The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. whenever evil wins, it
is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact
that there can be no compromise on basic principles.
-- Ayn Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 1966
I should first clarify today's entry by saying I didn't actually read the book. This is one of my emailed daily quotes. Don't want to appear smarter or more well read than I actually am!
And I am not in any way implying that the morally neutral Roomba is evil and that the presence of a Roomba is the invitation for evil to spread. Really. Unless you believe that pet hair acts as a shield against evil. And that is a topic for another day, as I personally believe cat hair is evil and a Roomba would therefore be an active defense against evil and not one of Ayn Rand's vacuums. Which begs the question, When is a Roomba not a vacuum?
My all time favorite vacuum advice comes from another mother with two sons, Larry Crabb's wife, Rachel. She says you should store your vacuum in the living room, plugged in, so when people come over, they can see that you were just getting ready to vacuum when they interrupted, so they'll excuse the yucky rugs. I may need that excuse more in the new house, since the yucky carpeting there doesn't hide dirt nearly as nicely as berber.
Nature abhors a vacuum and the universe is expanding toward chaos. Vacuum here meaning nothingness and empty space. Jesus says that evil moves into empty houses in greater quantity. Which Rand is saying above, that if there is lack of action for good, action for evil will necessarily take over. The antidote, being, do good. Maybe why a large part of the New Testament isn't necessarily "Don't do bad" but "Do Good." If you are doing good, you're too busy to do bad, and you are less likely to want to screw up the good you are doing. Less likely, but not unlikely.
So if you want to not compromise on Basic Principles (BP), it helps to know what Basic Principles you aren't compromising. And this, I believe is the basis for most arguments and wars. Not apathy, although it helps, but the disagreement of which principles are the ones that cannot be compromised. If one sides key BP is that you should save money for private sector at all costs, and the other side's is that no one should go to bed hungry and illiterate, there is a conflict. If one side thinks that their version of God is true and another thinks theirs is, you have Armageddon.(This can be as simple as denomination vs denomination or as big as Islam vs Christian). I'm not saying there isn't one true Truth. I believe there is. But if part of the one true Truth is that ALL people are fallen image bearers of the Creator, one must tread lightly and treat them as such.
"The battle is not against flesh and blood, but powers and principalities..." Those flesh and blood fallen image bearers? We're supposed to be all on the same side.
1 comment:
I could go on about things you brought up now forever and a day. But I can summarize a tad too.
Sometimes I feel boxed in by some of my well meaning, devoted, and sincere friends that think they know, so the world should too.
I also believe in truth, easily think there being a one truth. And that one truth may be straight and narrow, but not so much so that we can grasp it outside of it. Not necessarily the one memorized and espoused. We are mortal, truth is eternal, how can we memorize that.
Truth alone, no matter what we do or don't do, works it's wonders, and is inevitable. But the sooner the better too.
When you don't have God in your heart, that's when evil can lurk. But I don't know if you have to do anything per se. Except find God. Where God is lacking inside you, sometimes doing something good can at least help fill in some of the gaps.
But as St. Paul says, good deeds won't get you to heaven, only the grace of God in your heart will. That's not a do nothing. For memorizers maybe, but for seekers, it's a tall order. An infinite one.
Post a Comment