It's Good to Know...
There are a lot of things that are good to know. We all spend time trying to know things and may even think we know quite a bit about certain subjects. Maybe some of those things are important, but I’m guessing many are not. I’m going to ask you to humor me and put two things on the top of your list to know: Communism and Jesus. Why? Because I believe you need to know about them.
Communism
I don’t know who said it first, but I often hear one of my favorite anti-communists, Jesse Kelly, say it; “Communism is not an ideology, it’s a religion of domination and destruction.” Once you know this, you can’t un-know it, and you will start to see the bigger picture. There’s a reason every communist regime is authoritarian and all human rights disappear where they rule. Domination and destruction! With a religion that preaches sharing, how is it that the vast majority of resources end up in the hands of those with power while the citizens fight over crumbs? Domination and destruction! Why is it that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) talking points are nearly indistinguishable from those of Democrat Party leadership and have been for some time? Domination and destruction! Domination is always what they seek and destruction is the wake they always leave. How do they sell this? Well, since the average person won’t sign on to “domination and destruction” they have to pretty it up for you. They make you feel like you are part of a “greater good” and prey on your instincts to get more control and pat yourself on the back. You might know it as “pride.” If you start to truly believe in what you are doing, then you will look past the mistakes and destruction at the hands of you and your fellow comrades because after all you have a “higher purpose” and “noble goals”. When things don’t go as planned, you simply find someone to blame, and make them the enemy. Hmm, what do you think agents of domination and destruction do to enemies? If you said “target and destroy” you are right and you win 5 red commie stars. Now, time for some Jesus…
Jesus
Jesus is not about dominance and destruction, but rather the complete opposite — submission and creation/building. Followers of Jesus (you may know them as Christians) believe in laying down their own will to love God and others. They build others up and lead others to Jesus so they can be a new creation. The contrast between Jesus and communists is especially clear when you look at what they do with power. When communists have power, they look for more power, and they will take it by force if necessary which comes at a cost to the people they claim to care about. Jesus, on the other hand, made Himself the cost for the people He cares about. He gave up the unparalleled power He possessed to lay down His life for us, so we would have a chance to experience the power of God not just in our lives here on earth but for eternity. All we need to do is recognize the obvious — we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). If only it were that easy. In our selfishness and pride, we tend to not want to admit this. Even if we do and profess the name of Christ, it’s common for us to channel our inner commie rather than our inner Christian. Or perhaps rather than embracing communism we cling to other sin(s) that leads to dominance and destruction in our lives. Herein lies the challenge…
The Challenge
As I was putting these ideas together and trying to condense my words so you wouldn’t have to spend 5 hours reading this, I saw a notification that Zach Williams released a new video on YouTube. It was for his song Good To Know. Of course I went to listen to it. Not only did he capture this challenge perfectly with the lyrics, but the title also seemed appropriate for what I wanted to convey. So, I did what any God-fearing Christian would do — I ditched my original title and proceeded to steal that one. Did I say steal? I meant borrow. In addition to posting the video to this song, I am also borrowing the full lyrics for you to read here, because I believe they are that important (and some of you might be too lazy to click the link.) Please don’t be stubborn (or lazy) and check out what’s good to know — the BEST thing to know —- Jesus took it all off us and stood there in our place! He took it ALL!
I can be so stubborn
Caught up in my pride
Like I’m the only one strong enough to ever win the fight
I can do it on my own
Never need a hand to hold
I can be so selfish
Holding on to what is mine
I can find a way to place the blame when my world ain’t spinning right
I can make excuses but I know the truth is
When life gets heavy my will can let me down
When all my worries drag me to the ground
It’s good to know
It’s good to know
You took it all off of me stood there in my place
My lost soul swept up caught up in Your grace
It’s good to know
It’s good to know
You took it all
But I can still get anxious
And I have my days of doubt
But if I take second to catch a breath and have a look around.
I can see it clearer there’s a bigger picture
When life gets heavy my will can let me down
When all my worries drag me to the ground
It’s good to know
It’s good to know
You took it all off of me stood there in my place
My lost soul swept up caught up in Your grace
It’s good to know
It’s good to know
You took it all