Conspiracy!

 

I recently read this from the prophet Isaiah:

For thus the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’

In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, and you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.” (Isaiah 8:11- 12)

God spoke to the prophet Isaiah warning him not to give into the growing panic that was filling the small kingdom of Judah with fear and doubt. Judah was threatened by invaders from the north and, despite God’s promise that He would bring them through the coming storm intact, they didn’t trust Him and preferred to create their own solutions with political alliances. The leaders of Judah thought spirituality was fine for the Temple, for Holidays and for Sabbath, but political problems required political solutions.

So Judah made alliances and fortified their defenses. The invading army was a black tide of death and the news on the northern frontier continued to get darker and darker. But the coming enemy was also a master of propaganda and misinformation and they used fear as effectively as they used the sword. As a result, the capital city of Jerusalem had become embroiled with intrigue and fear.

Weaponized misinformation creates partisan divisions, fear and dread in the hearts and minds of otherwise rational and capable people. It saps their wills and courage making them easy prey to half-truths and outright lies. It also plays into the human tendency to create conspiratorial explanations for the dangers they face. We all sense there are uncontrollable forces effecting us, but how we define those forces rarely seem to add any real insight to the daily decisions we must make.

Christians have historically believed in a conspiracy that is universal and almost irresistible. The Apostle Paul referred to it saying, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) According to the Bible, there is an entire dimension of struggle and intrigue that Paul described generally as “spiritual warfare” that sends shock waves into our own human dimension and experience. It appears to us as an orchestration of ill will in peoples and in nations, as well as calamity in nature such as diseases and famine. When it all comes together as a perfect storm of confusion, suffering and anger, as it has to some degree in 2020, Paul says we have reason to believe that we are collateral damage in a larger game that we cannot fully understand and cannot completely control.

Through Isaiah, God tells us that we are mistaken to let our fear and dread of the big picture that we cannot control defeat our efforts to work together and faithfully do the things we can control. Isaiah tells us that we are to quiet our fears and “wait on the Lord.” We can pray, we can do what is good and just, we can act graciously with each other (especially since we are all pretty stressed out), we can wear a mask, socially distance, and do what we can to break the chain of infection.

As far as the big picture, you and I have a vote. Use it wisely and faithfully. You and I have resources (time, money, skills) that, under God’s direction, can contribute to healing, justice, peace and any number of hopeful endeavors.

And maybe we should all keep our opinions on the big picture to ourselves (because they are usually wrong anyway) and instead look for opportunities to be a good neighbor in Christ’s name.

Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month’s contributor is Pastor Dave Harvey, who has served as pastor of Grand Marais Evangelical Free Church since February of 2008.