I am an unabashed fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, The
Lord of the Rings, and am also an admirer of Peter Jackson’s movie
franchise based on Tolkien’s works. In The
Two Towers, there’s a scene where Theoden, king of Rohan, is visited by
Gandalf the good wizard. Much to his
dismay, Gandalf discovers that his one-time friend has been possessed by the
evil wizard Saruman, who seeks to control him.
In addition, Saruman’s lackey, Grima Wormtongue, has become the king’s
advisor, whispering deceptions into his ear and manipulating every decision he
makes. Gandalf confronts Wormtongue,
takes control, and casts him out. Then
he frees Theoden from Saruman’s spell, and the king is able to breathe the free
air again. Once more, he can lead his
people, defend them, and live in honor.
In Acts 13:4-12, Paul and
Barnabas had a similar encounter.
Instead of a king, it was a Roman proconsul named Sergius Paulus, and
instead of a wizard and his lackey, it was a Jewish sorcerer named Elymas. A proconsul was the governor of a Roman
province, appointed by the senate for a one-year term. Sergius Paulus have been successful, because
evidence shows that he actually served for three years. We don’t know all about the relationship
between the proconsul and the sorcerer, but it seems that Elymas served in some
sort of advisory capacity, perhaps as a religious leader. He was determined to keep Sergius Paulus from
receiving the Gospel, because that would make him lose the considerable power
that he had gained in the region.
Interestingly, Paul cursed him with the same punishment that he himself
had experienced—temporary blindness. Just
like Gandalf who drew Saruman from Theoden like posion from a wound, Paul and
Barnabas exorcised the sorcerer’s demonic control from the proconsul’s
life. Sergius Paulus received the Lord
and was set free from manipulation at the hands of the blinded sorcerer.
We need more Gandalfs,
more Pauls and Barnabases, in our country today. We spend so much time listening to the
Wormtongues and Elymases all around us that we fall victim to their
manipulations. Just as the king and
proconsul were held captive by deceptive voices, so the people of America fall
prey to the whisperings of those who would mislead us by smoke and
mirrors.
Everybody knows the
expression “smoke and mirrors.” It
refers to the practices of illusionists who want you to believe that they have
some real kind of power. A puff of smoke
distracts you or conceals what is really going on. Mirrors bend light to alter your perception
of reality. Mirrors also get you focused
on yourself rather than on the thing that matters most. When you’re dazzled by yourself, it’s hard to
see what’s going on next to you.
Today’s charlatans use
the same tricks of the trade. The media
blows smoke whenever it wants to distract your attention, and wherever it wants
to distort and cover up the truth.
Politicians use mirrors to get you to focus on yourself, your issues,
your needs, and your own special interest group. Then, individuals get caught up in all the
smoke and mirrors and become sorcerers of their own, regurgitating whatever
they’ve heard others say, and adding their own hatred, intolerance, and
prejudice to the mix. Facebook is
plastered with smoke and mirrors. And
for those who are less technological, car bumpers serve the same purpose. We become part of the propaganda machine for
whatever cause we mindlessly support.
Oh, how we need Gandalf and Paul and Barnabas! Oh, how we need Jesus to set us free from the
spin doctors of our society!
Recently, the Supreme
Court’s legalization of gay marriage in all fifty states has raised an outcry
among many conservative evangelical Christians.
The fact is—it’s a done deal, whether you wanted it or not. To continue the fight and complain is to
waste valuable energy at best, At worst
our arguments employ smoke and mirrors tactics to divert attention from the
fact that Evangelicals have the worst divorce rates in the nation, with my own
Baptist denomination leading the pack![i] Instead of conveniently pointing our fingers
at others and shouting about those evil sinners who are violating biblical
marriage, we ought to quit using smoke and mirrors to distract ourselves from
the fact that we really need to be taking a good look at ourselves.
People are in an
uproar over the controversy surrounding the Confederate flag, upset that
WalMart is no longer selling it, and that the Dukes of Hazzard has been taken
off TV. We argue whether it should fly
over government buildings or whether it should be on monuments—so much argument
that KKK rallies are at an increase and Confederate monuments are being
vandalized. People are dead wrong on
both sides of the issue. The fact is that
our smoke and mirrors are covering up the fact that African American churches
are burning in the South and that racial tensions are escalating out of
control. And while we’re talking so much
about the Confederate flag and gay marriage—have you heard the word ISIS
lately? It seems like we’re so busy
fighting with each other that we’ve forgotten who the real enemy is.
And this is what the enemy
wants—to get us turning on each other and forgetting that America leads the
world in incarcerations and suffers from a plague of police brutality. Christian churches and denominations have
gotten caught up in all the rhetoric, too.
As long as we can wave our rainbow and Confederate flags, we can take
our eyes off of issues like poverty and Biblical illiteracy, lack of
commitment, and lazy spirituality, consumerist discipleship, and a narrow
conception of the Gospel that continues to define the Church as an institution
rather than an organism. Oh, how we need
Jesus!
In John 9:39 (NASB),
Jesus says, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do
not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” We need to remember that it is for judgment
that JESUS came into the world—not for judgment that WE are in the world. We need to quit throwing punches at the
people we think are our enemies, and quit trying to convince them to see things
differently. It’s not our job to make
them change, because it’s Jesus who opens the eyes of the spiritually blind,
and Jesus who blinds the eyes of those who think they see. And you might be surprised at the ones who
are really blind and who can really see!
So go ahead—have your opinion on social issues—but declare your
independence from the need to fight about it!
Leave it to God to convict your neighbor. That’s God’s job. You—just love your neighbor! That’s your job.
[i]
Sylstra, Sarah. Are
Evangelicals Bad for Marriage? A new
study says Protestants are more likely than non-religious Americans to divorce,
but some disagree. FEBRUARY 14, 2014.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/february-web-only/are-evangelicals-bad-for-marriage.html. July 4, 2015.
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