17 September 2024
I want you to notice how God pays attention to the people, particularly their faith. It's always been about the people. The issue with divine wrath has mostly been aimed at the leadership. Jesus condemned the government of Judah, not the people.
That's not to deny the old saw MPAI -- most people are idiots. Rather, that's not the point here. People at large become idiots because the ruling class misleads them. Most people are quite decent, but confused about the context. Instead of leading them somewhere else, it's our mission to simply clear the fog as much as possible.
It can be an uphill battle. The false "normal" that our rulers have pumped out is pervasive and overwhelming. It's only by God's mercy that we see through it ourselves, so we need to understand that it's a miracle for everyone. We aren't superior because we see the truth.
Yet, this is why feudalism is fundamental to God's Creation. The majority are sheep; they aren't supposed to face some questions. He appoints only a few guardians because He never intended the masses to be that sharp. Thus, He looks through the flock and, so far as we can tell, He randomly pulls out a few to become the leaders. He equips them for the mission. We all specialize in something for His glory; most of us can lead at one particular activity or another. Only a few lead in the more general sense.
Spite for sheep being sheep is from the Devil. That's how God wants the majority. To be a guardian is a special calling; there aren't many. The best way to build a community is to have just a few shepherds and a whole bunch of sheep. The ideal of every man being his own leader is not from the Bible. In order for sheep to be productive, they must be able to ignore most threats and focus on their own calling.
Whether you like it or not, people are meant to be led. The ideal leader in the Bible is someone who would rather not bother, but has other plans. The best leaders are the ones who would act on certain issues regardless of the rest, but the rest see his mission drive and follow. These shepherds are chosen by God and must drag their butts out into the field and shepherd the sheep because they can't avoid caring. People eager for the job are morally disqualified.
When a New Testament body meets, it's not about the leadership performing. Rather, it's the leadership encouraging the body to knit itself tightly together. The whole point of leadership is not leading, but feeding the flock. They need to rub up against each other and feed together on the Word and Spirit. Only a few are chosen conduits of those things, but those few cannot do much if the people don't believe.
Thus, under the Covenant, everything in the law code is about the people. Love them as Christ loves them. Sacrifice for their welfare. Bring them to God in a fit state for presentation.
Strengthen their belief.
Comments
Jay DiNitto
"That's not to deny the old saw MPAI -- most people are idiots. Rather, that's not the point here. People at large become idiots because the ruling class misleads them. Most people are quite decent, but confused about the context. Instead of leading them somewhere else, it's our mission to simply clear the fog as much as possible."
This reminds me of a video I saw a few days ago. We live in a world where a 1:1 scale map has been placed over the real world, so we can't tell the real world vs. the simulated world apart very easily.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOkRF3Xp_4E
CatRez
Irony: The video content would have been better without video. The flickering images changed the meaning of the words. I didn't watch it all the way through because it became repetitive.
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