Posted on by Abe Austin

Taking Accountability- Acknowledging Limitations

My Commitment and Influence)

In my last post I explained how I feel that I have given my attention to social media that escalates tension and promotes an “us vs them” mentality. I have been more likely to click on a video because the thumbnail or title promised outrage and blame. And in so doing, I have signaled to the algorithms that I, and people like me, want to engage with this sort of content, want to consume it, and want to be emotionally charged by it. And it’s not hard to see how that drives division, animosity, and eventually violent ideation in the most impressionable of minds.

And so, with yesterday’s post I made a commitment that I was going to stop engaging in this cycle of escalation and tension. I have gone through all of my subscriptions and purged the voices that were most divisive and angry. I am resolving to lessen their reach by at least one viewer, and by that take accountability for my own, little slice of the murder of Charlie Kirk.

Limited Scope)

I think that that conclusion is pragmatic and realistic. Of course, to be honest, it has its limitations. It is not as though that I am equally responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk as some other people are, or that I have the power within me to change everything wrong that led to his murder. This moment of introspection wasn’t about convincing myself that I’m guilty of his murder or making it my sole responsibility to make sure something like that never happens again. That would not be realistic. This moment was about seeing how I am guilty of some things, and how those parts are in my power to change.

This isn’t about changing everything; it’s about changing me. And that might not seem important from the scope of the world, but it is important from the scope of me. My own world and my own soul will be better for making this change, and right now that’s what I want to focus on.

Also, who knows. I’ve seen in the past where I’ve made changes to myself and then seen parallel shifts happening in the world at large. I actually do believe that our spirits are bigger than we think, and that they pull on more strands than we know, and one person making a change for himself can create unseen ripples in the world around him.

More than anything, though, I think the real importance of making a personal change comes down to this: the world is much bigger than I am and requires much more effort to be moved, so if I won’t find the will to change just myself, then obviously the world won’t either. Or in other words, maybe the world will stay the same even if I change, but how can the world ever change, if I’m still staying the same?

Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: Today’s Social Waves

Thus far I have examined the shifting beliefs and philosophies of the world, and how we tend to be changed by them over time, constraining our thoughts to certain patterns so that we stop being able to conceive of other alternatives. In my perspective, basic Christian and traditional principles are becoming progressively unfathomable to the western world.

I will be specific. Abortion, gay marriage, transgender medical procedures, euthanasia, and complete uniformity in the nature of men and women. These are the main social waves that I see taking our western world from its foundational Christian values. Some of these are firmly in opposition with Christianity, others are only at odds dependent on the degree to which they are pursued.

I believe that the media overemphasizes the conversion of the world to these agendas, presenting these as closed cases, when the battle is actually very much alive. Unfortunately, the media is the community that primarily surrounds and shapes us today, and what it presents as a decided principle tends to become the social reality soon enough.

Earlier, I discussed the parable of the Emperor’s New Clothes. Take any of the issues I mentioned above and replace the “clothes” with that philosophy. The media insists that everyone else already sees the “Emperor’s clothes”, and the individual comes to believe that everyone really does. The individual feels that there is something wrong with himself that he does not see the clothes, so he advocates for the clothes even if he does not actually see them. He describes them by simply parroting the descriptions that others have said. Most shockingly, in time he may come to truly believe that he does see them, too.

And what is the harm in all of this? Why is it at a bad thing if we as a society evolve and embrace new ideas, even if it means throwing out the theologies of old? We have discarded many antiquated beliefs, such as our superstitions, and we consider that a good and progressive thing, so why not this? Why can’t everything be cast aside if it is deemed outdated and replaced with what the masses decide is good for now?

I concede that there would not technically be any harm in this if we were merely machines changing software. To the computer, there is no difference between running its original programming or running malware. It continues happily either way, because the wires and bits have no objective truth to follow. Any failure to fulfill the purpose of their designer makes no difference to the dead material that composes the machine. Even if a virus causes the machine to run overly hard until it completely breaks itself and ceases to function at all, the machine does not care.

But mankind is not this way. Mankind is not a machine. Mankind is inseparably connected to its creator and to an objective truth, and the destruction of mankind is of great consequence. We will explore this more tomorrow.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: What Comes Out of a Man

I have discussed how we tend to be shaped by our cultures, how when most people move from one place to another, they will gradually morph from the beliefs of their old community to the beliefs of their new one. I have discussed how this occurs slowly, by osmosis, gradually constraining our perceptions and imaginations until we cannot conceive of other alternatives, and the only sensible way of living seems to be the one that we currently follow.

Of course, one does not have to move to change their perceptions. The places that we live are themselves of a transient nature. Through years and generations, new philosophies arise in the same place, and what once felt like home now feels strange and unfamiliar. Here again, most people will adapt to the new norm, which is a problem if the new norm is perverse or built on lies. Without even knowing it, the general populace will gradually defile themselves, inhaling the polluted social air until it fills them.

This brings to mind a saying from Jesus: “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man” (Matthew 15:11). In this I read that it is inevitable for us to be surrounded by the corrupt philosophies of the world. We are going to consume bad thoughts and bad ideas in our daily life, and that’s unavoidable. But that does not have to mean that we, ourselves, must also be corrupted. Where we should be concerned is when we start to hear those false perspectives coming back out of our own mouths. Then we know that we have not only consumed, but have also been converted.

I have seen people who tend to be more resistant to this change, who hold to their convictions, even though it makes them unusual in their changing society. It is rare to keep oneself anchored when corruption permeates us as a way of life, but it is possible. At least, it is possible when one is intentional about holding to what is true. If one is idle and inattentive, they might hold out a little longer than others, but I do believe they will lose their grip eventually. Being properly anchored to what is true is something that we must practice actively.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: Constraints of Thought

Yesterday I mentioned that most people are only socially converted to their beliefs. They gradually, through osmosis, adopt the faith, the principles, and the paradigms that their society repeats to them. Perhaps even more importantly, they adopt the limitations that come with society’s beliefs.

When we hear a falsehood repeated enough times, it goes from sounding strange and offensive to familiar and comfortable. And when our mind becomes aligned with any principle, true or false, it establishes boundaries to reject any competing notions.

The Emperor’s New Clothes)

One of the great allegories for our day is the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s widely recognized as a lesson on peer pressure and vanity, but there is another important detail in it that we must not miss: the people are duped into participating in the grand lie because they have boundaries set on their minds to keep them from seeing that it is a lie.

Remember, the yarn that is spun by the swindling tailors is that the fabric can be seen only by those who are worthy. After the first servants and counselors confirm that they do see the clothing, bounds start to be laid on everyone else’s thinking. Everyone just assumes that if they cannot see what the others do, then it must be because they are unworthy. They have had blinders put on them by the social pressure of others’ claims, such that they cannot even consider the possibility that everyone else is lying. The notion doesn’t even cross their minds.

This lie by the tailors is particularly effective because it preys upon the insecurities of the villagers. “Impostor syndrome” is a common sensation that falls upon us all. None of us are so clever or so good as we would like to be, nor so much as most of us pretend to be. Everyone feels a fraud inside, and so not seeing the Emperor’s clothes, and by extension being told that they were unworthy, only confirmed what the villagers had already suspected about themselves and they didn’t even try looking for other options.

This is why it is a young boy, still innocent and with no self doubts, who is finally be able to see through the charade. The idea that he would be unworthy was the notion that could not cross his mind, and so he was able to rightly see the truth of the matter. And when he did, it was not only the king who had his nakedness exposed. Every villager now knew that his neighbor was full of self-doubt and shame, and would absolutely lie to hide it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: Proper Alignment

I am going to pause my analysis of Exodus for eight posts, so that I may cover a topic that's been weighing on my mind recently. Today I will begin my discussion on what we ought to align ourselves to in life, and the dangers that follow when we are misaligned.

***

There are a considerable number of Christians who become distressed and divided between the commandments of God and the principles they have been taught by society. Once these two sets of voices were nearly enough aligned that one could blend them with only moderate twisting of the self. Today, they are more firmly at odds to one other, creating an impossible divide, and a person feels they must choose one or the other.

The Unrealized Influence)

Given the choice between the commandments of God and the principles of the world, many end up hearkening to the world, but do so under the assumption that they are listening to their own inner voice. This is a defining characteristic of our world today: that everyone must be “true to themselves,” choosing “what they know in their heart to be right.” And while there is a wisdom to this thinking in theory, one has to acknowledge that most of the convictions that come out of us did not actually originate from within our hearts at all.

We are highly social creatures, and we gain our perspectives and beliefs from our surroundings, subtly and invisibly, by osmosis. We might be surrounded by voices that stress principles we do not originally agree with, but over time, without recognizing why or how, we will start to hear the same arguments coming out from inside of us. We are convinced and converted without ever realizing it.

The Pull of a Culture)

I saw this firsthand when I was a missionary in the West Indies. I visited many countries and districts. Some were primarily Christian, some primarily Hindu, and some primarily Muslim. A common phrase in each area was “born an X, die an X,” where X was the predominant religion in that region.

But the saying wasn’t true. I know this because when I transferred to other areas, I would find people who had moved there from the same place that I had left, and usually they had given up their old religion to adopt the new one that surrounded them. And this went in every direction. Hindus to Christians, Christians to Muslims, Muslims to Hindus, etc. The locals that never moved were firmly convinced that they could never change their beliefs, but the evidence suggests that their stalwartness was most often due to their environment more than their personal convictions.

And this doesn’t just have to do with religion. Travel to different places and you will see that attitudes coalesce from the community towards science, education, politics, justice, lifestyle choices, and every other domain that people have opinions on. Spend long enough in these places and you might find yourself starting to think the same way, too.

The fact that one can move to a different environment and change their beliefs does not condemn the original value system, nor elevate the new one, it merely shows that most people are socially converted only. Yet they say to themselves, “I’m just listening to my own heart.” In truth, what they are listening to is what their heart has been constrained to believe by their culture.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Influence and Persuasion- Personal Example #2

I mentioned in a previous post how as a child I wanted my younger siblings to follow my lead. I wanted them to take my instructions as law, but they didn’t respect me, because I had not put in the time to earn that respect. And if that meant they didn’t want to play what I wanted that was one thing, but they would even stage mini-rebellions when I was just being the messenger for Dad and Mom.

“No!” I would say. “You have to listen to me. Dad and Mom said we have to clean this up, so you have to help me do it.”

I felt that my authority was absolute in this case, but they would ignore me all the same. Not because they didn’t respect Dad and Mom, but because they didn’t respect me as their emissary. And no matter of invoked authority was going to make them view me in the same light as the parents.

In those moments I felt an intense aggravation. They needed to do what I was saying, and I had to find a way to make them do it. And that resulted in all manner of shouting and threatening and shaking by the shoulders.

Then one day I realized something. If you need to make someone do something in that very moment…then you’ve already lost. I realized that the campaign for someone’s loyalty is won out long before the moment of need. It has to be sown long in advance.

So if you haven’t already put in that time beforehand, you don’t stand a chance. Then you will be tempted to force them to comply through fear and anger, which might get you what you want in the moment, but will make them resent you even more, and they will be all the less willing to comply next time.

I’m glad to say that after realizing this I started to treat my siblings differently. I stopped trying to make them respect me, and instead got them to know that I liked them. I played with them, I made things for them, I taught them how to ride the bike. I learned how to be nice with no strings attached. I won their hearts at quiet times when I didn’t need a single thing from them.

And then, when I was the emissary for Mom and Dad, and I told them we had been commissioned to do some chore and needed to work together, they happily agreed.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Influence and Persuasion- Matthew 20:26-27, Doctrine and Covenants: 121:46

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

COMMENTARY

Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant
Yesterday I examined some verses that spelled out the divinely approved method for obtaining influence over others. And they were full of words like persuasion, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, and kindness. Which honestly sounds like a great deal of work! In fact it doesn’t sound like the work of a leader at all, but that of a servant.
And as it turns out, this is exactly the same methodology that Jesus taught to his disciples. It seems a paradox, but his process for gaining power over others was to just serve them. He assaults us with love until at last he wins our hearts.

Thy dominion shall be everlasting, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee
And going back to those verses from yesterday, after they conclude detailing the service we ought to employ as our means of influence, they then provide a promise. We are told that our dominion will just flow unto us. After we have sown love, loyalty will flow back to us of its own accord. It will come without “compulsory” means.
Maintaining power is the exact opposite for tyrants that rule by intimidation and force. Nothing flows to such leaders, they must go out and hunt for every ounce of control they have. They must domineer every servant at all times, and if ever they slack off then their power is gone.
Virtuous leaders invest themselves in their people. They plant their own goodwill, and reap the loyalty that naturally grows from that seed. There is no domineering and no forcing, just service flowing out and then flowing back in, pulsating, like the rhythms of a heart.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Influence and Persuasion- Doctrine and Covenants: 121:39, 41-42

We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile

COMMENTARY

It is the nature of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, to exercise unrighteous dominion
It has been said that one of the best ways to really know a person is to see how they treat their inferiors. When they are in a position of power (whether it be a boss over their employees, a parent over their children, or a pet-owner over their pets) how do they behave towards them?
I was the middle child growing up, and there was definitely a difference between how I interacted with my older siblings and how I treated my younger ones. I felt subservient to my older siblings, and I would try to please them so that they would include me in their games. Meanwhile I felt superior to my younger siblings, and to them I’m afraid I felt the same tendency described in this verse: “to exercise unrighteous dominion.”

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood
Primarily this dominion took the form of “you should do what I say because I have authority.” Not priesthood authority in this particular case, just an “I’m older” authority. I felt that I was entitled to their obedience because I was bigger than they, and I was not okay if they challenged that belief.

Only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned, by kindness, and pure knowledge
Of course my younger siblings did not care for this arrangement. And who could blame them? I didn’t want to be lorded over by my older siblings in that way, and neither did they didn’t want to be lorded over by me.
We all wanted older siblings who earned our respect. Siblings who didn’t take our obedience for granted, but who put in the time to care about us, help us, and play with us. When an older sibling did that, then they could ask a favor and easily receive.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Influence and Persuasion- 1 Kings 12:13-14, 16

And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

COMMENTARY

And the king answered the people roughly, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
I finished my previous post by mentioning that Satan’s methods of influence are designed around getting immediate results. Fear and intimidation are powerful motivators, ones which cause people to do what is wanted in the moment. No doubt this was Rehoboam’s desire when he spoke so roughly to the Israelites and promised a harsh hand as their ruler.
And he is far from the only tyrant that has been willing to employ these methods. I am sure that each of us can recall times that these same methods have been used on us, forcing us to bend to another’s will. I am sure that we can also recall times that we used these methods ourselves at the expense of another.
The temptation to use fear and intimidation is powerful because they really can be effective at getting what we want for ourselves in the moment.

The people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David.
But those “in the moment” results come at a great cost. So long as the will of another is bent to your own they will hate you, and in return for their momentary obedience you sow their eventual rebellion. Rehoboam saw this firsthand.
I am reminded of an experience I had with a mother on my mission. She explained to me that she knew the church spoke against beating one’s children, but she was seeing much better results ever since she had resumed the practice. I can absolutely believe that her children fell in line for the moment, but long-term she was sowing hatred in the hearts that should love her best.
So many of us are willfully selling the love and loyalty of those we care for, simply because we have to have something right now.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Influence and Persuasion- Matthew 23:37, Nehemiah 9:30-31 (NIV), Psalm 103:8

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

COMMENTARY

O Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee
By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention
Yesterday I looked at the example of how Satan tries to force certain behaviors from us, and the methods of fear and manipulation he uses when we resist him. Today I want to look at the example of how God influences and persuades His children when they resist the behavior He wants for them.
And as it turns out, the entire Old Testament is a lesson in exactly this! So many of its passages are focused around a chosen people who will not meet their better nature. God wants one thing, they want another, and we get to see how He deals with that conflict.

How often would I have gathered thy children, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples
And the first of God’s methods I find is that of patience. We see that patience first in how he handles the rebelling of His children. He would gather them, but they refuse, and so He lets them go. He does not try to force them, He lets them choose, and then He lets them reap the natural consequence of those actions.
God cautioned Israel that their neighboring nations only meant them harm, but Israel still chose to make friends with them and adopt their philosophies and theologies. And rather than try to interject Himself, God just let things play out.

In your great mercy you did not put an end to them, for you are a gracious and merciful God
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy
And what is it that God is patiently waiting for? For His children to finally return. Even though they betrayed and abandoned Him, He still waits to give them love. Here we see His second and third principles: to be merciful and forgiving.
He lets us choose for ourselves, He lets us go when we choose to leave, but He’s still there for us when we return. In each step He waits for us to act under our own volition. There is none of the “forcing” we saw from Satan, only patience and mercy.