even brighter, beckons with even greater illumination, so that yet more can see.

Think of the power of even just one lone flicker of candle light to dispel darkness…

Put far more elegantly–and inspiring even more hope–by God’s own writers:

For they [who choose evil] eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸ But the path of the righteous [who put their faith in Jesus Christ] is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble. (Proverbs 4:17-19)

So take heart, whatever the day or “days” we might be in.

God’s still in charge.

He is not fooled.

And if you think about it, there is yet one more Divine Irony in this day and age when, the secular pundits told us a few decades ago, “God is dead”.

Even as the God-is-dead-proselytes preach their own gospel, they pull down crucifixes, burn churches, and war against all manner of references to faith in the public square because, ironically, they know the power of faith in something bigger than what we see, hear, taste, touch, smell–and lust after–in the natural world.

Indeed, the anti-God-mongers would like to erase every cultural reference and icon that defies their faith in the religion of man-is-his-own-god, you might put it, nevertheless they “culturally appropriate” all the trappings of a true religion, again, because they know the power of faith that overcomes evil, especially those among them who actually study history.

This will culminate in the prophecies about the so-called “One World Leader” (aka the Anti-Christ), a big player in end times, by predicting that he will not only demand worship but also rule as self-proclaimed God of All from the (then rebuilt) Temple in Jerusalem,  midway in the so-called seven year tribulation period.

Meanwhile, even as is known in the secular world, despite the best, most brilliant, well educated, and carefully marketed thought-influencers (benders and twisters) the world comes up with who try their best to hide their real motivations and plans, it remains to be true that,

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. [attributed to Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of US, 1809 – 1865]

(Relish the irony surrounding that reference, if you will…)

In the meantime, take heart, remember to focus “upward” for Divine help*, and carry on.

~~~~~

*For more help–and inspiration–regarding how this can work, here’s some encouragement from Psalm 91 amid these difficult times.