6.9.2014 CALLED TO BE UNCOOL by n.d. wilson

found in christianity today, may 2014, p32

cows like to turn their backs to the wind.
at least, all the cows i know do.
slowly, awkwardly, eventually,
all that beef will run parallel to the breeze.

people aren't too different.
we align ourselves safely into herds,
comforted by the hot breath of others breaking on the backs of our necks and ears.
then we huff and we puff and blow at the fools
turned turned in the wrong direction.

is there anything more compelling to us than the heavy synchronized breathing of a mob, especially when combined with cocked eyebrows of disdain and curled lips of disgust?
this is the zeitgeist (the spirit of the time; the general characteristics of the age)

(note: love not the world neither the things that are in the world.
if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. I john 2.15
how can ye believe, which receive hour one of another
and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? john 5.44)

inside the church and out
and it will judge you until you conform and commune.
this is cool shaming
and it will make you squirm and itch to
turn your back to the win,
to stand with all the other cows.

the trendsetters and vision casters in a herd start the movement,
motivated by profit or power or personal gain,
as well as genuine striving for holiness and righteousness.
they target their breath, their words, their media, (means of communication; note: dress, talk, interests, facebook, etc.)
and their coolness accordingly.

but for the rest of us, the single greatest factor in our decision making is
simple COMPLIANCE. (acquiecing, conforming, yielding)
we turn with the crowd because we want the awkwardness to stop.
we want them all to stop looking at us like that.
we want to feel the wind of opinion at our backs.

how did otherwise intelligent people go along with
the third reich, the invasion of poland, the extermination of jews?(note: to to speak of openly slaughtered babies)
we may assume they were evil, brainwashed or a bit of both
and in part we're right.
but when was the last time you hedged on an opinion
because of the hot breathing of those around you?
when did you last choose your words based more on the politics

(politic-1. shrewd or prudent in practical matters; tactful; diplomatic
2.contrived in a shrewd and practical way; expedient-1. tending to promote some proposed or desired object; fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances. 2. conducive to advantage or interest
as opposed to right.)
of a situation than on truth?

the power of the zeitgeist helped propel the agonies of race based slavery
and the zeitgeist threw it away in a bloodbath.
the zeitgeist gave us institutional racism and when enough shame had been applied,
the zeitgeist (at least officially)
struck it down.
the zeitgeist set the medes and the persians praying to darius
and threw daniel in the lions den. (daniel 6)
the zeitgeist can kick up the fervor of ungodly war
and it can hang its head in cowardice when a true challenge comes.

the zeitgeist is a fickle master, because the zeitgeist is us.

it's no wonder that one of the first tasks of any prophet was to make himself shameful.
john the baptist wore camel hair and ate insects.
isaiah had to walk around naked for years.
ezekiel had to cook his food over dung.
elijah ate only food carried by ravens-nasty carrion birds.
the first thing God told hosea to do was to marry a whore.

prophets must be fearless,
immune to the pressures of kings and crowds,
aligned only with the breath of God.

we are in need of prophets now.
christians are scattered,
but the world's wind is (note: and the 'church's wind...
both saying, 'conform outwardly and you are 'O.K. ie. 'nice'))
is heavy and unified.

truth and ultimate glory may be in the hands of our Maker,
but the keys of earthly shame are in the hands of the mod.
prop0hets must be immune to (note: better yet drop out of) floggings on facebook and twitter.
they must be fearless before friends and tenure committees and stadiums filled with the priests of Baal.
the cool shaming can have no sting.
the world is busy applying pressure on 'social issues'
and christians are busy caving left and right,
trying to accept fresh cultural dogma simply so that they might be accepted.

many of us would rather be in compliance with the crowd of NOW
than successfully image the loves and hates of our Father.
but his breath rolls the north sea and props up mountains. 
His words ripen fields of grain and infants still hidden in wombs' warmth.
may we run parallel to His breeze alone.

all of our positions-especially in controversy
-should flow from honest exegesis, not from the local coffee shop.
and WE ALL COULD BENEFIT FROM some SHAME.
when hot pressure comes we need to be immune.
if God wants it, we should be ready to
wear camel hair while cooking locusts and raven scraps
over a dung fire in the lion's den
after our marriage to a whore.

shame is easy to find.
all we have to do is STOP HIDING.
we already have seriously uncool friends.
moses. paul. Christ Himself.
enjoy them.
(note: BE)like them.
in public.
offend the zeitgeist.
become immune.

when we turn we must turn for Truth, never for the mob
-not when it's running to the revival tents
and not when it's running to the guillotines.

note: whosoever therefor shall confess me before men,
him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.
but whosoever shall deny Me  before men,
him will i deny before My Father which is in heaven. matthew 10.32-3