Fellow humans,
The United States of America is more polarized now than ever before in my lifetime. We’ve reached a point in time when our identities are so deeply tied into our political views that many of us have lost our sense for reality.
Some of the wildest nonsense I’ve witnessed since 2020 is when someone is asked, “what is a woman?” and a sensible answer is seemingly nonexistent. The person answering often says, “a woman is someone who identifies as a woman.”
A woman is an adult person who was born with a vagina. An adult person that was born with a penis is a man. An adult person that was born with a penis but identifies as a woman is a spiritually ill man, and should seek salvation from Jesus Christ to be set free from all iniquities and receive the gift of eternal grace.
It’s not that complicated, but when our identities are not rooted in Jesus, who is the only arbiter of objective truth, then we tend to complicate the simpler things. Trust me, I’ve done my fair share of making messes where messes don’t need to be made, and I regret everything about that. Life with Jesus is better!
Getting back to the point, we’ve become very polarized in America, which shouldn’t be surprising because Jesus said that He came to cause division.
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” -Matthew 10:34-35 (KJV)
There is nuance, but generally there are two camps in society today.
Camp #1
These people observe the world, notice certain people are victorious in one way or another, admire said people, then try to emulate specific positive behaviors in order to attain a respectable level of victory for themselves. This is certainly not an easy path, but it’s absolutely worthwhile and eternally meaningful.
Said another way—they notice that somebody else is winning, and they identify with the winning mentality, so they find their own unique way to work hard in order to become a winner. These people are far less common in America today because it’s the uncomfortable path of healthy and voluntary suffering.
Surrounding ourselves with these people will most certainly challenge us to become the absolute best version of ourselves.
Camp #2
These people also observe the world, but their lens is distorted. They detest victors for whatever illogical reason they find. Instead, they focus their attention on the victims of society. Rather than finding a way to work hard in order to rise above their struggles, they choose to identify with the victim mentality.
This is an easy but meaningless path because it requires almost no effort; only excuses, lies, and downgrading oneself. Gaslighting is their love language and entitlement is their aura. Their primary tell? Minimal logic in their disputes.
To summarize, one camp of people chooses to identify with people who are victorious, and they live outside of their comfort zone, rising to the occasion in order to build a meaningful life for themselves and their communities.
The other camp chooses to identify with people who claim to be victims of some obscure injustice, and apparently all they do is lick their wounds and find excuses to fall short of their goals. Their failures are everybody else’s fault, so they take ownership of nothing, which means they accomplish nothing.
Starting in early childhood, my life was very hard. You can ask anybody who knows me, but you can also ask them about my attitude towards my struggles. I don’t bend the knee to obstacles that are in my way, and I don’t blame other people for my shortcomings, even when I have an opportunity to do so.
It’s often ok to be wrong, but it’s never ok to stay wrong.
There’s no valid reason for anybody to stay in Camp #2, but here we are. Next time I witness someone pull a victim card, especially a young adult who has no idea what they’re saying, I might lose my composure for a moment.
Until next time,
Salvatore Norge
P.S.—Spiritual warfare has been ongoing for thousands upon thousands of years and we’re all involved, whether we believe so or not. Waking up everyday and acknowledging this truth will fill our lives with so much purpose and joy.
