Articles
Which Cliff Will Claim You?
Barbara L. Klika, MSW, Undershepherd, Life Coach
January 2013
Written for Wisconsin Christian Newspaper
And they got up and drove Him out of the city,
and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built,
in order to throw Him down the cliff.
But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
Luke 4:29-30 NASB
It is hard to hear or read anything in recent news media without seeing the term “fiscal cliff.” The dilemma is being set up to look as though failing to continue to overspend our resources would send America “over the cliff,” in contrast to the more logical perspective that failing to stop overspending will bring even greater disaster. Failing to keep tax reduction in place will also cause some hardship for many. A statistic reported in multiple sources indicated that 11 states now have more people receiving welfare than people who are not. Yes, for them a sudden decrease in benefits would be catastrophic! But overall, overspending can’t continue indefinitely. Those who live on a budget and have over extended their use of credit cards know this all too well. Yes, in the short term, we “avoid disaster” by borrowing more but eventually the proverbial chickens will come home to roost. Arguments seem to center on which cliff is worse; sudden disaster as steps are taken to approach solvency and a balanced budget or the cliff of a growing debt with no ability to pay? No really good choice. Guaranteed to increase anxiety all around!
Then, too, there is the matter of the re-interpretation of “separation of church and state” as being the limitation of faith expressed in state/business matters as opposed to the original intent which was to keep the state from interfering in church/faith matters. The Green family, of Hobby Lobby, and other faith based groups, schools, businesses and colleges are facing huge fines for being unwilling to offer insurance coverage for abortion. One legal determination is that not being a church means there is no protection for them to exercise their faith in business matters. In fact, it amounts to demanding that people violate their beliefs in order to maintain business, much as medical professionals have been pressured to offer abortions or procedures they morally oppose. Mr. Obama’s administration has stated
they can and will force people to do so. Your personal beliefs don’t matter as long as its business. So, does one fall off the cliff here by refusing to cooperate with the expectations of the world which affects ones’ livelihood or does one fall off the cliff of failing to honor our God? Seems like no good choice here either.
Ultimately, we see a twist of the Scriptural “Golden Rule” Luke 6:31, of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” into “he who has the gold, rules.” In anything other than a church, there is a push to require that people set aside their faith in order to carry on their business. The goal seems to be to sanitize public life from anything resembling Christian faith, specifically, though we see increasing tolerance for some other faith expressions, notably Islam. If you won’t cooperate with this expectation, you, too, will be pushed over a cliff.
Our Messiah spoke in Nazareth, His hometown, and the people didn’t like what they heard. Speaking in uncommon authority of the Holy Spirit, He indicated that other people would see miracles and find greater mercy than they would, apparently indicating their lack of faith or acceptance of Him. He didn’t tickle their ears. They gathered to push Him off the cliff.
We have been warned that in our day many will not tolerate sound teachings but will prefer their ears tickled. If one takes a stand for God’s ways, not only the message but the messenger is rejected and threatened. It is no longer an individual matter or even a local one, but now evident up to the highest office.
It may not be too far in the future that the people of the God of Israel, both those of the House of Judah, and those of the House of Israel, and all of their grafted in companions, per Ezekiel 37, will experience a similar rejection and threat across the board. As we stand for what we believe is right, we will be pushed toward the cliff. We are told we can’t conduct business according to our beliefs. Many of us will, or already have had, our ability to earn a living compromised or destroyed. At some point, we will no longer be able to do any business without the mark. We won’t be able to participate in the world systems of finance, medical care, food production, transportation and so forth unless we compromise our faith and deny our God.
Fall off the cliff of being unable to function and provide for our needs or fall off the cliff of compromise of faith? The world system would have us believe these are the only two choices...and any sane, rational person would see this and make the only possible choice! Do what is needed to stay alive! If we resist the pressure will be increased as Pharaoh did it...make as many bricks and find your own straw! Surely these people have too much leisure time on their hands to be still thinking that “god” is important in their lives! So they must be pushed that much harder till they forget Him and comply...or they will be pushed over the cliff.
But our God is not limited to our reasoning! There is a third option of allowing ourselves to be weaned from these expectations and our dependence on the system, things as they appear. Just as we marvel that Messiah was somehow able to simply pass through that murderous mob and go on His way without harm, so do we need to understand and know that there is another choice! We may cling so tightly to our Messiah, hiding under His wings for refuge and strength that we, too, will be able to pass through the mob. We do not need to fear the fiscal cliff nor those who can kill the body. We do need to fear, honor, and obey our Yeshua, our soon coming King!
We are all in the transition of birth pains in the world. If you find yourself growing in anxiety and fear, perhaps you would find greater peace through personal Life Coaching. Call today for your personalized package of coaching sessions!