The Poison people

They have always been around.  They were around in the days of Christ.  They are as active today as they have ever been in history.  Who are these people?  I call them the poison people.

The other night, I watched 60 Minutes do a piece on Pastor Joel Osteen from Lakewood Church, here in Houston.  For some reason, they felt it necessary to include in this segment, a theology professor who had nothing good to say about Joel, his church or his ministry.  At first I found this very offensive and not pertinent to the topic of the segment.  But I realized that the poison people have always been around and will always be around. 

But why do we have to focus on the negative?  That's not what Christ taught.  That's not even to close to his legacy. 

Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law.  In the fulfillment, he gave us new laws:  to Love God and to love one another as we love ourselves. 

The Bible declares throughout that there is no fear in Love.  The first words out of the angels' mouths are "FEAR NOT!" 

The poison people live for fear.  They use it like a tool.  With the poison people nothing is right unless it is their way.   Compromise is the foulest word in the English Language because it implies weakness.   Listening is not an option.  Everything they read is colored with their own fowl agenda. The glass is always half empty even when it is full.   They make Debbie Downer look like a saint.

In the days of Jesus, the scriptures teach, that even Christ was frustrated by these people.  The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly questioning and picking away at his teachings as well as the miracles he did.  Being tempted in all ways as we are, I am certain he was very frustrated with these men and often referred to them as hypocrites.   In fact, one of the most well known stories from the New Testament is about his temper tantrum in the temple in Jerusalem regarding the money changers.  Yes, we know from studying the Bible, that Jesus had very little patience for these people.  He didn't waste time with them.  In fact he instructed his apostles to "shake the dust off their feet" when dealing with poison people. 

There are examples of Poison people across society.  Both political parties have their share of them.  In fact, there is no area in society today that hasn't been infected by them.  However, they are in the minority even though at times, they seem to have the loudest voice.    Ever heard the old saying, "one bad apple spoils the barrel?"  

Poison people are like a cancer to our society.  While we cannot eliminate Cancer, we must learn to live with it and its dire consequences.  The rule is "if you catch it early, you have best chance of survival" is a philosophy that perhaps we should interject into our daily lives.   Perhaps this is why the positive message of people like Pastor Joel Osteen draws such large and positive response from people.  I firmly believe that the majority of people in America can agree on one idea.  That idea is we are tired of Poison people.  We are tired of poisonous politicians.  We are tired of nothing being accomplished because the naysayers don't believe in compromise.  

So what can be done about it?  Christ showed us the way.  He stood up to them speaking the truth in love.  He did not hate, but he did not back down to those who would poison the truth.  As Christians we must be the ones to lead the way. We cannot allow the poison people to dominate the conversation.  In fact, often these poison people represent themselves as Christians.  I find this an offensive representation of myself as a Christian who is diametrically opposed most of the time to anything and everything these poison people profess to represent including my Christian beliefs.  

It is important that people of all faiths, but especially Christians, stand up for and participate in positive actions, positive people, and positive solutions.  The alternative is to fight and bicker and accomplish nothing.  We are in the midst of that.  We have seen what fruits come as a result of it……NOTHING BUT SQUALOR AND WASTE! 

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