Journal 9/11/15 - Cooperation

There is only one right way to do things and or get things done. That's cooperation. That's God's way. By connecting spiritually with others we see that although we may seem very different, we are all on the same team. Even if you know your way is God's way, "my way or the highway" will never work.

Cooperation means that God's way will look different in the hands of each different person.

We operate in the spiritual realm. We have no idea nor control over how that translates in the physical realm. The struggle is to look beyond what eyes see to the spirits of people.

In 2016, with all the various movements going on, the only thing missing is cooperation. Boycotts, marches, voter drives, schools, armed resistance and economic movements all fail because they work separately. In 1965, the opposite was true. Not only were all those movements working simultaneously, they were all cooperative. At best, organizations worked together and supported each other. At worst, organizations/individuals who disagreed stayed out of each others way.

Malcolm X, Dr. King and Huey Newton became threats because of their approaches to universality. Huey Newton made great strides for the Panthers being open to working outside organizations/movements. Malcolm X and Dr. King made great efforts to work together before X's death. Dr. King was, of course, the master of cooperation. His network eventually became too big and so he was too dangerous. BLM and Shaun King have nothing to worry about. Modern day activists never have to fear assassination because they're all one trick ponies who refuse to work with each other.

Maybe they know that and would prefer a weakened movement where they get to live. Maybe by living longer they can be more effective. Maybe a weakened movement will eventually erode the old institutions of oppression. 

Ignore the Prophets, Lose the War

What a revelation!

An historical account of the gospels pointed out the political perspective of Israel at the time. For the Jews, salvation didn't mean spiritual freedom, it meant conquering Rome. They were looking for war. Historically, many of the prophets had actually participated in acts of war. Moses didn't fight but sent plagues on the Egyptians and tricked the army into drowning themselves in the Red Sea. Elisha and Elijah stood on battlefields and called to power of God to conquer enemies. The previous King of Kings, David, conquered armies 10 times the size of Israel.

One prevalent and recurring theme in the Bible is, the prophets deliver God's promise and humans get it all the way wrong. Battle after battle was lost following the mob's ignorance of prophets' warnings. And it still happens today. Today we have prophets and those prophets get turned into soundbites.  More immediately, it's more attractive to follow the reactionary/emotional responses. Then, manipulators can turn those sound bites into whatever they want the message to be instead of an unfiltered message.

These manipulators turned Martin Luther King Jr into a Civil Rights crusader. They turned Malcolm X into a mere rabble-rouser. These men were nothing less than prophets. They each took the information provided by their respective religions and saw the messages in between the lines. 50 years after their deaths, we have ignored their pleas. (Prophets tend to plea because they are well aware of our tendency to ignore them.) 

Our tendency is to ignore prophecy because it doesn't fit into our limited worldview. And/or, we believe in something so strongly, we refuse to accept anything that may distract or deter our focus on what we believe. We don't believe in the same thing as the prophet or we don't believe in anything at all. What seems even worse than those two scenarios is when what we believe is only slightly different than the prophet believes. We are so distracted these days by minuscule details we will miss movements and opportunities just because of a minor detail.

And don't let the prophet may have some separate personal issues. We are so judgmental or seeking to avoid responsibility, we will jump all over a prophet with even the smallest personal flaw. And that's just it. The prophet usually calls us to action and responsibility. In this day and age, we are satisfied with passionate Tweets/Instagram messages/Facebook posts. We pat ourselves on the back vote voting every four years (even if/when we miss midterms). Don't let us have donated a few clothes/hours to the less fortunate! We don't have to do shit else. We can afford to ignore any and every other call to action that comes. We've done enough. 

Except that, with each more gruesome incident, it's more and more apparent that we haven't done enough. We are inching closer and closer to the amount of pain which will force massive action. We must be careful to choose the proper action.

"Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil." -1 Thessalonians 5:20-22

We have to pay attention to the messages re are receiving. The proper path is out there. The prophets are still speaking. We must use ALL of our discernment to hear the message of the prophets. Prophets always offer solutions. Prophets will not make emotional pleas. (For the slow, they may speak passionately but emotion won't be the focus of their message.) Prophets are not profits. The message is always free. Prophets usually say things that are unpopular.

Be clear. A movement involves change. A revolution involves changes in a drastic way. The unpopular becomes popular. The abnormal becomes normal.

Start paying attention to the prophets and watch the world change for the better.

Procrastination: It's Never Too Late to Start Now

When I was younger, I developed a bad habit of procrastination. I've always been gifted so, at first, working from behind went well for. However as time went by, it worked less and less. Now, I know if I want anything to happen, I must plan ahead.

Black America has been working from behind for far too long. AND we are not using all the gifts at our disposal. A rally and a petition is too little too late. I could go off on a long tangent about how we support (often financially) these organizations and all we get are rallies and petitions when we have the capability to write laws.

Others are making policy in America and we are just waiting to react to what's already done. This is not elementary school. This is life. Thirteenth-hour tactics will not accomplish anything. If we can't work ahead, if we can't work out and implement plans far ahead of time, we may as well not even bother.

I promised justice for Trayvon Martin and his family because God's justice is not dependent on American law. It's most likely too late for Trayvon's family to get justice in a worldly form. It's probably too late for Jordan Davis' family too. It's not too late for all the parents of young children who expressed such worry about their children's safety to get justice.

STOP being passive and reactionary. START planning and preparing to control your child's future. That means participating fully in the democratic process. No more rallies and petitions as a reaction. Instead, rally or sign a petition in support of a bill to protect our future. No more support for organizations that only offer reaction. Support (and build them it necessary) organizations that are proactive in the securing of our future.

This is not the time to let fear control our actions. This is the time to conquer fear, say 'never again' and mean it!

And the time is not now. It's RIGHT NOW! It may already be too late for some in Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans... We don't have to wait and see what's next, we can decide that our vision is what's next.