Don't Be An Airhead

The nineteen-year-old female student was driving back to her apartment after a game and was caught in a really bad hailstorm. Her car was covered with dents, so the next day she took it to a repair shop. The shop owner had a tough time explaining to her what had to be done to remove the dents and recognized her as an “airhead” and decided to have some fun at her expense. He told her if she wanted to save some money to go home and blow into the tailpipe really hard to see how many of the dents would pop out. That would result in less dents he would have to fix and less money out of her pocket. So, she went home and got down on her hands and knees and started blowing into her car’s tailpipe. Nothing happened. So, she blew a little harder, and still nothing happened. Her BFF saw her and asked, “What are you doing?” The first told her how the repairman had instructed her to blow into the tailpipe in order to get all the dents to pop out. Her girlfriend rolled her eyes and said, “Duh! Hello! You need to roll up the windows first!”

When tragedies and disasters occur it’s not long before conspiracies abound. The temptation to believe them is strong because they make sense of an otherwise senseless event. They grant us the power to place blame at the feet of someone, rather than remain a victim of confusion. They provide comfort in the calamity by legitimizing themselves with partial truths and creating a common enemy (usually a corporation or government). Our present culture is rife with false news stories which appear legitimate. We cling to them because, often, they solidify our prior suspicions and make us feel superior to others who aren’t “in the know.” Our post-modern world has fashioned a society where there is no shared truth, no normative sources of information – you have your facts, and I have mine.

At times there are facts staring us all in the face and our “airhead” thinking keeps us from seeing the truth. Just one example appeared in the recent “demonstrations” on our university campuses across the nation. Amazingly we are told that all these demonstrations were spontaneously developed by concerned students wanting their voice heard. (Most of whom weren’t even students and had no real concept of what they were demonstrating for.) The strangest thing was observed by trained eyes about these demonstrations. Every “encampment” that sprung up, on every campus, consisted of the same exact tents organized in the same exact way on the campus grounds. Did hundreds of students, all on different campuses across the United States, go to the same sporting goods store to purchase the same exact tent for their individual demonstration? And then set them up in a military type organized encampment? I think not. These “demonstrations” were bought and paid for by those who are “gaslighting” the American patriot into doing something stupid. Be vigilant in what you see and how you react. Pray we can stop this illiterate nonsense.

[Isaiah 8:12-13] “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow. Let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread.” Yet, however legitimate you may feel a conspiracy is, as God’s people we must examine them closely. We should use our time wisely to discipline our intellects for holy pursuits, so that we are better prepared to display a dignified, sober, and joyful life before the world. The last thing the world needs is for Christians to become consumed with conspiracies. They need hope, clear-headed thinking, wisdom, and charity. They need to recognize the church as the Kingdom of Heaven. “Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 64:2). Oppressed by the wicked but rejoicing in the Lord (Psalm 64).