VI. Ants Go Marching:
Extra, extra, read all about it…
I am going to begin this blog post with a lie, and tell you that I want to write it; that I am excited about it; that there is not a thing else I would like to be doing other than writing this blog, for you. And since I am lying to you, and the action of my doing it is not in alignment with my heart, ought I do the thing at all? Does it count? But, then again, is the mere fact that I am making the effort to write it, at all, a logical proof that I do, in fact, want to do it? Perhaps I am mixing up the word ‘action’ and ‘heart’ here. My heart does want to do it – my brain, not so much. And here I am, with my heart and pen in hand, trying to plug my ears so that my melting brain does not leak out of me, and make a mess onto the paper he wants to spoil.
I even went as far as to attempt to cheat my own system, and I asked the 2 ants in this tale if they could go ahead and write this blog for me; one of them mocked me for thinking that they were strong enough to pick up a pen, the other one was strong enough to pick up the pen. And then was crushed by it. So, as of now, I am not too sure if I am writing this blog in ink or his blood. Regardless, I had created him on my own from the start and can reincarnate him into anything I want to in the future, so perhaps I will burgeon him into a blog writer, later. But I suppose that God will not reward me for cheating. Nor playing God.
Ugh, so where to begin.
This tale is a simple tale with 3 lessons – 3 wars/battles – a War of Wisdom & Words. And it begins with 2 Ants, General Red & Admiral Black, sword fighting each other, and making their way to Jack, The Pumpkin Headed Son of Earth’s, belly. And so, he is displeased by their animal-like behavior of fighting, and calls them out for being childish:
Jack: [5] You conquer nothing. You are boys in a school fight. Where is the wisdom that you lay claim to slay for? Nay, not hither. The only ones who engage in fight are the ones who cannot triumph in argument.
Admiral Black: [6] (Clears throat.) I am no simpleton. I triumph all arguments.
General Red: [7] Ha! You are just an old bug. It is I, in fact, who triumphs all arguments.
And so, let the battles of wisdom begin.
Battle I.
[28] Over yonder in the cornfield is a quandary that requires the heaviness of a heart. It is a man with no hands whose career it is to cut the ears of corn off of the stalk. Sitting close by is a man with no feet.
No Hands Man: [29] Excuse me sir, if you do not mind too much, I could use a helping hand.
[30] Hear this: The man with no feet does not truly want to help, but does not have a heart strong enough to deny his wish.
No Feet Man: [31] Indeed, I will help you cut the stalks.
[32] He slips, and there is a cutting accident, and the No Feet Man loses his hands, too.
No Hands Man: [33] (Eyes the hands.) Sir, may I have these?
[34] Hear this: The man with no feet and now no hands does not want to give up his hands, but does not have a heart strong enough to deny his wish.
No Man: [35] Sure, can I have your feet?
Full Man: [36] No sir, I am sorry, but I do need those.
End Battle I.
Admiral Black: [37] Cold hearted!
General Red: [38] Immoral!
Jack: [39] Who is in the wrong, gentlemen?
Of course, the 2 ants hearts go out to the poor stubby man who lost all of his limbs. He must be the noble one! And yet, there is nothing noble about going against the wishes of your own beating heart. This is the sweet and Just misery of the people pleaser, and perhaps, too, the do-gooder. They are a slave to the public opinion of the man in front of them; they want to appear as good, and are so weak that they will willingly lose a part of themselves in the process – and they do.
You know, there are people who think going to church on Sundays, and doing just that, is an action that they are taking in order to get to heaven, and yet, they do not want to go to church at all; they don’t even like it. It is a good “shot in the arm”, as even my grandma had said to me once. There is also the example of going to the soup kitchen to serve the homeless, as a good deed. And it can be a good deed, so long as your heart Wants to do it. People tend to think that there is a sort of Brownie Point System for God and goodness, they think they are cheating the system. In my opinion, God could not care any less about ones action if your action and your heart are not in alignment together with it – there must be a union there for it to be a truly good deed. Otherwise, it is just a lie, and a selfish task because you are only doing the action because you think you will receive something from it; and that’s the opposite of what we call “being genuine”, and of course, God see through this.
Battle II.
Jack: [64] Over yonder, if you do your best to tilt your head and spy out the valley, there is a court fool stumbling along with a blindfold veiling his sight.
Court Fool: [65] I am blind! I am blind, I say! I am blind!
Jack: [66] Do you assist this fool, or do you allow the fool to persist?
Admiral Black: [67] Ah, you approach this fool with a heart of gold and remove the blindfold.
Jack: [68] What good is it to give a man a bar of gold for living life like a bar none fool? Does one also give the world to a child, unearned?
General Red: [69] Nay, Black. You allow the court fool to persist in his folly. He will sort out his wisdom on his own.
Jack: [70] What if the fool remains wisdom-less until death, General Red?
General Red: [71] It is deserving.
Jack: [72] Oh, so now your heart is a blizzard!
General Red: [73] Numbskulls irk me, and this court fool has a lamebrain. Let the oaf carry on.
Jack: [74] You are wrong as well, General Red.
Admiral Black & General Red: [75] Both? How so?
And so, there is another way, and this will lead me to the title of this blog/vlog: Does God Tell Lies?
The 3rd way is to lead the fool to Truth with a Trick. Therefore, you are neither giving him the world, unearned, nor letting him carry on in ignorance. If you can lead a man, or woman, or child, to the truth with a lie, so that they may figure it out for themselves – is this not the Good Way? I have found myself in many’a predicament with God telling me and guiding me with things I later find out to be un-true. And yet, it was the value and goodness of the lesson that was brilliant and made me all the wiser for it. I was led to the truth with a lie. God is not a slave to anything at all. And if He is not a slave to anything at all, He is most certainly not a slave to Truth. Moral excessiveness will often cause more harm than good, and God is not stuck on the idea of, how we think, morality is meant to be. If one can Lie to bring one to Truth – let it be – it is, too, Moral.
Jack: [92] Bravo, General Red, bravo. It is fine-tuned, figured out and mastered. Better to lead in the direction with a devil’s trick, than to provide the entire world with one big change; better to lead in the direction with a devil’s trick, than to provide no escape from a dismal cave. You are growing wiser by the battles, gentlemen.
Indeed, they are. And I think I can end it here, even though there is a 3rd battle with a 3rd lesson, but I had mentioned it in the vlog, and am proud, enough, of the words I had vomited up on this page for today. Feel free to buy my book: Jackism, The Fairytale Religion, and read it for yourself. See you next Sunday.
Strength & Honor,
JackOBat