Situation that is been weighing on my heart for some time.

I decided to post this topic here because this topic gets a bit political. First a bit of a backstory about myself.

I live in the Austin metro area and Austin is a very liberal and progressive city. I am a tech worker and generally considered the 'privileged' type because of my income and line of work. I am also a African American and most of my life, up until the point that I moved to Austin has been what most would consider 'less privileged'. We were evicted out of several homes and lost several cars but it was largely due to my mother and father's inability to cooperate. I had a very unstable upbringing and getting my foot on the ground was like stepping on sand, it changed dramatically when I was finally able to escape my troublesome family and able to live life for myself and be my own boss. I started studying a lot, and sacrificed a lot of time and devotion toward self improvement because I felt that if I didn't, I was going to end up back with my parents in Georgia, I was never going to be able to own a home, and I was never going to be able to afford the expensive $80,000 jaw surgery I needed.

I lived in an apartment in Austin proper for about 2 years and while I was doing that, I studied every night to progress my skill in the tech industry so I could earn a higher salary and buy a house before housing became unaffordable due to the high demand of living in Austin. At that point in time I wasn't making enough to buy a house while also footing my day to day bills. It was always on my radar but I didn't foresee it happening easily so I was looking to obtain a higher income.

Moving to Austin introduced me to liberalism at its core. I started to see the effects more clearly first hand. The first thing I noticed in Austin was the large homeless problem. There were tent cities everywhere. At first, I sympathized with these people believing that these were people who were legitimately priced out of a place to live. I at first supported the liberal policies because they seemed humanitarian and supportive of victims. Later, Austin's mayor Steve Adler removed all homeless camping restrictions allowing to camp wherever and however they wanted including in front of private property and businesses. They also made it difficult to prosecute them if they committed any form of crime. They enacted these policies without passing a vote to the tax payers. I was uneasy about this initially but still accepted it.

I joined an online forum community that focuses on the city, real estate, development and current events for the city. I grew to knew the regular posters quite well quite quickly. There were three different dynamic of posters. Liberal, Conversative and Moderate. For the most part I was moderate. There was a poster there that was a liberal progressive social worker that constantly looked for ways to initiate arguments with other posters, and eventually myself too when I stood up to her. Basically, she was jealous of all of the growth and tech workers moving into the area which was affecting affordability as well and there was some merit to that

I continued progressing in my career and earned my way to a $100k a year job which was a salary I didn't think I would ever achieve earlier in my life, however; it was still borderline when comparing housing prices and the finances I needed for my jaw surgery. I had to make a choice between my jaw surgery or buying a house. I chose to put off my jaw surgery and I bought a home in the suburbs. I was immediately condemned by the social worker who constantly demeaned my posts and put me down for moving out to the burbs instead of choosing to rent in 'hip Austin' ... that poster has lived in Austin for twice as long as I have lived but continues to rent in Austin because she doesn't want to live far from the things she likes. To me that comes off as self-entitled. She was a heavy mocker but I eventually started mocking back and others joined in with me and put her down pretty hard because she was constantly coming against people who were legitimately working their way up the ladder. She stopped after that. The one thing about her that made it difficult for me to condemn was that she was a social worker which requires a Masters Degree but has a overall lower salary cap which is why I didn't want to go heavy handed on her at first. I did tell her that if I were in her shoes I would likely find an additional side hustle or do social working on the side until I got to where I wanted to be then pick social working up again full time.

Time goes on, things are relatively happy for awhile ... but I also started really researching liberal cities and liberal policies and how they have impacted cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and so forth. I at that time was not a conservative or a liberal. I was against Donald Trump at that time but I also started to notice how the democratic party was twisting the media by spreading propaganda that never happened the way it was explained or changing media after it was released. I was against the defense of George Floyd and making him into a hero only because he was black. I am black too but George Floyd made some very blatant choices in his life that defined his lifestyle as a criminal and regardless or what race, I see a criminal as a criminal.

All too often in the Austin forums I witnessed the defense of criminals only because of race, minority class but not act or deed. It weighed on me and I started eventually speaking up against it because it takes the merit away from being a law abiding citizen. I witnessed the shooting of Garrett Foster by Daniel Perry. I had no empathy for Garrett Foster because he pointed an AK-47 into Perry's Window. The original news article even stated this but it was quickly removed and reconstructed to criminalize Daniel Perry stating that Perry made posts on social media that he was premeditating a conflict against BLM. In reality he was explaining how to defend yourself in an ongoing protest incase you ran into one given how spontaneous they were happening, unfortunately he was unlucky enough to find himself needing to put this into practice.

I started really reflecting on our actual rights in protests, our rights when it comes to police detainment arrests and quickly came to learn how much our society is unaware of due process and legality. I started offering insight where I could be largely everyone was opinionated and while they did at least hear me out, their opinions did not change.

I ran into financial problems because right after buying my house I was laid off due to Covid-19 and went unemployed for almost an entire year while looking. After things opened and I found another job, I started doing Uber + Working. Ubering after work and during weekend nights and between the two I boosted my salary up to about $200k. I was hustling quite a bit but still couldn't afford my jaw surgery.

Then entered the epidemic of remote work. I started really pushing it. I acquired 4 remote jobs + Uber. I was waking up at 4am and Ubering till 9am, came home, worked.. after work then I would go back out and Uber some more. I pushed myself up between $400 - $500k doing this. I never in my life thought I would ever see salary numbers like this, but at this point it was also a need. I started to pay for my jaw surgery but still paid attention to Austin itself.

Part 2

I started really looking more into our mayor. He was a Foreclosure attorney before he took office and his wife was a Real Estate broker. He went to California to meet with Newsom before lifting the restrictions of homeless camping. I was always skeptical of it. While I was doing Uber, camps were literally everywhere. It was a mess and the problem was only compounding rather than getting better. I learned of properties that were devaluated and bought by corporations due to the camps as well as the purchase of hotels that were intended to house a very small number of homeless that were purchased at 3x their value. It was feeling that there was more under the surface. Felt like it was a money graft. I couldn't confirm it for sure but I did stumble into some articles that explained what Steve Adler was really doing with those properties. Still it was not an easy thing to do to present the information to that forum.

While I was doing Uber, I got more of a personal view of everything that was happening in Austin. I witnessed a homeless man beat against the wall of a grocery store in public in front of everyone. He was yelling profanity out loud. He did not approach the public but he was making a lot ruckus. An Officer happened to be stationed there and demanded that the man leave but the man refused. Policies dictate that the officer could not 'arrest' the man but could only turn him away. I witnessed another incident where another homeless person was harassing someone trying to cross a street and would not leave him alone until he finally was able to flee the scene. Yet another instance where a homeless person was on private property and refusing to leave. There were two officers there and they acting as peace officers to the person. Perhaps it was appropriate for the situation, but this was just after a large debate about defunding the police and replacing them with social workers of which I was highly against. The city defunded them anyway under the name of reallocating funding sources to social services which I thought was stupid. Still, the forum members 100% supported it. The person I speak to the most on that forum defended it with affirmation that there would not be a reduction of recruitments, but that's exactly what happened after a massive budget gap in the police department. There were no law enforcement agents performing traffic stops any longer, in fact they were so short that they often just left unmanned patrol cars on the shoulder of the highway hoping it would deter drivers from speeding. The roads in Austin became lawless. There were no longer any police tending to traffic accidents either. They were served by firemen and I've first hand witnessed this. I could already see where this was going and I was highly against it.

As I was working 5x my capacity, more and more conservative posters left that forum. I had always felt that eventually this forum would turn against me. I wasn't sure when but it always felt like a matter of time. Biden tried to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory and I was 100% against it, but the forum practically condemned anyone who thought differently on the matter. While I did feel the pandemic was real, I was against a mandatory vaccine namely because the vaccine was new, it had hardly been tested (usually takes at least 5 years to know the true side effects of a vaccine).. but everyone swallowed up the vaccine anyway. I on the other hand publicly lied and told my peers I was vaccinated when I really wasn't. I refused to take it, even if I was going to lose my job. I declined many jobs that required it as well.

Still, I managed to pay for my jaw surgery. I had the implants drilled into my deformed jaw and my bone mostly rebuilt. I got my implant supported dentures... then Jerome Powell hiked the interest rates, which Biden condoned and Trump condemned. When that happened, the tech layoffs began and I started losing jobs. I was able to recycle jobs, meaning as I was losing jobs, I was also able to pick up new ones at the same time but it was difficult finding stability. I also noticed a sharp decline in Uber demand. There were less trips in the morning and also during weekends. There were more laid off drivers and less customers. I started becoming very frustrated with the Biden administration and the democratic party as a whole.

That's when I started to fight back.. ..on the forums. I didn't start in the Austin forum, but rather the Texas forum. I witnessed as democratic and liberally minded people bullied against conservative people with personal insults and rude remarks. I started to defend the conservatives and Republican platform. First emphasizing the effects of the slandering of the media but that fell on deaf ears as it was difficult to back up or prove. Liberally minded posters had a lot more sources than I did, but often their sources were biased toward corrupt media and a even more corrupt government that was actively criminalizing any source that disagreed with their agenda. I started debating principals of life, abortion became a hot topic.. ..I defended the abortion bans that Abbott pushed knowingly it would be socially unpopular but the situation we were heading toward was a demoralized society. I face a lot of criticism. One member was very knowledgeable, much more so than myself in terms of history. He was like a living encyclopedia. He tore into me pretty good for some time until I managed to get his posts deleted. He stopped and ignored me afterward but continued slandering against Christians and Christianity until he went too far and also got banned. I witnessed another member attack a very friendly conservative lady relentlessly, I managed to get him banned, but the toxicity of the forum was quickly driving conservative Texan posters away as the moderator was liberally minded and defended liberal policies and was slow to stop liberals who attack conservative posters. The member whom I had banned returned under a troll account, I didn't say anything.. ..but he temporarily started reasoning with me to a degree.. ..for awhile things were 'ok' between me and him.

Most of my rants were isolated to the Texas forum as I knew the Austin forum would not budge to my beliefs although I still presented them where I felt it was appropriate. Well, this is where things really get crazy for me and admittedly this is partly on fault of my own as well. One of the posters in the Austin forum I was fairly friendly with ever since I moved to Austin asked if I would give him a Uber ride to Downtown. I agreed. I 'thought' he was conservatively minded and after I picked him up.. ..I made the mistake of talking about politics. I called the Austin City Council crooks... It wasn't aimed at 'him' but I was only generally speaking because of my frustration with how they are running the city... ...BIG mistake... probably should not have did that.. he immediately replied "But what about the rest of them?!" I told him "They are, but the reason it angers me is they keep saying that they're protecting all these minority groups but that's not what they're doing..." ..we did change subjects, and at the end of the ride he told me I was a good kid.. ..but when I got him to my destination, he SLAMMED my door hard when he left my vehicle.

At first things go normal on the forums between myself and this poster.. ..but I started trying to defend the Republican party in the Austin forums because I felt that there was a lot of slandering, lies and deception brought onto people by the media. A woman was talking about how the republican party was making it difficult to vote and I rebuked that by going out to vote, it took all of 15 minutes. There were no lines, no one waiting. It was straight forward. I went out and voted. Another poster chimed in stating that it is progressively more difficult for people in the service industry to vote. I argued that we have 7 days a week and the ballots are open most of the day. On top of that I was working multiple jobs and still managed to find the time to do it. The poster I gave the Uber ride to responded "Please don't tell me you're counting your time doing Uber as one of those jobs" Another poster however defended me and said "Why shouldn't he? He's working 18 hours a day and still managed to find time to do it" .. The original poster chimed in "Yea? you have a car? a flexible job? not everybody has that" .. I replied that I wasn't born in this position and have spent many years of my under privileged and always found the will to vote when I needed to. (And this is true, I have be without a car several times in my life in the past.) ... There were two reasons I debated this topic. Number 1 was because I know that the democratic platform wants to give voting power to non-citizens, and Number 2 is because I also felt that the democratic platform has lost core integrity. They for the lack of better terms have become weak and its putting a burden on people who are doing the right things.

Part 3

There were debates about economics, about inflation as well.. ..those also ended in stalemates. Then, the poster I gave the Uber ride to, as well as the social worker decided to team up against me and start mocking and belittling my posts where they could find an opportunity to throw in criticism. Such as once where I mentioned that there was more than once that I refused an Uber passenger because they were too drunk and I skipped Friday or Saturday nights some weeks because I didn't have the tolerance to handle it. The ex-Uber passenger forum member immediately mockingly replied "Picking up drunks at 2am as an Uber driver and then complaining about it is a flex I don't get".. ..the social worker repped and agreed with him. I ignored them both and continued conversating with other forum members. We had another debate about interest rates where I stated my opinion that the feds never intended to lower them with the increase of interest rates. The two posters mentioned earlier mocked and belittled me. The ex-Uber passenger correcting a small grammatical error "noone" into "no one" and then told me to keep enlightening myself with my real estate expertise. I told him I apologize for the error and for going off on him (I went off onto a mini-debate on him but I felt bad because I kept remembering this person slamming the door to my car as he left my vehicle and that I hurt him unintentionally.) I also made a disclaimer that I was not attacking democratic voters but their policies did not make sense to me and I did not see them as healthy. Still... ...I put him on my ignore list after that, but was also met with opposition from another member who defended the interest rates stating the goal was to rein in inflation. I told him he's right, high interest does rein in inflation, but my issue was they never cut government spending between Ukraine (which in the past 3 years we've sent more money to than we have sent to Israel in over a decade), as well as the infrastructural bill, student loan bailouts, green energy, now Iran.. ..he told me I had valid debatable points but it was the wrong forum.. ..another poster however chimed in and agreed with me, stating she didnt see how aggressively raising interest rates to 7% would decrease inflation, but it was okay.. ..more people would have to borrow.. she went on to post further wondering the best method to handle current inflation levels without hurting the middle class. I added that in my opinion the government should have put funding into areas of the economy that were distressed during the Pandemic lockdowns instead of investing into green energy and eventually Ukraine as it would have alleviated those channels and reduced the cost of goods thereby reducing dollars exiting consumer wallets and increasing good availability while decreasing inflation induced by the inflated values of assets such as housing, cars, goods, and such.. I then told her that the democratic party was not what they seemed on the surface, this is about control and power, not about affordability or equality.. ..I was a bit irritated.. mainly because the party that's condoning this is also the party that is supposed to be protecting minority groups and the working class but everything they have done so far has made it harder for them.

The ex-Uber rider passenger made two attempts to recognize my post but I completely shut him out for good.. ..I was tired of being humiliated and harassed. Still, I felt bad for him. I prayed for him a few nights but I also felt a lot of bitterness and resentment toward him and still do.

There was a debate later about the Palestine protesters which the social worker defended stating if the original poster would feel the same if they were pro Israel posters. The OP replied "Of course I would, do you support this lawlessness that's going on all over the country? A mod ended up deleting both posts and left mine up that stated that I couldn't help but wonder if Woke Pro Hamas protesters truly realized they were defending a group of people who were largely against liberal values..

I know this sounds silly since its mostly online but, I'm unsure if I should continue going to this forum and debating or not. Lately I'm having to walk on eggshells it feels like. I can't express my real opinion on things without facing significant backlash. I used to enjoy going there but I am tired of the liberal policies and politics surrounding them. They also seem to believe that I am privileged and entitled but they do not fathom the amount of time and work it took for me to go from making less than $13 an hour to my current status and they do not seem to care that I am a black minority who has overcome financial disparity, inequality (I still deal with it, but I have learned to prioritize the well being of the country over my personal insecurities.), ect.. ..but here I am.. ..a $400k black male earner that raised his salary from $40k prior to moving to Austin.. ..privileged and entitled..

I did my best.. ..but I guess there are no trumpets and parades at the finish line, just criticism and put downs.. I'm tired of what is happening to this country..

I'm debating if I should continue going back to that forum or if I should let it be. My relations with them are dwindling and I feel like I can no longer be open about the truth on certain matters without facing significant backlash. It has been almost a year since their latest mob attempt against me, but the forums died down ALOT after that. Along with the forums dying down, the social worker probably got hit by a mod warning after she mocked the OP of the Palestine posters topic as she has been less provocative lately.

Ever heard the expression "A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged"?

Haven't heard of that one before, but do you think that poster that I gave a ride to was right about me? Like when he told me 'picking up drunks at 2am as an Uber Driver then complaining about it is a flex that I don't get'

I did end up putting him on my ignore list but he was constantly targeting and mocking / belittling my posts.

To most of it, I offered no retaliation toward which honestly I regret. He did try to make small talk with me twice but I ignored him going forward.

I'm just angry that they seem to believe I am entitled and privileged when I have worked so hard and overcome so many obstacles to get where I am today.

There are people of all political persuasions who mock and belittle, but politics has very little to do with it. If it wasn't politics it would be something else; they just get off on mocking and belittling. Best not to take it personally. You'll never change them and you'll do yourself a big favor by not even trying. Just hit ignore and forget it.

Well done! You've left them with no excuse to go on. And don't fall for their niceties to pull you back in just to so they can denigrate you some more to make themselves 'feel' better, because to them feeling better is a lot less work than 'being' better.

I reserve my right to offend. I mean, there are people even get paid for it!
pg13

I have no opinion. You should follow the dictates of your conscience and if you have a question ask the Lord Jesus. I know nothing about Uber drivers having never taken an Uber.

I guess another thing is, I started to falter at the end. The mocker was confusing me a lot and I ended up apologizing to him. I also have withdrawn a bit from the debates because of all the backlash.. ..I'm not sure if that was wise or if I should continue because it feels like I conceded to evil.

Thirty Lessons on how to overcome the accuser of the brethren

Saying 1 -- Bear witness to the truth

17 Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, 18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips. 19 So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you. 20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge, 21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports to those you serve?

Think of this as the Black Belt coaching for people to battle Satan. The first lesson is always about balance. They try to get you off balance, say something that is not honest and then they will jump on that. When cops question a suspect they can lie with impunity, but if the suspect says one lie they will jump on that. No one cares that those in authority lied. So rule #1 speak the truth. Jesus Christ is the truth. The only way to stay balanced is to speak Jesus Christ. First and foremost we are to bear witness of the truth.

Saying 2 -- Be merciful to others

22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, 23 for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.

You crush things that are much smaller than you. You can crush an ant. Remember, compared to the Lord you are the ant. Treat others the way you want to be treated. I don’t want to be crushed by the Lord so therefore I do not crush others. This is the golden rule of the Lord’s judgment (the corollary to the golden rule). James said that we are to do unto others as we would have them do to us which means we must treat others with mercy.

Saying 3 -- Do not be unequally yoked

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, 25 or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

Do not be unequally yoked. If you are on Facebook and they tell you that you can't speak about certain things then you may learn their ways. The same is true of Youtube. Why do you allow these unbelievers to control your ministry?

Saying 4 Deal with your greed

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; 27 if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.

In other words, be prudent. If they can’t get you with bad companions they will try using a scam artist. I once talked to a man who was a scam artist, he said he appealed to people’s greed. The way you avoid being taken in a scam is you deal with your greed, your desire to “get rich quick”.

Saying 5 -- Do not change the word of God

28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.

Our ancestors gave us the Constitution. The Bill of Rights are our ancient boundary stones. Treat those as sacred. The only way to move them is by a 2/3rd majority in both the House and the Senate. Treat that as gospel. Our ancestors were the 12 apostles, the New Testament is our boundary stone. Do not twist or change that word. Do not say that some of those verses are out of date, this is the twentieth century. No, the proper response is “I am an ant, I may not understand this verse, but who am I to presume to move it”.

Saying 6 -- Cut straight the word of God

29 Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Finally, if you are ambitious that is fine, focus that ambition on becoming skilled in your work.

Saying 7 -- Lowliness of mind

Proverbs 23:1 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, 2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. 3 Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

The last saying said that if you were skilled in your work you will serve before kings, now this one says if you do sit with a ruler or king make sure you are not given to gluttony. This is one of the key lessons we learn from Tom Brady. He was not given to gluttony. He could have demanded a much higher salary but he didn’t. As a result the team was able to afford other key players which played a major role in their winning so many Super Bowls. You always hear about some superstar quarterback giving expensive gifts to his offensive linemen. That is stupid, if he had taken 5 or 6 million less in salary the team could have afforded the best offensive line there is, that in turn would give him a few extra years in the league, better stats, and more wins. Philippians 2:3 doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself;

Saying 8 -- Seek first the kingdom

4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. 5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

The goal is not to get rich, it is to be skillful at your job. Larry Bird exemplified this, he was not interested in interviews, talk shows, or advertisers. He understood that the one thing that mattered most was being skillful at his job. There is a story that he was home practicing on the court, his girlfriend was told explicitly not to bother him with trivial matters. Sports Illustrated called and wanted to do a cover story on him so she felt this was important, so she called him off the court. When he discovered the reason he rebuked her, a cover story in Sports Illustrated was an example of something he felt was trivial.

Saying 9 -- Whatsoever place will not receive you, leave

6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; 7 for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. 8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.

Again, let’s learn from Tom Brady. New England would have renewed his contract but they were definitely a begrudging host and wanted him to retire. If you don’t go willingly they can force you out by creating an environment for you to fail. It is the best move to leave gracefully the minute you realize they want you to leave. Too many are struggling to stay on Facebook and Youtube even though they are clearly a begrudging host looking for an opportunity to suspend them. Have some self respect and leave. Brady left, went to the team with the worst record in the NFL and won a Superbowl. And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not, as ye go forth thence, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony unto them.

Saying 10 -- Do not cast your pearls before swine

9 Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.

We saw this last year, Trump said that you could treat Covid with Hydroxychloroquine and scorn was heaped upon him. Yet he was right, his words were prudent.

Saying 11 -- receive the spirit of sonship, crying Abba Father

10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, 11 for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.

This is a repeat, it is like a refrain. After several sayings about people who are very skilled at their job and yet were not appreciated. Why would New England want to get rid of Tom Brady when he was still playing at an elite level, was an outstanding teammate, and was willing to play at significantly less than market value? He was like Joe Montana. In both of their cases the coach was not glorified in their success, instead the debate was over who was most responsible for the success. This is a warning to the coach and the owner, do not try to disrespect Tom Brady, don’t try to encroach on his field, because his defender is strong. The worst thing for Belechik’s legacy is his attempt to say that Brady was past his prime. This is also the biggest shame to Boston, it reminds us of Babe Ruth and now Tom Brady. Each was the best player in his sport while he played and yet both were despised by Boston teams. The way these players were treated, it was as though they were "fatherless". Now look at the US, after a year of attacking and tearing down statues of great generals and leaders in US history we see how utterly incompetent and pathetic these "woke" leaders are with the debacle in Afghanistan.

So far we have seen all various things that go on before you even get on the field. Don’t be a glutton when negotiating a contract, if they don’t want you it is better to leave, be careful about trying to ruin someone’s career with a bad reference, focus on practice and developing your craft rather than opportunities to cash in. Let's review

1 -- Bear witness to the truth

2 -- Be Merciful to others

3 -- Do not be unequally yoked

4 -- Deal with sins, especially greed

5 -- Do not change the word of God

These five deal with establishing yourself in a place where you can grow. From the moment you get saved you should become a witness for the Lord and take heed to the royal commandment to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. However, you will need to be in fellowship with others and so you must find a church where you can worship, where you can deal with sins and that does not change the word of God. Only at this point can you move on to the next stage which is ministry.

6 -- Cut straight the word of God

7 -- Lowliness of mind

8 -- Seek first the kingdom

9 -- Whatsoever place will not receive you, leave

10 -- Do not cast your pearls before swine

Ministry requires that you cut straight the word of God, that you follow in the footsteps of Jesus in lowliness of mind, to wash the disciples feet, and to take up your cross, to make yourself of no effect and to take on the life of a servant of Christ. Do not seek to build up your ministry, seek first the kingdom. It is all about walking in faith, consider Abraham the father of faith. His ministry was being the father of faith but when he had to make a choice between seeking the kingdom or his ministry he offered up Isaac. Then you need to realize that the Lord is sovereign over all, if they will not receive you in this place it is because the Lord wants you to move on to the next city. Yes, we are humble, we are the offscouring of the world, but we are handling pearls and we must treat the word of God as pearls and not pig slop.

11 -- Spirit of Sonship

Spirit of sonship or adoption does not mean you are born again, it means now you are mature enough to inherit a ministry. Before this you were an apprentice, you were learning. Perhaps you were serving in a ministry, but now you can step out in faith, calling Abba Father. This now brings us to 12.

Saying 12 Furnished completely unto every good work

12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

This is how you improve. It doesn’t say to listen or even to obey, it says to apply. This means you are taking the instruction and words of knowledge and applying them to your life. This is what James means when he says “faith without works is dead”. He means you need to apply your faith to your ministry. This is what Paul said 16 Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

We can apply every verse in the Bible to our life and ministry so that we can be complete and furnished completely unto every good work.

Saying 13 Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. 14 Punish them with the rod and save them from death.

Definitely not politically correct, but very true. People attacked Michael Jordan when the book “Jordan’s Rules” came out portraying him as a bully. He wasn’t a bully, that is absurd, bullies pick on weaker people. He was disciplining his teammates with the rod to save them from collapsing under pressure during the playoffs. He changed the culture from a losing team to a dynasty. I heard Robert Parrish comparing Jordan's leadership to Larry Bird. Bird set an example whereas Jordan was much more "in your face" but when Jordan came to Chicago this team had a culture of losing and when Bird went to Boston they had a culture of winning. Bird did not need to change the culture, Jordan needed the entire team to make a 180 degree turn. Different situations require different responses.

Saying 14 Rejoice when we are weak and you are strong

15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; 16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

I am always reminded of Seattle versus the New England Patriots in the Superbowl. Seattle had driven down to the goal line at the very end of the game. New England was leading but a touchdown here would win the game for Seattle. They had one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and they had one of the best short yardage running backs in the NFL. It looked like the game was over and then a rookie or 2nd year cornerback made a great play to intercept the ball in the end zone. That interception snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for New England. Later the story came out that the coach had been very tough on this particular player trying to drill into him how to defend this play just days earlier. During the practice you might think the coach has it in for me, but later when you have won the Super Bowl you realize he is rejoicing as much as you are that you acted in a wise way.

The sayings 12-14 were particularly focused on having a ministry. But now we come to the Lord's word about narrow is the way that leads to life and wide is the way that leads to destruction. Why would we leave the path that leads to life once we are on it? The first sin we had to deal with specifically was greed, now the sin that could cause you to stumble and turn aside is envy.

Saying 15 In this world you will have tribulation but Jesus has overcome the world

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. 18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

“There is always a future hope for you”. Isn’t that great! The sinner steals something and is dancing and rejoicing, don’t envy them, no, be zealous for the fear of the Lord and there is always a future hope for you. In 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded their star quarterback Jamieson Winston to New Orleans and brought in Tom Brady. During the regular season New Orleans played and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice and you can see Jamieson Winston celebrating those victories. But then they met in the playoffs and Tampa won. Every time you lose, use it to motivate you to study your weaknesses and improve them and there is always hope for you.

Saying 16 Do not despise the day of small things

19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: 20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, 21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Again, the focus is on being skillful at what you do. Riches fly away, drunkards and gluttons become poor. The goal is not to get a big fat contract or to be the toast of the town. I hated the New England Patriots, I came up with every reason in the book why Tom Brady is overrated. In the end it was undeniable, I saw the little things he did like not take a big salary and to not think more highly of himself than he ought, and ultimately realized there is a lot more to being successful than just running and throwing.

Saying 17 Honor your father and mother, the commandment with a promise

22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well. 24 The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. 25 May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

Candace Owens is a black woman who is a pundit. She makes a very strong case that in the US discrimination against blacks is not the issue, the issue for blacks is broken families and fatherless families. One of the ten commandments is to honor your father and mother so that it may be well with you (be successful) and that you may live long on the earth (have a long career and a long life). You see this rule proven time and again.

Saying 18 Guard your heart above all else.

26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways, 27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well. 28 Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

You don’t want to slide into a deep pit, you will lose your cart, your horse, everything. Also you don’t want to fall in love with a wayward wife, you will get bruised and it is very difficult to escape. How does she snare a husband? It is as though she were a bandit lying in wait. Not only so but she will multiply the unfaithful, she will teach her children her ways.

Saying 19 Wide is the way that leads to destruction

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. 31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! 32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. 34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

Why do people turn to the bottle? Perhaps a failed marriage, perhaps a miserable career, etc. If you are envious of sinners you will likely ignore your mother and father, you will get snared by the adulterous woman, get damaged, lose everything and then turn to the bottle. The bottom line is this is where the broadway that leads to destruction leads.

Saying 20 Do not envy, a second warning

24:1 Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company; 2 for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.

Maxine Waters is a good example of someone who plots violence and her lips talk about making trouble. So the warning here is don’t desire their company, they seem to have an organization and influence, stay away from them, don’t envy what they have built up, don’t desire to get involved with them because they will ultimately all be judged for their crimes.

Saying 21 – Pray for wisdom, understanding and knowledge

3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; 4 through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

We need to appreciate the wisdom that the Lord has displayed in building His house. He has filled the church with rare and beautiful treasures. Recently I was considering all the incitement to violence and hate and the attempt to divide us with a race war. What is the best inoculation to this virus? Then it hit me: love one another as Jesus has loved you. If you lived this life it is hard to believe people could fall for this transparent attempt to divide us. While doing this blog I have discovered so many unique and rare saints. You have someone like Vicki Goforth Parnell with bizarre and weird dreams. I am very thankful for her but have no desire to do what she does. Likewise with Dr. Barnett. I never wanted to go to seminary or do any of that, but I am very thankful for this brother to give a solid, trustworthy word. I am thankful for Stan who has studied prophecy for over 40 years. To me trying to vet these prophets on the internet is something I have no patience for. So I am very thankful that this brother has done that work for me. Pastor Sandy Armstrong with his focus on Hebrew, a language I never studied, and the prophecy in the Psalms (a topic I never studied previously) and gematria (another topic I never studied). I am thankful for Dr. Barry Awe who helped sort out all the calendars when I had become completely confused by them. It really helps me appreciate the Lord's word that He would "prepare a place for you". Many different members of the body, many different functions, and yet one body.

Saying 22 – Pray for wise counsel

5 The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength. 6 Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.

A great example of this is given to us in the movie “MoneyBall ''. The story is about a General Manager of a small market baseball team trying to compete in a league where some teams had budgets two or three times greater than him. He ultimately teams up with a guy just out of college without any experience in baseball. They use statistical analysis to find players who are undervalued, guys they can get at a big discount. He is incredibly successful setting a new record for consecutive victories in a single season. We have challenges that are not insurmountable, rather we need guidance and the Lord has already filled His house with these rare and beautiful treasures that can provide that guidance. We are going up against AI and this is the contrast with AI, it is one mind to bind all the minds together and to rule them all. That is what Neuralink will do and no doubt this will be used primarily to build a formidable army, but it won't be able to compete with the masterpiece that the Lord is building. AI will be controlled by the wicked who plot violence and who talk of making trouble. As a result this will be the fatal flaw in the programming of AI, it will lack the wisdom to dwell in prudence. AlphaGo and the AI that taught itself chess have this one fatal flaw, they lack prudence. This works in a two dimensional game with a set of rules and where you can predict every possible move. It doesn't work when you throw a billion wrenches into the mix along with God.

Saying 23 -- Wisdom is too high for fools

7 Wisdom is too high for fools; in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Why do you think they want to censor you? They are unable to debate openly, they get exposed as fools. So then, what happens when they open their mouths in the gate? You get offensive TV, you get repulsive movies, you get people calling evil good and good evil.

Saying 24 -- Schemers and Mockers are fools

8 Whoever plots evil will be known as a schemer. 9 The schemes of folly are sin, and people detest a mocker.

This was Trump’s error: he was a mocker. He thought it was his skill, talking about “sleepy Joe” or “little Rubio '' or how thirsty someone was. People detest a mocker. If Trump had refrained from mocking others he would have been more popular and far less “unpopular”. The problem was that many people detested him to the point they were willing to scheme to get him out of power. These sayings lay out for us the narrow way that leads to life. Now we are seeing some of the other paths people take. Trump may think his mockery is clever, but it created a number of people who hated him. The people scheming to get rid of Trump may think they are clever, but those schemes were the folly of sin. They left a long trail of breadcrumbs leading to them and they will be known as evil schemers. These are two examples of fools that should not open their mouths in the gate because wisdom is too high for them.

Saying 25 -- Rescue those being led away to death

10 If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! 11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. 12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

I have been very impressed with those who have not faltered in times of trouble. Mike Lindell, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, etc. They have been working every day to hold back those staggering toward slaughter. There are clearly people who think the best thing to do right now is to keep your head down, don’t make waves, and hope everything passes. That is foolish. The only reason Cancel culture, censoring, and all the other heinous things that are being done even can happen is because of the “silent majority”. If 50 or 60% of this country would raise their voices in opposition to all these things then this would be over immediately. The best way to deal with a bully is to punch him in the nose.

Let's consider a specific example of this. There are those who use the smallpox and polio vaccine as an example of why we should accept the vaccine mandate.

No one is denying that the vaccine that eliminated smallpox or polio were great developments. All we are saying is that bringing them in as support for the vaccine mandate is idiotic.

1. Both of those vaccines took 50 years to develop, had several attempts that were neither safe nor effective and it wasn't until we had 12 years of data that we mandated them. Therefore they are evidence that supports the vaccine hesitant that are arguing against a vaccine mandate of an Experimental vaccine.

2. Was there ever a pandemic in human history that ended with a vaccine? No. Your use of the smallpox vaccine suggests you may not understand that and have confused the two issues.

3. What has always worked in the past is human immunity, staying home if you are sick with symptoms, and treatments that help boost the immune system. I have used HCQ twice and both times it worked remarkably well. Not just for me but also for my wife and son. We have learned that there is a direct correlation between how seriously you get sick from Covid and how much vitamin D you have in your system. Take vitamin D and you won't end up in the ICU. We have also learned that Quercetin and Zinc is a very powerful way to boost your immune system to viral infections.

4. There is a reason that using a vaccine is not only not going to work at putting an end to the pandemic but could actually cause new and deadlier variants. We know the virus mutates rapidly. We also know there are hundreds of millions of people worldwide who are infected with one variant or another and we know the vaccine does not give you immunity to the entire virus but only one piece of it. So a variant like Delta or Omicron will arise and there is no protection. All you are doing with this vaccine is creating an environment where variants will be favored.

Also, they have snarky remarks about using bleach as simply a fool being a parrot for foolishness. HCQ is used as a bleach at a concentration of 10,000x greater than what you use as a therapeutic. Try taking 10,000 Tylenol tablets and see how long you last. The people who make jokes about HCQ are fools and should not have opened their mouths in the gate.

I appreciate Djokovic, he was courageous in his stance against the vaccine and that had to raise awareness and credibility to many others around the world. Not only that, but he paid a very high price and so all those who justify themselves because of how much it would have cost to do the right thing will not have a case. In the final analysis we remember Mohammed Ali because he took a courageous stance against the Vietnam war and paid a price. I expect we'll remember Djokovic for the same reason, paying a price to take a stance against the vaccine mandate. Of course the best example is Schindler, of Schindler's list fame.

Saying 26 – Find wisdom

13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. 14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

It is a completely different view to losing, if you have found wisdom, losing is simply a master class on winning. Evil people cheat so if they lose they assume the other person cheated. Wise people know that there is always a way for them to improve and win, so if you lose they are showing you your weakness and if you learn that you will become stronger and be able to win in the future. So, there is always a future hope for you.

Saying 27 – the righteous rise again

15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place; 16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

After the January 6 riot they claimed that the people in the Trump rally beat a policeman to death. This turned out to be a lie that was quickly disproved, so they changed it to they killed him by spraying him with bear spray. However, no one has ever been killed by bear spray and so people were naturally skeptical and wanted to see the toxicology report. Finally they admitted he died of natural causes. The righteous do not quit because they know the accusation is a lie. Think about the movie concerning “The Hurricane”. He was put into prison over a lie, he continued to fight it and rose again. Though the righteous fall seven times they rise again. However, now that this lie has been exposed it is like calamity striking the wicked and they are stumbling all over themselves. This is why you have to learn to be righteous and have a righteous stance. The enemy can come at you repeatedly but as long as you are standing on solid ground you can hold your ground. We stand on the blood of Christ. That is a terrifying stance to the enemy.

Saying 28 – Do not gloat

17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, 18 or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.

How many times have we seen that? Think about last year, Jamieson Winston was gloating as the New Orleans Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice during the regular season, but the Lord turned his wrath away and Tampa beat the Saints in the playoffs. Or consider the Kansas City Chiefs, their star receiver did a backflip into the end zone in the regular season as they beat Tampa Bay, but again the Lord turned his wrath from them and Tampa beat KC in the SuperBowl.

Saying 29 – Do not fret

19 Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, 20 for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

This is so awesome. Evil doers win by deceit. Once they have been found out it is over. This is why I was so impressed with Vince Lombardi. There was no deceit in his game, everyone knew it would be “the Packer sweep” but they executed it so well that no one could stop it. If you have to win by deceit, what happens when others find out? Why do you think they are going crazy over these election integrity bills being passed in 47 states? Their deceit has been exposed and now they have no future hope.

Saying 30 – Fear the Lord

21 Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials, 22 for those two will send sudden destruction on them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Who knows what calamities they can bring? Think about that, maybe you can think of some terrible calamities but surely the king can think of things you never even thought of. Now if that is true of the king, how about the Lord? Read the Old Testament and the Lord toyed with evil men regardless of what they tried. Read the book of Revelation. The amount and variety of sudden destruction is astounding. Right now we have rebellious officials involved in voter fraud, they don’t fear the Lord, they surely didn’t fear Trump or any of the Republicans. But let’s consider that for a moment. Trump instituted the “space force” which is in charge of monitoring all communications worldwide that travel via satellite. He had access to the NSA which is able to monitor all communications via computer and phone. Also, Trump put in place very strict regulations concerning anyone involved in election fraud. You might think “hey, if he was going to do anything he would have already done it”. That is reasonable except for one thing, after January 20th anyone involved in rebellion would be emboldened. It will be easier to piece together everyone that is guilty and the extent of their involvement. You can also monitor all financial transactions, who is paying who and for what. All I am saying is this phrase “who knows what calamities they can bring” is a very scary thing when talking about the President of the US and who is he compared to the Lord?

Think about Epstein. Most people think he was murdered, not suicide. For years they wanted to see the list of people who went to that Island and they were desperate to keep that secret. But now the list has been made public. The whole world knows what that list means. They know what these people did. They know they were surely responsible for having Epstein killed. If the list is made public does that mean they also have the video tapes from the island used to blackmail these people? This thing was a sophisticated honey pot used to lure the rich and powerful and then blackmail them. If you were there they taped it. For years these people have been sweating it that this would be made public.

Think about all these people resigning, CEO's, heads of state, Congressmen, Senators, etc. Are they cooperating witnesses? This is like the movie Goodfellows where they pull off this huge bank heist and then they start killing each other off. The ship is sinking, the rats are fleeing, and the most powerful are left like Scarface to die in a hail of bullets. It is psychological torture. Like Goodfellows they are afraid of being whacked by their own friends. They despise rats but that is your only option if you want to live. No friends, no family, no respect and you live in the dark. Suppose you see the Prime Minister of New Zealand all of a sudden retire?! Perhaps she knows nothing about what you have done, but maybe she is ratting others out who do know and now have the screws being turned on them? What do you do? You can't call anyone because if they have been flipped the phone will be bugged. Anyone who calls you will seem to be someone who has flipped. So you have to live in the dark, act like an idiot to anyone who calls and not call anyone yourself. So with every public retirement you can sense the noose is tightening. This is psychological torture of the worst kind. What some people will do is make a list of everyone who could rat them out and then go kill them. A hundred close associates of the Clintons have died. But these people aren't stupid, they see these strange deaths, they know who is doing it and they know they must be on that list.

What do you think I should do about the poster that was mocking me? I feel like I was the one who initiated it even though I was not intending to directly attack him.

Also do you think its possible at all to stop what is currently happening in America? in some way I have felt that this is our fate.

Believers in Christ will be mocked, just make sure that when you are it is for the right reason, because you are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Yes, of course it is possible to stop what is currently happening in America just as when it is possible to stop a plane falling out of the sky when it hits the ground.

I have shared extensively on this in my books "Look Up, Your Redemption draws nigh".

Congressman Eric Burlison Turned Away From DC Jail Where January 6th Political Prisoners Are Being Held! What Are They Hiding?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/congressman-eric-burlison-turned-away-dc-jail-where/

While politics as a whole have become a disgrace in this country, liberals do utilize smarter methods to sway people. But also they weird it dangerously.
I've seen multiple videos of non-liberals going into protests and try to talk calmly and rationally. All that ever happens is the liberals just chant and yell over them. Sometimes threatening them and even get violent. Just for trying to talk.
Meanwhile I saw a video of a young black liberal man walk through a Trump rally. He was terrified, expecting to be beat up by all the 'racist' Trump supporters. In reality he walked around with zero harassment and lots of friendly smiles and greetings.
Even as he approached a few people confessing to be a liberal his opinion was respected and no one got angry.
Now this isn't to say this is a reflection of all of either side. Both sides have their good and bad followers. But on average liberals tend more towards violence, yelling over talking, high displays of uncontrolled emotions and expecting people to cater to their every whim. Not to mention their communist leanings, which would mean they take Your money and give it to people with less than you who don't work hard.

Now I'm not a really political person, but in recent years I have become more educated on the culture of politics. It's overall disgusting and not worth getting more into politics at this stage. Even on this site the political debates are pretty disgusting.

Politics in general is less about the government for most people and more about agenda. Forcing others to accept their own views, and if they refuse then attack and belittle them. As you've experienced yourself.
So I tend to stay out of discussions about anything politics touches.
Perhaps the same might be best for you. How much good is coming from your time on these sites? Joining in these debates? They seem more to agitate you and get you down. Is that what you want in your life? Drama under the guise of politics? I'll pass.

I generally agree, its just lately more and more politics have been shaping the way we live and I hate to say it, it's more of the politics on the left that are influencing my life than the politics on the right. They come off as dictators in their stances and they will not back down even if you have legitimate concerns. Another thing with me particularly is I am seen as a 'tech-bro' and they believe that because I am a single male with a high income who isn't extraordinarily social that I am not in the know of what's going on behind the scenes in the political realm. They are forcing socialism on us and the issue is that it forces a philosophy of entitlement without merit, and respect even where its undue. I'm having a very hard time getting these people to listen to me because they think I'm privileged and entitled but I have worked very hard to get to where I am.