Alito's Big Day: Discarding a Bad Decision

 

Samuel Alito Is the Model of a Principled Justice

Does anyone imagine that Harriet Miers would be a better justice than Samuel Alito?

If the name isn’t exactly familiar I’ll catch you up on some recent history. Sandra Day O’Connor, a Reagan appointee, announced her intention to vacate the court in 2005. It fell to George W Bush to fill the seat. An ostensibly conservative seat, O’Connor was known for her waffle-y decisions. She voted with the court liberals and upheld abortion in Planned Parenthood v Casey. 

This was Bush’s second seat to fill and in the words of the Templar Knight guarding the holy grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade “He chose poorly.”

Recent History

Conservatives were in no mood for a ‘trust me guys’ appointment to the court. They’d seen too many stalwarts become occasional liberals once ensconced in the highest seat. Here comes Bush with a functionary, Miers. She went to law school (Stanford) but lacked a heavy case load from which to reason about her effectiveness. Needless to say it went south quickly. She removed her name and the administration got smart and picked a true defender of the constitution, Samuel Alito.

He’s been the perfect justice in the best way. He’s reliable and smart, but not a ‘genius’ like Roberts. The Chief Justice was always seen as a once in a lifetime legal mind, someone who would shame Aristotle. But Roberts is exhibit A in why we don’t need brilliant people on the court. We need principled judges with a clear understanding of the constitution’s restrictive nature. A long record and the correct interpretation is the only way to pick. It’s possible that Miers would have been a great choice too, but her nomination was risky.

 Alito was a concrete choice because Bush couldn’t afford another poor one.

Alito won’t reinvent the wheel but he will stand on principles. He also won’t get lost in his own genius like the Chief Justice  and write half measured opinions, Obamacare anyone? Even in the most recent case he ruled in favor of the Mississippi law but disagreed with overruling Roe.

Sound Reasoning

“The constitution does not confer a right to abortion”. That’s always been true. Samuel Alito finally put it in his opinion today on why the court overruled Roe v Wade. It’s a straightforward opinion from the justice who is the model for future picks on the court. I can’t read too far into court opinions on case law before I doze off like an 8 week old retriever that’s been run around the block. Latin phrasing and legal logic are not my forte, but in such a monumental case I’ll try to keep up.

Samuel Alito did two important things in overturning the Roe v Wade debacle. First, he threw out the shaky reasoning for all time that abortion was always based on. There is no inherent right to privacy (Roe) or a right to avoid an “undue burden” (Casey) that extend to abortion. The foundations were a combination of misunderstood legal opinions and historical inaccuracy.

Even though the Constitution makes no mention of abortion, the Court held that it confers a broad right to obtain one. It did not claim that American law or the common law had ever recognized such a right, and its survey of history ranged from the constitutionally irrelevant (e.g., its discussion of abortion in antiquity) to the plainly incorrect (e.g., its assertion that abortion was probably never a crime under the common law). After cataloging a wealth of other information having no bearing on the meaning of the Constitution, the opinion concluded with a numbered set of rules much like those that might be found in a statute enacted by a legislature.

The second and practical thing he did was dump this whole mess on the states, which is where is should have been in the first place. From the beginning SCOTUS had to draw time lines around trimesters and viability. Progress in scientific breakthroughs make these difficult legal problems to rule on. Hospitals can keep pre-born babies alive at much younger states of development than before. So what does viable mean and should the court really be changing standards of phrases and interpreting stages of life?

 He sums up this line of reasoning “The court has neither the authority nor the expertise to adjudicate those disputes...”

Mississippi's Law

The case before the court (Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization) was whether or not Mississippi could limit abortions to 15 weeks. State officials really wanted the court to toss out Roe altogether and allow the states to put forth their own laws. Or in some cases, ban the practice altogether. Jackson Women’s Health Organization wanted Mississippi’s limit on abortions to be lifted. Lower courts had agreed with the abortion provider and struck down earlier appeals.

Alito and the other conservatives on the court (Thomas, Cavanaugh, Gorsuch and Coney-Barrett) saw a chance to undue an egregious error.

The Left is upset by the lack of respect for stare decisis but doesn’t see the irony in Roe being enacted without any previous legal cases allowing it. The best they could find is opinions in legal journals and a concocted right to privacy that supposedly extends to the unborn child. Alito makes an excellent case the Roe v Wade was such a stretch that no decision prior to the ruling could be pointed to. To the contrary, 46 states had laws that criminalized abortion “however and wherever performed”. Some made exceptions for to save the “life of the mother” should it be necessary.

Conclusion

For all the complaining from the 3 Left wing justices about tossing out precedent, their logic is laughable. Alito thinks so too. “The dissent argues that we’ve abandoned stare decisis but we’ve done no such thing, and it’s the dissent’s understanding of stare decisis that breaks with tradition.”

In other words, Roe v Wade was concocted more than interpreted. The opinion from Samuel Alito shows why a solid understanding of the constitution and moral center is better than a genius pick any day.

He’s been waiting a long time to write this opinion; we’ve been waiting a long time to read it.

Thankfully the Right held out for a better option than Harriett Miers.

Flag Day: A Review

 

Flag Day’s Counterfeit Life and the Ones Who Get Taken In

Flag Day is the story of con man John Vogel (Penn) told in flashbacks by his daughter Jennifer, who wrote the book it’s based on. Called Flim Flam Man: The True Story of My Father’s Counterfeit Life. Jennifer Vogel, played by Sean’s real life daughter Dylan Penn, is a character study in heart break and unmet expectations. It’s more than just heartbreak that comes from a broken home though. In this case both parents failed spectacularly, her dad a small time crook who left them at a vulnerable age. Her mom, an alcoholic struggling to raise two kids and hold herself together.

A Deep Dive

This is Sean Penn’s latest film that he both acted in and directed. Since it’s a true story the real work is done by examining the motivations of the characters. It’s not a mystery or a yarn. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the story from news accounts, the film catches you up right away. The first scene shows a police chase and a detective handing her a $100 note. Jennifer’s reaction to the counterfeit currency sets the tone for the deep dive into her relationship with him. She examines it closely and says “Beautiful”.

Beautiful, because her father wanted to matter and create something lasting and remarkable more than he wanted anything else. But his inventions and business ideas never panned out.

Summary

A high school age girl tries to find her father who left her and her brother years ago. Her parent's marriage failed because of his frequent trouble with the law. He leaves the kids with Patty and takes off. Jennifer only remembers the good times with him and faces a rude awakening when she moves in to try to fix him up. But John's in rough shape, mirroring her own recent trouble.

When he’s not running away from goons he took loans from he’s starting fires and collecting insurance money. This is never completely spelled out but it’s clear, deceit and destruction are his tools of the trade. John isn’t a guy who caught an unlucky streak on the horses or got himself in deeper than he wanted. He’s a sociopath. He’ll walk away from a business or a family like it’s a fire.

Family Man

During the few scenes when he’s apologetic or warm, it’s because he thinks it’s what people want to hear. Or, it’s because he needs them to relax and not look too close at his dealings.

Like the scene when Jennifer confronts him about his drug use. He denies it completely and feigns shock. It’s almost laughable. He keeps playing the ‘straight edge’ dad role far beyond a believable point.

He imagines what a dad would say when she tells him about her drug use and comes up with stock phrases like "I'm really mad at you!" which isn't something anyone actually says. They just react.

Sean Penn is good in this, maybe too good. Seeing him onscreen, half lit cigarette and a scruffy beard makes me think he’s just playing himself. His expression is mostly a mix of sleeplessness and regret. It’s not a typical I-wish-I’d-been-there-for-my-kids regret; he regrets not having an easier life.

Memories Lie

 A young girl’s memory of her father in adolescence is unshakable. We can see that John appreciates his kids and invites them into his world, on occasion, after the divorce. There is the summer at the lake in Minnesota, and the Flag Day celebrations. There are road trips across the country with the family. He tries to do dad things, music and movies and barbecues. John Vogel does have a heart and Sean Penn brings this to the surface. But the sense is these “dad” things are to advance a relationship and appear normal and All American.

Most of the time Jennifer and her brother Nick (played by Sean’s son Hopper) live with their mother Patty. Her father being the missing piece (she thinks) in her life. Her and her mother’s relationship is messy so she runs away from home. Her drug use starts here, on the road sleeping on the streets. The film’s portrayal of her descent into drug abuse and homelessness isn’t believable. The make up artists try to make her grungy and hopeless but it doesn’t work. Dylan is too pretty to pull off the goth girl with an ugly habit.

Another aspect that didn’t work was the music. I don’t usually notice music but with all the talk of John’s love of classical it seems that genre should have played a bigger part. Instead they had emotionally tedious songs by Glenn Hansard and Eddie Vedder. The idea was probably to recreate some of the magic Vedder created with “Into the Wild”. Not so as it turns out.

Themes

The strength of the movie is the underlying sense that our nature is fixed. John Vogel was a counterfeiter in more ways than one. No amount of fixing him would ever work. But we play the fool when we pretend things aren’t as they seem and ignore our better instincts. Katheryn Winnick who plays Jennifer’s mother Patty sums up this lie in a moment of real honesty. “I used to tell myself, Patty, you never saw a 3 story building before you met John Vogel. You were young and he was a tidal wave. But the truth is, I wasn’t that young.”

Flag Day is named that because John was born on that day and celebrates with patriotic zeal. The display of fireworks, waving flags and red, white and blue is a device to accentuate his public persona. People see the All American dad, but under the colors is a guy who puts himself first. 

It ends the only way it can.

The Pro-Family Future of the Republican Party

 

The Republican Party and Family Values: Death to Old Model

Corporate Republicanism is loosing ground as the default conservative viewpoint in Washington DC. Illegal immigration made conservatives see the massive gap between the corporates and the populists on all issues. the next 20 years will see a return to a common sense adult party that prioritizes kids and families.

 The term “conservative” is so generic it needs a makeover. It’s lacking any real meaning after Trump and it’s been used more than John Kaisich’s ‘son of a mailman’ trope. It’s time to replace it.

New Terms

A few weeks ago I found myself outside the city, driving to a lot of the remote areas around Oklahoma for work. This being an election year I couldn’t help but notice the colorful signs littering the highway advertising this or that candidate. Some I didn’t know were actual offices. Do we need to vote for Associate District Judge? Can’t the District Judge choose an associate? That should be on the platform, “Elect me and I’ll pick a true conservative associate”.

We are still a few weeks from the primary so anyone with a plan and a little money can make a go of it. I didn’t count how many used the phrase “conservative” but at least they only used it once per sign.

You might think because Oklahoma is a red state, everyone’s a conservative. But in recent years national conservatism includes everyone from Ted Cruz to perennial gadfly Evan McMullin. One is pro borders and anti abortion, the other never misses a chance to blast the Right. We can examine how it got this way until the next polling place opens, but it's doubtful we'll all agree. We did this a lot in the years after Trump raised his right hand and swore the oath. He brought along some union Democrats and started reversing the loss of blue collar workers. 

A few have shed the “conservative” label, smartly, and are going with the America First label that Trump is famous for. It’s good timing too. If you grew up like me thinking that Bill Kristol his Weekly Standard was conservative, you’ll understand my reluctance to embrace it. I’m far from an expert on social/cultural shifts in politics and the why’s and wherefores'. But to me the biggest separation among conservatives was on the southern border. George W. Bush even felt the wrath of his base when he tried to make a deal on a worker visa program.

A Little History

His amnesty bill for over 12 millions illegals failed in the Senate in 2007. His administration hated that Limbaugh and others called it an amnesty bill but that’s exactly what it was. More important, Americans didn’t trust their government to actually build the wall or enforce the border in any way going forward. I remember thinking Americans would support it if they build the wall first. That Congress didn’t bother to do security first told us a lot.

President Reagan signed a similar bill in 1986 (Simpson-Mazzoli Act). It promised to control the border and make it illegal to hire migrants with no papers. It did the opposite.

Americans learned a valuable lesson in preceding years. It doesn’t matter how popular or well constructed a law is if you don’t enforce it.

Enter Bush and Co. to try and build on the same rickety legislative framework. The Chamber of Commerce and the open borders crowd wanted it, America First didn’t. I’ve noticed the split since then in the party ranks and it really opened up with Trump. It’s the kind of split that made me realize that conservatives are oceans apart on a whole list of issues.

The Split Begins

The disagreements took on a class feel and during the Trump years at least, were less about issues and more about tribe. I know this has all been covered ad nauseam by everyone with a blog, but until recently we’d never wrested control of the party from the corporate class, or as ace of spades calls it “conservative inc.”

But the corporate class sided with Biden during the last election and showed what really mattered to them--their influence. I remember writing a piece after Peter Thiel spoke at the Republican convention in 2016. His speech felt like a warning (a gentle one) to values voters to simmer down on the culture war stuff and get in line behind the big money machine.

 In other words, stop embarrassing us with your anti-abortion rants and traditional marriage tropes. But culture is more important to the long term health of a country than a tax cut. The current obsession with drag queens performing for children is a case in point. A culture where this is even a possibility is one that’s surrendered on countless values issues before. Maybe because we’ve been too focused on finances, opportunities for growth and tax policy, we’ve let the wolves in at the gate.

The Future is Here

The culture wars didn’t create the divide, that was illegal immigration. But it became another front in the batter for conservatism.

Americans took from immigration reform that Congress can’t be trusted to enforce laws they’ve passed when it conflicts with their corporate funders. Trump didn’t do enough on the border either but he started with a wall, a working relationship with Mexico and a tough approach to asylum. More than anything else the border issue in this country showed America that our leaders in Washington are living in a different country. But lest we toss all our complaints on to Washington we should accept responsibility where we can for our own laziness.

Peter Thiel repeated the thinking in some elite circles that traditional values don’t win. He was probably right too, but we traded values for wealth and ended up with neither. The kids will have to fix the mess.

Their future is as ugly the drag queen with the fake tits and runny mascara. They’ve lost the ability to get money and security because the corruption at all levels of government is so entrenched. How can we start to recover loses in the culture and work towards a future where financial growth is secondary to cultural health, values and pride in country? Start small.

Get Involved

Throw out the local technocrats first. Whether mayors, city council members or school board, get rid of anyone who isn’t pro family. Second ignore labels like conservative and check their record. No record? Then ask them pointed questions to see how they answer. Stay on top of local issues. You can’t cover everything but pay attention where you can. And NEVER apologize for holding to your values.

Values inform culture and a culture is lost when its values are corrupted. We’ve got work to do and I believe the next 20 years will be a worthwhile slog. America can still be the land of opportunity.

The Church as a Bulwark against Culture: Ezekiel 7-8

Lessons for America from Ezekiel

Ezekiel warns of the coming judgment on the people of Israel. It’s the same story that always gets us into trouble. Sin creeps in and now the whole society is on the verge of destruction.

There are similarities between the time of Ezekiel and American culture. But whether destruction is imminent or not there are lessons for the people of God and in particular, those who preach the gospel. God’s Church much be the bulwark against a culture that’s rooted in selfishness.

Background on Ezekiel

Ezekiel is called to deliver messages to the ‘remnant’ of Israel who will be saved from death. Babylon is about to destroy both Israel and Judah and either kill or capture the people. It’s both a record of their rebelliousness to God and a warning to future generations. A good summary of their fate is found right at the start of chapter 7.

“Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end has come upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all your abominations.” (verse 1-3).

He uses the word “abominations” which suggests extreme disgust. So we aren’t talking about lying or cheating here. Most likely this is judgment on the clergy, or the priestly tribes. We shouldn’t try to rank sins here but there are points at which iniquity becomes full and God’s wrath is poured out. This happens after prophets and warnings and calls to repentance over many years. When there isn’t much left to redeem, punishment is inevitable.

Warnings 

The Lord was willing to save Sodom and Gomorrah if just 10 righteous were found (Genesis 18:32). Their homosexual behavior had become all consuming and even the angels that came to the city had to strike the men with blindness to avoid being raped. 

It’s a safe bet the twin cities had warning.

Judgment is different when directed at those responsible for the moral health of a society. If the priests are pointing the people to God and keeping the laws the sinfulness is arrested. It doesn’t overwhelm the culture and become a hallmark of the place. God puts them in a position of leadership to teach and demonstrate holiness. They are the watchmen at the gates. But when the watchmen stop watching the city becomes corrupted. Not all at once of course. The first casualty is something simple like keeping the Sabbath or downplaying some portion of the law.

Indifference Toward Standards

It’s much easier to reduce the importance of a standard than to argue against it. 

A work policy that insists everyone be there at 8:00 should require punishment for tardiness, especially consistent tardiness. But a company that permits mediocrity will see a lot more of it. How many employees will stick to rule without any punishment? Malaise sets in everywhere without adherence to rules. When you fast forward a decade with no concrete standards the quality of the work, and the employees, suffers greatly. Add 15 or a 30 years and assuming the company is still around, it’s likely a mess and not productive at all.

Malaise

I imagine societies work much the same way. If standards are ignored, or relaxed to point of being useless, the indifference bleeds into other standards. But it isn’t just standards after a while. An entire culture is being conditioned to relax standards to the point of mocking those who insist upon them. The malaise affects Church leadership as well. The problem is less about holding up biblical standards on right living. The lack of zeal for the gospel creates a lazy attitude toward promoting the things of God and keeping His commandments. 

After a while the Church can become hostile to the very truth their institution is built on. This is when gay clergy and woke sermons steeped in Marxist theory become the norm.

Idolatry

In Judah, Ezekiel recalls his vision of the men worshiping the sun in the Lord’s temple. Not only had the priestly segments of society forgotten their God, they were now permitting ‘wicked abominations’ inside the temple. We always have this idea that people who turn from God become atheists. They reject the Savior and live without religion, unencumbered by belief in a deity. But Ezekiel plainly shows us that humans are wired to worship. We don’t replace God with nothingness; we replace Him with Lucifer. And we share in his punishment if we don’t repent.

If this sounds harsh it’s because the burden to uphold God’s moral order is incumbent on the Church. Here is what the Lord says.

“I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction comes; They will seek peace, but there shall be none. Disaster will come upon disaster, and rumor will be upon rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet; But the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.” (Chapter 7:24-29)

Institutional Corruption

The cultural rot doesn’t usually begin in the Church. But the Church is designed as a bulwark against the excesses of sin. Is America at a tipping point judgment wise? A close look at the Church as an institution shows an array of styles, denominations and doctrines. On the one hand we’ve never had such a rich understanding of the scriptures. The plethora of ways to engage with great teaching has never existed like this before. It’s not just TV and radio (the old mediums) but also podcasts and streaming services that create a borderless world in dissemination of the Bible. On the other hand, ‘wicked abominations’ are not just permitted but encouraged, sanctified and called good.

Redeem the Time

How much goes on behind the scenes that we are unaware of? Not only with the Church but legal institutions and governing bodies have become irredeemably corrupt. The elders in Ezekiel’s day practiced idolatry in the temple created for Yahweh. That’s not just re-purposing an old building, they rejected their Creator by dishonoring His house and worshiping pagan gods.

Turning from God means embracing the enemy. A third go-my-own-way option doesn't exist.

What is permitted by the ‘elders’ that God calls sin? Judgment or not, it’s time for a return to Christ for all who will listen. I think the Church will look different going forward. It will likely be strong locally and weak nationally. Might we see a Chinese model, where house churches split after reaching a certain number? Yes I believe so. The decentralization allows a quicker move of the gospel. The lessons from our current culture is that when institutions get too big they become corrupt, hopelessly so.

But the gospel finds another way, like water through rocks. Ezekiel reminds us to redeem the time.

Discover Free Will and Purpose: Kill off the Mystical Mind

 

The Mystical Mindset vs God's Word

The most useful thing I’ve discovered is that our free will provides us with opportunities to choose our path without fear of ignoring God’s will.

 It may be a little much to say I’ve “discovered” it, as if I’m working in a lab mixing chemicals and hoping for the next penicillin. But a teacher of the Word brought it to my attention recently. I should explain a little more. A good friend from church told me to sign up for this class that helps Christian men find their purpose. The class is led by a teacher who developed the curriculum. It is based on scripture but it also assumes certain things about the people in the group.

Instruction on Purpose

 First, they understand (at least marginally) the Bible and its application to our lives.

Second, they must have some interest in discovering their purpose. He breaks down words like “purpose” and “freedom” into manageable chunks. We walk through simple exercises designed to explore what we believe about ourselves and God. A good part of the class is looking at our own lives to figure out where the kinks are. The second part, I imagine, is untangling the kinks so that purpose can flow unobstructed through our lives. I say kinks as in a garden hose. The analogy is a little forced but I’m working on it.

The Bible tells us we were sinners before Jesus made a way for us to get to the Father, or more accurately for the Father to get to us. Jesus reconnected that link between humans and God that was broken in the Garden of Eden. The problems we walk around with are the result of bad thinking. Here I’m talking about Christians. Even when we understand what Christ did for us we struggle to live completely in His will, choosing to make decisions based on our faulty ideas lodged in our brain like a virus.

Decisions for Life

One type of thinking, I’ll call it mystical, is the idea that We can’t make big choices in life without a sign from heaven. What constitutes big choices? Let’s say the usual types of life affirming stuff like career, relationships and school. We could lump in moves and big spending financial stuff like whether or not to buy an additional car. Most people will have a slightly different list. The point is to separate daily decisions we make like which groceries to buy to which sports can our kids play at school.

I’m calling the mindset “mystical” because as a Christian I want to align my will with the Holy Spirit and follow His call. But waiting for a sign from heaven can become a hindrance if we are unwilling to make decisions without them. Signs are a crutch for those not confident in their faith. I can’t go there because God hasn’t told me I should. I won’t sign up for that because I haven’t heard from Him yet. I’m not sure I should take that job, buy that house or sell my boat.

 Sometimes God may choose to give us a dream as a warning, or close a door we would’ve walked through. But we shouldn’t let the lack of a sign paralyze us to inaction. The victory that Jesus secured through the cross and the resurrection, gave us the ability to walk confidently in the world and make bold decisions.

The Wrong Message

I like how the apostle Peter says it “…His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” (2 Peter 1:2) That should give us a sense that we are infused with a holy confidence we can rest in. The mystical mindset is a problem for a lot of charismatic Christians, raised with a sense of divine appointment around every corner.

How do I know it’s a problem? Because it’s a problem for me. I can extend that thinking outward and rightly assume it affects a lot of us. I think it comes from hearing miraculous testimony from pastors and visiting speakers at church. A steady diet of healing stories can make one believe that only daily miraculous encounters constitute genuine Christian living. This is the fault of the hearer and not the speaker. The speaker reminds us that God’s power is alive and responding to His Word. We need the confirmation. We need the testimony. Faith comes through the hearing of the Word.

Additionally, I’ve heard a handful of divine appointment testimonies that put the man or woman of God in the right place at the right time. 

Divine Appointments

One very moving story I heard was about a husband and wife who filled a cooler with Coca-Cola and handed them out to thirsty people at Walmart. To anyone who listened they talked about Jesus and shared the gospel. The Coke was just a way to approach strangers with the good news. A woman was so moved by the gesture that she invited her husband to come to Walmart and hear the nice folks handing out Coca-Cola. He came and heard about Christ. He agreed to come to their church and got baptized that night. He surrendered his life to Jesus and the rest of his family followed his lead. This all happened in a day. Later that evening he collapsed of a heart attack and passed away.

Amazing right?

If not for those people handing out drinks would that man hear the gospel? The mystical mindset takes a story like that and assumes God gave specific instructions in a dream or a vision to the couple to hand out Coke. Or maybe they think God used an audible voice. I can almost see the couple sitting there watching the news and a booming voice interrupts them and starts giving directions. We know the Holy Spirit puts burdens on our hearts for people. He certainly can speak to our hearts about specific places and times and events.

But mostly He works through what we already have. The most amazing part of the story was not the logistical issues of handing out Coca-Cola, it was God’s heart for that lost soul. He looked around to find an opportunity for this man to hear about His Son because the man’s time was short. That’s the real miracle. That’s the beauty of the Father’s relentless pursuit for His Sons and Daughters. The mistake we make (unintentionally) is focusing on our part and waiting for the mystical reveal, the voice or the dream or the vision.

Fear of False Moves

The other side of the mystical mind is a fear of making the wrong move. Whereas the testimony of God’s divine timing encourages us, the anti-testimony (my phrase) about the wrong decision creates fear from the opposite direction. I know of pastors who’ve taken positions in churches across the country only to return less than a year later. They’re distraught and confused about where they messed up. 

Did they mess up? Did they leave a job unfinished, what it too daunting? Were they even supposed to be there? It’s never an easy question to answer because every situation is different. The mystical mind fears a false move because it seems like failure or worse. We’ve made a critical error in hearing from God and now we must suffer from our self-inflicted punishment.   

Our mindset led us to believe that struggle can’t be right. If God’s path is true than it must be easy. The testimonies of the saints tell us so. Get a sign, do a deed, get a testimony. Repeat as needed. But this was never true. We heard the wrong message. We focused on the sizzle and not the steak. Our understanding of God’s will for us amounts to signs and wonders with fortune cookie wisdom. Our mystical mindset keeps us kinked up (Sticking with the garden hose analogy) unable to let our purpose flow freely.

Conclusion

God gave us free will as a gift. We need to take the right messages from testimonies. In every one we should see the heart of the Father toward the lost and move toward that vision. I’m convinced that God uses us where we are and where we might be. And yes, healing, deliverance and divine appointments will become more frequently in our lives when we start moving.