Connivance

Scripture

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

~Psalm 1:1, NASB

Quote

I would be inclined to think a Christian would be wise to avoid any meeting with people who are bullies, lascivious, cruel, dishonest, spiteful, and so forth.

~C.S. Lewis

Arthur Orr invited me to come to Montgomery some years ago. It was his first term as our State Senator, and he asked me if I would do the ceremonial opening prayer for the Legislature which I did. I felt as out of place as a piano at a Church of Christ convention. After the prayer, the Lieutenant Governor grabbed me and said, “They are going to get our picture, something you can hang in your office.” There were four of us in the pic: Thank goodness, Arthur and I were in the middle. The first thing I did after getting the 8X10 glossy in the mail was crop out the two on the outside because I knew one of them was a crook and I figured both were. The Psalmist {David} made it very clear in Psalm 139, O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O LordAnd do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.” Jesus taught us to love our enemies so how are we to interpret Psalm 139 and apply it to our daily experience. Connivance is a willingness to secretly allow or be involved in wrongdoing, especially an immoral or illegal act. If you need an illustration: look no further than the democrats in Washington.

Although we run the risk of being called self-righteous prigs, we must remember the weakness of our flesh. Can we bear witness to the good in the presence of evil? Will we speak up like Queen Elizabeth and say, “I do not agree,” or will we sit silently in consent. Not to speak up is to give consent. In this case, silence is not golden, it is yellow. Lewis believed we should take David’s advice, not that we are too good but in fact, not good enough. I agree! This is why Jesus could do it and we can’t. He was good enough. Most of us are not strong enough to take issue with an evil crowd. We lack the courage and the wisdom. We dare not sit in the company of those who mock and ridicule our Savior or His body the church. To avoid such people is not prudish; it is prudent. This why Jesus told us to pray, “Deliver us from temptation.” We avoid temptation because we are weak, because we are not good enough, not because we think we are better than those who are in active rebellion against God.

We can be guilty of connivance when we secretly allow or get involved in wrongdoing. You do not have to be a participant to be guilty: if you give your consent by remaining silent, you are just as guilty as those who are involved in the actual wrongdoing. How can Jimmy Carter talk about being born again and yet not defend the rights of the unborn? How can he teach Sunday school {bible study class} and then give his consent to the LGBTQ-A when the Bible clearly teaches that these things are acts of rebellion against God? Did Carter once rebuke or call Bill Clinton out for his gross immorality? No, he did not–Mother Teresa called him out, but Carter never said a word and that makes him as guilty as Clinton.

Would you be in a photo opt with Biden? Not me! Every follower I have would hollow hypocrite and they would be right. My reputation is more important than the office he holds {illegally}. Would I help him across a street? Only if no one was looking. Such a scene on the nightly news would ruin my image. May I not be found guilty of connivance.

Extra

If you think this world is our home; think again. Yesterday we got more bad news. My baby sister has breast cancer and will begin some kind of treatment right away. Her name is Holly Roberts. We have two Holly’s in the family and this one is known among the Bailey’s as big Holly. She has been a widow for over twenty years. I want you to add her to your prayer list. The past ten days has been overwhelming. We are very worried about Miss Clara. Gregg is in Little Rock being treated for cancer. Beth Jones has a similar problem to Holly and two of our Seniors have been struggling. Granny is moving to the Cottages in Decatur. Peggy Lindsey is presently at USA in Decatur. It is not a Job experience, but it is enough to curb my appetite for the things of this world.

Have a great day. Thanks for reading the blog!

POLITICAL RANT

I miss Earl Pitts.  Earl would always begin his rant with, “You know what makes me sick,” and then he would let it rip. I’ll tell you what makes me sick; it is the stinky toilet we know as Washington D.C. Don’t know if it is true but heard yesterday that the dems are passing tax bills left and right: trying to get it done before the mid-term election. You would think they would want to do something right before they left office. The number I heard was three trillion and one of the things they are going after is IRA’s and any type of retirement income. Right now, we pay close to 40% if we remove money from our retirement account and the number I heard yesterday was 80%. Biden is intent on redistributing the wealth. Biden and the dems are thieves who are stealing from the working class. It is interesting to me that all these dems like Biden and Pelosi with their millions not earned but gained by connivance {kickbacks, insider trading} want to take our money and give it away but they don’t give themselves. What hypocrites! They are parasites. They are not statesmen, they are politicians who lie every time they open their mouth.

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