Special Op-Ed by Eric B. Herfert, DC
“He said, ‘Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and be healed.’”
Isaiah 6: 9-10
Do you ever wonder why sometimes it seems like you can see something very clearly, and everyone around you just can’t seem to “see” or “get” what you are seeing or are talking about? For many of us this can be the source of great frustration. You may find something interesting, troubling, inspiring, comforting, etc., and someone else may have the opposite reaction or no reaction at all. This can lead, if we are not careful, to a lot of quarreling, resentment, division, and heartache. All because of what we perceive we see!
When I hang up a set of x-rays and look at them with a patient, we are both seeing the same information, but each of us is interpreting it in different ways according to our training and experience. I see outlines of organs and tissues, possibly pathology, etc., and a patient may just see shades of black, grey, and white. I have had years of training and experience, where as for the patient, it may be the first time for him or her to have ever seen an x-ray. It is important to note here that there typically is nothing wrong with the patient’s vision. They just don’t have the experience in order to interpret the same information from another perspective.
When I explain what I see with a patient’s x-rays, it is rare that a patient will argue with me about what I have just explained to them. They know that I have years of training and expertise and they trust what I explain. People have been raised to “trust” doctors and will usually follow the advice that doctors give them because they know they need help, and they know they lack the knowledge and expertise to resolve their problem own their own. Good, bad, or indifferent, a “matter of faith” or “trust” is involved in patient/doctor relationships. As the public has become more informed due to the media, the Internet, etc., the patient/doctor relationship has changed somewhat over the years… but at its heart it still operates on trust!
Trust on a Daily Basis
The reason I bring up this aspect of trust or faith in regard to our healthcare system is because most people are blind to how much faith, or blind trust, exists behind the reasons we do the things we do on a daily basis. Again, using the healthcare example to illustrate my point here, most people use more judgment and do more investigating when it comes to buying a car or buying their home than they do in regard to making decisions about healthcare for their own bodies. Because of established trust with previous doctors it can be very difficult to reason with individuals that they need to do something different to solve their health problems. Change goes against what they believe… or what they have faith in.
Regarding “faith,” “belief,” and “trust,” here are some helpful questions to consider: Have you really taken the time to think about why you make many of the decisions that you make? Is it out of habit, and or what you where taught, a matter of belief? Are you unknowingly being held captive by what you trust in? Is your faith in lies keeping you from experiencing the freedom that God wants you to have? What underlying assumptions or beliefs, things that can’t be proven, have you accepted as the basis for your present decision-making? Also, how did you receive the information that you used to make your decision? Is your source of information as trustworthy as you believe it is?
Sadly, as a culture we have come to accept as truth anything that we see on television (TV) and that we read in newspapers. The level of trust that we give to these disseminators of information is astonishing. If we see something on TV or read it in the newspaper it must be truth because culturally we have come to trust the media and consider them guardians of our freedom and way of life. Whether it is accurate or not, we have learned to have faith in the news outlets for information we use to live our lives.
We have similar levels of trust for our educators, the police, our government leaders, and our religious leaders. Without these individuals our modern society would hardly function and the established order would cease to exist. Therefore, we have come to accept the things that these people have taught us concerning what is right and wrong, and how to think, and that they are protecting us from harm. This is one of the reasons why when teachers, police, and various leaders engage in immoral and criminal activity, the repercussions are frequently devastating because our guard was completely down due to the high level of trust we commonly give these individual. Considering the levels of trust that we give these people and institutions, do we stop to think and question on a periodic basis whether the trust we have placed in these individuals and institutions is reasonable and for our welfare, or are they just using us for an agenda that has not been disclosed to us? Do we dare question whether we are being deceived? Are our hearts calloused, our ears dull, and our eyes closed regarding these and other matters that affect our lives?
Prostrating One’s Self
For thousands of years it was a common practice to “prostrate oneself” in the presence of a king, queen, or an emperor. This was seen as an act of submission, loyalty, and even worship. The worship of authority and how it is used to control society is nothing new. The worship of authority being used to control nations goes back to the beginning of civilization. The Babylonian Kings, the Egyptian Pharaohs, and the Roman Caesars all instituted worship as part of their society’s cult of obedience and submission to leadership. In Rome for example individuals where free to worship how they chose as long as they also publicly worshiped Caesar. The early Christians failure to participate in state sponsored Caesar worship resulted in their persecution and deaths at times.
When the Papacy began to replace the loss of Roman authority and control in Western Europe, this same cult of worshipping leaders began to grow organizationally in the Christian Church. The Pope became a king to be worshipped and obeyed. Failure to do so resulted in kings, individuals, and even nations being “excommunicated” and the possibility of facing eternal damnation according to church doctrine. A powerful alliance grew between the Church Hierarchy and the state to stamp out dissent and maintain control. The Inquisition was a very sad example of this where thousands individuals were tortured and even killed in the name of Christ. In order to maintain control, the laity was forbidden to possess and or read the Bible. Scriptural truths about Christian conduct and the limits God placed on authority were a great threat to these leaders and their power to control the people. The flow of information had to be controlled or the power structure would be threatened. Trust in the system had to be maintained at all costs!
Sadly, things are no different today. Trust in “the system” has to be maintained or our leaders will lose control. Worship of the state and/or Caesar still continues today and must be maintained. Our freedom must be sacrificed for the sake of the power of a few. We still can’t question the authority and actions of our various leaders, and if we do so persecution will follow. People cannot learn the truth because the institutions of society and their power can’t be threatened. We are continually taught we must have a child-like trust regarding authority and obedience to it. Since Satan is “the ruler of this world,” he inspires those following him to fight fiercely to maintain his dominion. Satan hates truth, he hates freedom, because these are gifts given to mankind by Our Creator that are embodied in Jesus Christ… the source of all truth and freedom.
The recent so-called “secrets” that have become public record as the result of Edward Snowden leaking National Security Agency (NSA) information to newspapers has the powers that be in an uproar, not because it threatens our security, but because it exposed the NSA’s and government’s criminality and breach of our trust! Our authorities didn’t want us to know that they were illegally spying on us and collecting all sorts of data about us. Information must be controlled and strictly guarded by the powers that be, and the public must always be kept in the dark about the “dirty deeds” of government leaders. Satan can’t allow the cult of worshipping authority to be questioned… it undermines his dominion!
A Spiritual Inventory
I previously used the example of looking at x-rays and how experience affects how one interprets what one sees. Experience is a great teacher when it is based on truth. What greater and truer teacher can we have than the Spirit of God? Jesus Christ promised us in John chapter 16 that when he sent His Spirit, that the Holy Spirit would remind us of everything that he (Jesus) had said, and would teach us all things, and would tell us of things to come. My question for you is, “How much have you availed yourself to the Holy Spirit’s leading, teaching, and presence?” Have you allowed yourself to experientially become intimate with the Spirit of God? Have you allowed Him to change your way of looking at the world from an earthly perspective to a heavenly perspective? Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as our guide, companion, and teacher. Jesus told us that the Spirit would live in our hearts and empower our lives… change them to be more like himself (Jesus). Is this happening in your life, or are you still prostrating yourself to something or someone else? Who or what are you really trusting in: things and men? Are you “trusting in the Lord with all your heart, and leaning not in your own understanding,” and are you “acknowledging him in all your ways?”
Due to how Satan has blinded mankind, it is very hard for most people to see how they trust in earthly institutions such as government, education, the military, religious institutions, the media, etc., and things rather than in their Creator. To keep people in bondage, Satan has inspired individuals wielding power and influence to tie their leadership to “symbols” that people have learned down through the centuries to emotionally trust in. The sight of an American flag or other patriotic symbols stirs up feeling feelings of “love of country” and “duty” in most Americans. Couple these patriotic symbols with religious symbols and most people will blindly follow wherever the individuals using these powerful symbols want them to go.
Have you ever thought about how many wars the devil has inspired people to fight throughout the history of mankind by using the words “God and Country?” Have we seriously considered whether the Prince of Peace would ever lead men to their deaths for the things that history shows wars have been fought for? Do we ever bother to question what “god” is being promoted as our emotions are being stirred in the name of war? Do we make a distinction between the “love of our country” and the “governmental leaders” ruling our country when war drums are beating? Do we make a distinction between obedience to God and obedience to a religious leader or an organization? Who are we prostrating ourselves before and worshipping in these instances? God Almighty or earthly rulers and leaders?
Do We Dare?
All these questions can be answered in time if we examine our hearts in light of scripture and in the light of the Presence of God (the Holy Spirit). If we read scripture and ask God to examine our hearts, Our Creator will give us answers to these questions. The real question is: Do we dare ask Our Creator to reveal the truth about these matters to ourselves?
Due to the fallen nature of mankind, we all struggle against a sinful nature, and each one of us is under some level of deception. We cannot see things clearly. Our understanding of and obedience to scripture and God’s will is imperfect. This is why Jesus Christ came into the world, to deliver us from deception and bondage and gives us his Spirit of Truth resulting in our salvation. When we trust in Christ, his atonement on the cross for our sins, and in his resurrection from the dead as proof that he accomplished all he said he would do, our hearts are changed and we are now open to hear his truth. His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, will lead us into ever-greater levels of truth if we ask and trust in Him to do so. If we will prostrate ourselves before His Presence and say, “I am yours, speak to me,” the Spirit of God will reveal to us what we have been trusting in, and how we have been deceived. But we have to want to know the truth, as painful as it may be! Our trust/faith has to be aligned with obeying and following Christ and His Spirit. Otherwise we will remain as Isaiah said, “…ever hearing, but never understanding; ever seeing, but never perceiving”…and our hearts will remain “calloused” and our “ears dull” and our “eyes closed.”
No man, nor demon, can thwart the advance of God’s Kingdom. Christ is coming and will fully establish his kingdom on the earth. The devil will be destroyed, and the goodness of God will triumph. We can be a part of the advance of God’s Kingdom or we can get in the way and miss out on God’s best for us. It all depends on what and or who we trust in: created beings and things, or in the God who loves us and has a plan to prosper us and give us a future. We can prostrate ourselves before God and align our trust with Him, or we can choose to trust in certain misery and failure. I pray that God changes our ability to hear, see, and perceive in order that we make the right choice!
About Sarah Hovis