Howard Lee Jeffrey

I recently read a passage from Meriwether Lewis’s journal, written on his thirty-first birthday. He felt he had done too little with his life and wanted to make better use of the years he had left. At 68, I sometimes feel that way myself.

Thinking about Howard, who passed away last Sunday, has made me look at that a little differently. Most of us probably have things we wish we had done differently or accomplished along the way. But we can also overlook the good we have done and the difference we have made to other people.

Howard was a very good man. He spent years teaching and coaching, working with people through Farm Bureau, and serving his church and community. He loved Carolyn and his family. The recognition he received from Calico Rock says a lot about how people felt about him.

But one of the things I remember most is the attention he gave our daughter, Sara, when she was a toddler, about 40 years ago. He made time for her and made her feel special. Sara loved him like an uncle. That may have seemed like a small thing to Howard, but it meant a lot to her and to us. We still remember it all these years later.

I think that says a lot about Howard and about what makes a great life. We can look at someone’s career, accomplishments, and honors, and Howard had plenty of those. But we also remember how that person treated us and our children.

I don’t know what Howard might have wished he had done differently. I do know that he gave people plenty of reasons to be glad they knew him.

Howard lived a great life. He was loved, he made a difference, and he will be missed. I am thankful we knew him.

 https://www.eddiesfamilyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/howard-jeffery

What Do We Mean When We Say We’re Conservative?

David Brooks, Edmund Burke, my politically mismatched family, and why left versus right doesn’t tell the whole story

For several years, when someone has told me they are a conservative, I have sometimes responded with a question:

“What kind of conservative? Reagan/Goldwater conservative or MAGA conservative?”

I ask because those seem like very different things to me.

I have always thought of the Reagan/Goldwater tradition as emphasizing limited government, individual liberty, free enterprise, personal responsibility, constitutional government and a strong national defense. MAGA conservatism seems different—more populist, more distrustful of institutions and elites, more nationalistic, and much more willing to disrupt the existing order.

Recently, however, I listened to a conversation with David Brooks at Harvard that made me wonder whether I have been asking the wrong—or at least an incomplete—question.

Brooks talked about Edmund Burke.

And Burke gave me another way of thinking about conservatism.

What exactly are conservatives trying to conserve?

Burke's conservatism was not primarily a checklist of policy positions. It was a way of thinking about society and change.

Human institutions are imperfect because human beings are imperfect. But institutions that have developed over generations often contain wisdom and experience that we don't completely understand. Therefore, when something isn't working, the conservative impulse should generally be to understand it, preserve what is valuable, and carefully reform what is broken.

That doesn't mean resisting all change.

Quite the opposite. Institutions sometimes have to change in order to survive.

But Burke was deeply suspicious of the idea that we can tear down complicated social institutions and simply design better ones from scratch.

Brooks described his own conservatism in similar terms. He distinguished the conservatism he grew up with—a conservatism based on affection for American traditions and institutions—from a conservatism increasingly organized around opposition to the left.

That distinction got my attention.

Maybe the question isn't simply whether someone is conservative.

Maybe the better question is:

When you say you're conservative, what exactly is it that you want to conserve?

Then I started thinking about people I know

That's when my neat political categories started falling apart.

I have a good friend who considers himself both a Christian and a conservative. He is an elder in a Southern Baptist church.

If you stopped there, you might think you knew quite a bit about his politics.

Except his family is deeply invested in public education. He, his wife, his three children and two of their spouses have connections to public education. His church's associate pastor, who handles the church's business affairs, also serves as mayor of the town and is known as a builder rather than a divider.

My friend has told me that their loyalty to public education and the civic involvement of church leaders have contributed to their church being regarded as relatively “liberal” within their Southern Baptist surroundings.

I find that fascinating.

What is particularly liberal about supporting the school that educates your community's children? What is unconservative about a pastor serving his community as a mayor who tries to bring people together?

Through a Burkean lens, those things look surprisingly conservative.

Church. Family. School. Local government. Community.

These are the institutions that hold a society together.

Then there are my children

My daughter has been a public-school educator for 20 years and teaches social studies and psychology.

If you asked her, she would probably call herself a liberal. Socially, she certainly is.

But when I look beyond particular social issues, I see something different. She believes in institutions. She works within them. She believes public schools are worth improving rather than abandoning. Her instincts about government and society are often much more reformist than revolutionary.

In that sense, my liberal daughter may have a surprisingly Burkean political temperament.

My son is almost the mirror image.

Politically, he is far to her left. He is anti-capitalist, socialist and perhaps even somewhat anarchist in temperament. He is strongly environmentalist.

His inclination toward institutions he believes are fundamentally unjust is not to preserve them.

It's closer to:

Burn it down and build something better.

Then there is my older sister.

She is on almost the opposite end of the conventional political spectrum from my son. She is firmly MAGA in political outlook, although, interestingly, she despises Donald Trump personally.

Her instinct toward institutions she believes have become corrupt is also:

Burn it down.

And that's when something clicked for me.

My socialist son and my MAGA sister would probably disagree about almost everything concerning what a better society should look like.

But they may agree about something deeper:

The existing system is so fundamentally broken that incremental reform isn't enough.

Different diagnosis.

Different villains.

Very different destination.

But a surprisingly similar attitude toward the existing order.

Meanwhile, my socially liberal daughter and my conservative Baptist friend might disagree about plenty of policy questions while sharing another instinct:

Our institutions are imperfect, but they are valuable. Work within them. Fix what is broken. Preserve what works.

Our traditional political spectrum doesn't capture that.

Maybe politics needs two axes

We usually imagine politics as a single line:

Left ←————————————→ Right

That tells us something important.

It tells us something about what kind of society a person wants.

But perhaps we need another axis:

Preserve & Reform

↑

│

│

↓

Disrupt & Replace

That produces four very different political temperaments:

	Left / Progressive	Right / Conservative
Preserve & Reform	Progressive Reformers	Burkean Conservatives
Disrupt & Replace	Left Radicals	Right Populists

Suddenly some of the strange alliances and divisions in American politics make more sense.

People can disagree about where society should go while agreeing about how democratic change should occur.

And people can vote for the same candidates while possessing fundamentally different ideas about institutions, restraint, compromise and political power.

Perhaps we have been paying too much attention to the horizontal axis and not nearly enough to the vertical one.

Where does that leave me?

I describe myself as a right-leaning moderate and an independent.

But even that description doesn't tell you very much.

I am pro-environment, although I'll admit that my commitment hasn't required a great deal of personal sacrifice.

I consider myself pro-life, but I also believe another person's choice is largely none of my business.

I believe we have a responsibility to support and nourish our neighbors.

I believe there is far too much money in American politics and that money inevitably creates opportunities for corruption. I think meaningful campaign-finance reform would be a good place to begin addressing that problem.

I love and support my gay and lesbian friends and would welcome them in my church. At the same time, I remain uncomfortable with same-sex marriage being performed in my church. I would have no problem with my pastor choosing to officiate a civil union outside the church.

You may agree with those positions.

You may disagree with every one of them.

That's almost beside the point.

What I've realized while thinking through all of this is that there is another principle underneath them.

I can have convictions about how I should live without believing everyone else must be required to live according to all of my convictions.

That's pluralism.

And perhaps pluralism deserves its own place in our understanding of political temperament.

Which brings me to Christianity

This becomes particularly important because of the growing discussion of Christian nationalism.

I am a Christian. My faith inevitably influences the way I think about politics, morality and my obligations to other people.

I don't know how it couldn't.

But there is an important distinction between saying:

“My Christianity should shape the way I participate in society.”

and saying:

“Political power should be used to make society conform to my Christianity.”

Those aren't the same thing.

This is where Brooks's larger argument became particularly meaningful to me.

He argues that healthy societies are repaired in roughly this order:

Cultural → Civic → Political.

In other words, politicians usually don't create the moral vision that repairs a society. Culture changes first. People develop different ways of living. Communities and civic institutions embody those values. Politics eventually follows.

That suggests a very different role for Christianity than simply capturing political power.

The church forms people.

Those people become parents, teachers, business owners, volunteers, neighbors, mayors and voters.

Their faith influences the way they treat other people and the institutions they serve.

Christianity changes society because Christians live differently within society—not merely because Christians gain enough votes to control it.

That distinction seems especially important right now.

Burke versus “burn it down”

None of this means Burke was always right.

“Preserve and reform” can become an excuse for tolerating injustice.

There are institutions that should have been destroyed. American slavery is the most obvious example. There are moments when incremental reform is morally inadequate.

And populists are sometimes right about institutional failure.

Universities can become insulated.

Government agencies can become bureaucratic and unaccountable.

Corporations can abuse power.

Political systems can become corrupted by money.

Experts can become arrogant.

Public institutions can lose the trust of the people they are supposed to serve.

The Burkean response cannot simply be:

Trust the institution.

Institutions have to earn and maintain trust.

But the opposite response—destroy institutions because they have disappointed us—carries its own enormous danger.

The question becomes one of judgment:

Is this institution fundamentally illegitimate, or is it an imperfect institution worth repairing?

That may be one of the most important political questions of our time.

Maybe I've been asking the wrong question

So I think I am going to retire—or at least modify—my old question.

When someone tells me they're conservative, instead of immediately asking whether they're a Reagan/Goldwater conservative or a MAGA conservative, I might ask:

“What do you think conservatives should conserve?”

And maybe I'll follow it with another:

“When an institution you care about is failing, do you want to repair it or replace it?”

But those questions shouldn't only be asked of conservatives.

I should ask my liberal friends the same thing.

And my socialist friends.

And myself.

Because perhaps understanding someone's politics requires at least three questions:

What kind of society do you want?

How do you believe we should get there?

And how much room are you willing to leave for your neighbor to disagree with you?

The first question helps locate us somewhere between left and right.

The second tells us whether our instinct is to preserve and reform or disrupt and replace.

But increasingly, I think the third may be the most important.

Because a functioning democracy doesn't require us to agree.

It requires us to live together when we don't.

And perhaps the most important thing worth conserving is our ability to do exactly that.

Be the cheese

 

The other morning I fried a few sausage patties and baked a batch of biscuits. Nothing fancy. Just breakfast.

I've learned a little trick over the years. Fold half a slice of Velveeta over the sausage while it's still on the hot biscuit, then put the whole thing in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Something interesting happens.

The cheese doesn't just melt. It slowly relaxes, flows around the sausage, fills the empty spaces, and almost wraps itself around it. If you time it just right, the sausage is nearly enveloped in a warm layer of cheese. It doesn't change what the sausage is. It simply makes it better. It protects it from drying out. Every bite becomes richer because something else has chosen to surround it.

As I stood there watching breakfast come together, I found myself thinking about my family.

I love my wife. I love my children. I love my grandchildren.

If I could choose one role to play in their lives, I think I'd like to be the cheese.

Not the center of attention. Not the hero of the story. Not the one everyone notices first.

I want to be the one who quietly surrounds them with encouragement, wisdom, stability, generosity, and love. I want to fill in the gaps when life gets hard. I want to protect where I can, support where I'm needed, and make their lives just a little richer because I was there.

None of us can shield the people we love from every disappointment or hardship. Life doesn't work that way.

But we can create an environment where they know they are loved, accepted, and never have to face life's challenges alone.

Maybe that's what the best parents and grandparents do. They don't try to become the sausage. They simply become the cheese that melts around the people they love.

And if we're fortunate, that love spreads from one generation to the next, just like warm cheese finding every little space it can reach.

Winsome

I read an article today that described someone as winsome.  

I had to stop for a moment.

I like that word.

It has a certain mid-century sound to it, the kind of word that seems like it belonged in the vocabulary of newspaper columnists, professors, and thoughtful grandfathers. It is the kind of word I wish came naturally to me. I suspect that if I could casually work winsome into a conversation, people might think I was a little smarter.

Of course, that's just my ego talking.

But that's a word for another day.

Merriam-Webster defines winsome as "generally pleasing and engaging because of a childlike charm and innocence." Other definitions include charming, sweet, cheerful, and delightfully appealing.

What struck me is that winsome isn't really about intelligence, wit, or accomplishment. It isn't about being the loudest person in the room or the one with the most impressive résumé. It's about possessing a quiet quality that naturally draws people toward you.

We've all known people like that.

They aren't necessarily the funniest or the most successful. They simply have a way of making others feel welcome. They smile easily. They listen well. They don't seem to be trying to impress anyone. Their kindness feels genuine rather than calculated.

You enjoy being around them.

It made me wonder if winsome is one of those forgotten virtues. We spend so much time trying to become more productive, more knowledgeable, more influential, or more persuasive that we rarely ask whether we are simply pleasant to be with.

Perhaps that is why the word feels so refreshing.

A winsome person doesn't win arguments.

They win hearts.

That's a distinction worth remembering.

Maybe my goal shouldn't be to add winsome to my vocabulary.

Maybe it should be to add it to my character.

Ecclesiastes 4

 Ecclesiastes 4 is one of the most practical chapters in the Bible. It examines #work, #ambition, #loneliness, #friendship, #leadership, and the fleeting nature of success. If Proverbs often asks, "What is the wise thing to do?" Ecclesiastes asks, "What ultimately lasts?"

This chapter would pair well with many of the themes we've been discussing recently—management attention, priorities, work-life balance, and trust in God.

---

Ecclesiastes 4 Overview

Theme: Life "under the sun" is often marked by injustice, isolation, and endless striving. God designed us for community rather than endless competition.

The chapter naturally divides into five sections:

1. Oppression (vv. 1-3)

2. Envy and Work (vv. 4-6)

3. The Tragedy of Working Alone (vv. 7-12)

4. The Folly of Power (vv. 13-16)

5. Overall Lesson

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1. Oppression and Injustice (Verses 1-3)

"Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun."

Solomon begins with something difficult.

He looks around the world and notices:

• powerful people oppress the weak

• victims have no comforter

• the powerful often escape justice

His conclusion is startling.

He says the dead are better off than the living, and those never born are better still because they never witnessed such evil.

This is not teaching that life has no value.

Instead it expresses the emotional weight of living in a fallen world.

This is wisdom literature honestly describing what life can feel like.

Reflection

One reason Ecclesiastes feels so modern is because Solomon refuses to pretend the world is fair.

Christians sometimes feel pressure to say "everything is wonderful."

Ecclesiastes says,

"No—it isn't."

God's world is beautiful.

Our world is broken.

Both statements are true.

---

2. Work Motivated by Envy (Verses 4-6)

Perhaps the most insightful section.

"I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person's envy of another."

Notice he doesn't say all work.

He says much of our striving is driven by comparison.

Today we might say:

• Bigger house

• Better job

• New truck

• More followers

• Better title

• Bigger company

Comparison becomes the engine.

Solomon says:

That too is vanity.

---

Two unhealthy extremes

One extreme:

"The fool folds his hands."

Lazy.

Does nothing.

Eventually destroys himself.

The opposite extreme:

Works endlessly.

Never satisfied.

Never enough.

Neither is wisdom.

Then comes one of my favorite verses.

"Better is one handful with quietness than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind."

What imagery.

Two overflowing hands...

but no peace.

One modest handful...

with contentment.

Which is richer?

---

Connection to our discussions

This reminds me of your recent reflection after the sermon on Management Attention Capital.

You observed that every initiative, customer, meeting, and project consumes finite attention.

Ecclesiastes says something similar.

Not every opportunity deserves pursuit.

Sometimes "less" produces a richer life.

---

3. The Tragedy of Working Alone (Verses 7-12)

This section feels almost written for modern executives.

Solomon observes a man who:

• has no family

• has no heirs

• never stops working

Yet...

"For whom am I laboring?"

That question echoes across history.

Many successful people eventually ask it.

---

Then comes one of the most famous passages.

"Two are better than one..."

Why?

Because together they:

• accomplish more

• help each other up

• keep each other warm

• defend each other

Then comes

"A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Many weddings use this verse.

While appropriate, its original context is actually broader.

It is about the strength of relationships and community.

Some Christians see the third strand as God.

The text doesn't explicitly say that, but the application is meaningful: relationships rooted in God are especially resilient.

---

Leadership lesson

This section quietly dismantles the myth of the lone hero.

No CEO...

No pastor...

No entrepreneur...

No parent...

was designed to carry everything alone.

Healthy leaders build teams.

Healthy Christians build community.

---

4. Power Is Temporary (Verses 13-16)

Now Solomon tells a little political story.

A poor but wise young man becomes king.

The old king refuses advice.

Eventually...

the young king also becomes forgotten.

Popularity fades.

Power fades.

Influence fades.

Another generation arrives.

This is one of Ecclesiastes' recurring themes.

Human applause has a short shelf life.

---

Leadership implication

Lead because it is faithful.

Not because people will remember.

Most leaders eventually become a footnote.

Faithfulness lasts longer than fame.

---

Major Themes

1. Competition is a terrible life purpose.

Achievement isn't condemned.

Envy is.

---

2. Contentment is wealth.

One handful with peace...

beats two handfuls with anxiety.

---

3. Success without relationships is poverty.

The lonely worker has everything...

except someone to share it with.

---

4. Community is God's design.

People need:

• friends

• family

• church

• trusted partners

Faith was never intended to be solitary.

---

5. Earthly recognition fades.

People quickly forget great leaders.

God does not.

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Connections to the New Testament

Jesus echoes these themes.

Contentment

"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

Community

Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, not alone.

Paul constantly emphasized the church as one body with many members.

Humility

Jesus Himself became the servant rather than chasing worldly greatness (Philippians 2).

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Questions for Reflection

Based on what I know about the questions you enjoy journaling, here are a few to consider:

1. What motivates most of my work today—service, stewardship, or comparison?

2. Where am I pursuing "two handfuls" when one handful with peace would be enough?

3. Who are the "two are better than one" people God has placed in my life? Am I investing in those relationships?

4. If I retired tomorrow, what work would still matter because it changed people rather than simply produced results?

5. Where have I been measuring success by recognition instead of faithfulness?

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A Thought Especially for You

As we've talked over the past few weeks, one theme keeps resurfacing: your desire to be intentional about what truly matters—whether it's your business coaching, your role at Christenson, your family, or your faith.

Ecclesiastes 4 speaks directly into that journey.

The chapter doesn't discourage hard work. Solomon himself was extraordinarily productive. Instead, it asks deeper questions:

• Why am I working?

• Who am I working for?

• Who am I becoming through my work?

• Who will walk this journey with me?

For someone in a leadership role, verse 6 may be the chapter's central challenge:

"Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind."

That isn't an invitation to lower your standards. It's an invitation to pursue stewardship over striving, contentment over comparison, and relationships over relentless accumulation. Those themes align remarkably well with the "management attention capital" idea you've been developing, and with the "family → community → country → mankind" order of priorities you've been articulating. When our attention is directed toward what God has entrusted to us, rather than toward endless comparison or expansion, work becomes an act of faithful stewardship instead of an endless chase.

 

My Intention for the Years Ahead

I believe every day is a gift from God and every decision is an exchange of a portion of my life. Time, attention, energy, wisdom, relationships, and influence are the true capital entrusted to me. Because these gifts are finite, I intend to invest them deliberately and wisely.

I will strive to exchange my life only for things of lasting value.

My priorities are clear.

First, my family.
I intend to love well, be fully present, pass on wisdom, preserve our family's history, encourage future generations, and leave an inheritance that includes character, faith, and perspective—not merely financial assets.

Second, my community.
I intend to use my knowledge, experience, and resources to strengthen the organizations, churches, businesses, and people God places in my path. I will seek to serve more than to be recognized and to build more than to possess.

Third, my country.
I intend to contribute to a society built upon integrity, personal responsibility, servant leadership, respect for others, and the rule of law. I will participate thoughtfully, act with humility, and leave my community stronger than I found it.

Fourth, mankind.
I intend to share ideas, principles, and experiences that may benefit others beyond my own circle. If something I learn can improve another person's life or leadership, I have a responsibility to pass it on.

I recognize that every opportunity carries two costs: a financial cost and a life cost. Before committing my time or attention, I will ask:

• Is this worthy of exchanging a portion of my life?

• Does this align with my purpose and calling?

• Will this strengthen faith, relationships, wisdom, or lasting value?

• Am I saying "yes" to something that requires me to say "no" to something more important?

I will remember that activity is not accomplishment, and accomplishment is not significance.

Success is not measured by how much I accumulate but by how faithfully I steward what has been entrusted to me.

I will seek wisdom over information, character over reputation, contribution over recognition, and faithfulness over comfort.

I will be intentional in preserving my family's stories, mentoring future leaders, improving the organizations I serve, and leaving systems that continue to benefit others long after I am gone.

When my life is complete, I hope those who know me best will say that I loved deeply, led with integrity, lived with purpose, and left people, organizations, and communities stronger than I found them.

Above all, I desire to hear the words of my Lord:

"Well done, good and faithful servant."

Claude Feeman

 The man I knew:

One of one!

When I heard that Claude Freeman passed away yesterday, I found myself thinking back almost fifty years.

Claude was the uncle of my good friend Randy Smith. Back in the days before the big round bales, Claude ran a custom hay baling crew. Randy usually ran the tractor that cut the hay, staying a day or two ahead of us, so we didn't cross paths very often.

Claude's crew had a pretty slick operation. They pulled flatbed trailers behind the baler, and two men rode the trailer stacking small square bales as they came off the baler. When one trailer filled up, they'd stop just long enough to unhook it, hook on an empty trailer with another two-man crew, and keep right on baling. Meanwhile, the full trailer would be hauled back to the barn and unloaded. It was a constant rotation that kept everything moving.

I didn't work for Claude very much. I wasn't exactly the kind of young man he was looking for. I was a skinny kid who had grown up in town, not exactly known for spending all day doing hard physical labor. But a couple of times they were shorthanded, and I got the chance to work with them.

One of those days we were baling hay on the Killian farm outside Calico Rock—the same property where the state prison sits today. One thing I remember about Claude was that he liked his Budweiser hot. He never put it in a cooler. He just kept it in the back of his pickup. Every so often he'd pull the tractor over, grab another six-pack, put it in the toolbox, and head right back to baling. That was just Claude.

The funniest memory I have happened one afternoon when we got rained out. Claude needed to go to West Plains, about an hour away. Funny thing was, the rest of the crew suddenly found somewhere else they needed to be. I didn't realize until later they knew exactly what was coming.

Claude looked at me and said, "Steve, get in. You're driving."

So off we went.

I spent the whole day driving him around southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Every time we'd cross into Missouri, we'd stop at the liquor store so he could replenish his "supplies" before heading back across the state line. Looking back, it was quite an adventure.

But what I remember most about Claude had nothing to do with the beer.

It was that he never forgot people.

I only worked for him a handful of days one summer when I was about eighteen years old. Yet for years afterward, if he happened to run into my dad at the post office, the grocery store, or the drugstore, he'd always ask, "How's Steve doing? What's he up to?" That always meant something to me.

Claude was one of those old Ozark mountain men. He lived back in the hills of northern Stone County, around the Sylamore National Forest. Years of logging, farming, accidents, and just plain hard living had worn his body down. His wife had been sick for a long time and passed away just a couple of weeks ago. They never had any children, and I have to believe losing her broke his heart.

Claude wasn't a perfect man. None of us are. But he was a good man. He worked hard, treated people well, remembered folks long after they had forgotten about him, and was completely comfortable being exactly who he was.

Rest in peace, Claude. You were one of a kind.

July 4, 1976

 Today I celebrate an anniversary.

Fifty years ago today, on July 4, 1976, I tasted Brussels sprouts for the first time. Although I was a teenager, those tiny edible fists of fiber weren’t something I had ever been presented with. Remember, this was before Brussels sprouts discovered bacon and balsamic vinegar.

But alas, July 4 that year was a Sunday, and I was in the hospital recovering from a nasty case of meningitis. Since it was both a Sunday and a significant holiday, I suppose the hospital dietitian wanted to provide a lunch that fit the occasion. A slice of ham and a mound of those tiny heads of cabbage were the final choice.

I ate the ham and tried the morsel.

That is the day, 50 years ago, that I discovered you can’t flush Brussels sprouts.

They float.

Happy 250th Birthday, America.

Screenshot 2026-02-25 at 4.58.56 PM

When Action Becomes a Test of Allegiance - Part 3

Faithfulness, Protest, and the Pressure to Perform

In the first essay of this series, I argued that history offers a grim but consistent warning: when societies slide toward chaos, moderation loses its protection. The middle ground—so valuable in times of order—becomes dangerous when fear, violence, and factional loyalty replace shared norms. Moderates are pressured, attacked, and eventually forced into decisions they hoped to avoid.

In the second essay, I explored a subtler danger that appears earlier: the corruption of moral choice through false political frames. When complex moral questions are reduced to binary categories, choosing becomes less about truth and more about allegiance. Faithfulness is mistaken for evasion, and conscience is treated as betrayal.

That argument remains intact.

But there is a third pressure—one that often arrives before collapse, before violence becomes universal, and before many realize a choice is being forced at all.

It is the pressure not merely to decide, but to perform.

When tragedy demands visible alignment

Recent federal enforcement actions and raids—some of which have resulted in the deaths of civilians—have produced grief, anger, fear, and public outrage. Communities are shaken. Families mourn. Trust erodes. These are not abstractions; they are human losses with long shadows.

In response, many feel an urgent need to act. Public demonstrations, protests, and symbolic gestures quickly emerge as ways to express solidarity and moral clarity. Participation itself becomes a test: If you care, you will show it—here, now, and visibly.

This is where the pressure intensifies for those who have been trying, imperfectly but sincerely, to remain truthful.

The demand is no longer simply, Where do you stand?
It becomes, Why aren’t you standing with us—publicly and unmistakably?

Refusal is rarely interpreted as discernment. It is read as indifference, complicity, or fear.

The substitution problem

There is a quiet moral danger in this moment: the substitution of symbolic action for faithful responsibility.

Symbolic actions feel decisive. They offer emotional release, communal affirmation, and moral reassurance. They allow participants to express outrage or compassion without bearing the long-term cost of repair. They are visible, shareable, and often rewarded.

But expression is not the same as transformation.

Communities wounded by enforcement violence are not healed by slogans. They are not restored by performances, however sincere. The deeper causes—broken trust, economic fragility, institutional failure, generational trauma—require work that is slow, unglamorous, and often invisible.

When symbolic action becomes an end in itself, it risks becoming a moral shortcut: a way to feel aligned without becoming responsible.

Why the middle becomes dangerous again

For those already wary of false political frames, this moment is especially fraught.

To join highly visible protests may require affirming narratives that flatten complexity or excuse actions one would otherwise question. To decline participation invites suspicion, even from friends. Silence is interpreted as cowardice; hesitation as betrayal.

Once again, the middle becomes dangerous—not because it lacks conviction, but because it refuses simplification.

This is not neutrality. It is resistance to moral reduction.

The question is no longer merely What is true?
It becomes What kind of action preserves integrity rather than merely signaling it?

A moral compass—Christian and human

For Christians, the moral compass here is familiar. Human beings are not symbols; they bear the image of God. Faithfulness is measured by fruit, not visibility. The gospel has little patience for public righteousness that bypasses costly love.

But this concern is not uniquely Christian.

Even apart from religious belief, most people recognize a basic ethical truth: real responsibility extends beyond expression. Mourning demands care. Justice demands accountability. Repair demands time, proximity, and perseverance.

Public protest can have a place. It can expose injustice and disrupt indifference. But when it becomes the primary moral response—untethered from long-term commitment—it risks becoming a performance that soothes the conscience without healing the wound.

Choosing depth over display

In earlier essays, I argued that eventually the middle disappears and decisions become unavoidable. That remains true.

But not every demand for immediate action deserves immediate compliance.

Faithfulness—religious or otherwise—sometimes means declining actions that are loud but shallow in favor of work that is quiet and durable.

It means asking:

• Does this action reduce human suffering—or merely express my outrage?

• Does it contribute to repair—or only to visibility?

• Will it matter after attention moves on?

The work that actually heals communities—mentorship, mediation, policy reform, long-term presence—rarely satisfies the cultural demand for urgency. It does not trend. It does not feel heroic. It often disappoints those who equate immediacy with virtue.

But it is the kind of work that lasts.

The cost of refusing to perform

Choosing depth over display comes with a cost.

It means being misunderstood by those who equate silence with indifference. It means disappointing friends who believe visibility is the measure of commitment. It means standing in the uncomfortable space where neither side is satisfied.

History suggests this should not surprise us. Moderation rarely survives unscathed in polarized moments. And integrity, once detached from spectacle, is almost always lonely.

But history also suggests something else: the work that quietly preserves human dignity often matters more than the actions that loudly declare it.

Choosing without pretending

In the first essay, I warned that moderation loses its protection during chaos. In the second, I argued that choosing under false frames destroys integrity. This third reflection adds one final caution:

Acting without reflection—performing virtue without responsibility—can hollow out the very moral center we are trying to preserve.

I care deeply about injustice and suffering. I also believe that faithfulness—Christian or otherwise—requires more than expression. It requires commitment to work that continues long after the crowd disperses.

The middle may be dangerous.
But abandoning integrity for visibility is worse.

History remembers not only what we chose, but how—whether we acted to be seen, or labored quietly to make things whole.

Part 2: Choosing Without Lying

 

Faithful Speech When Everything Is Politicized

In an essay I published last week on the danger of being in the middle, I argued that history offers a grim but consistent warning: when societies slide toward chaos, moderation loses its protection. The middle ground—so valuable in times of order—becomes dangerous in times of collapse. Moderates are pressured, attacked, and eventually forced into tragic decisions they long hoped to avoid.

That argument remains intact.

But it leaves an unresolved and deeply uncomfortable question—one that emerges before collapse is complete:

What does faithfulness look like when the only choices being offered are framed in distorted, politicized terms?

Because while history shows that refusing to decide eventually becomes fatal, it also shows something else just as troubling: choosing badly—choosing under false frames—can destroy the very integrity decision was meant to preserve.

---

When Moral Questions Are Reduced to Political Categories

One of the defining features of our moment is that nearly every serious moral question is translated into political language.

Questions about human dignity, the use of force, truth and accountability, fear and social order are rapidly reduced to familiar binaries:

• left vs. right

• loyalty vs. betrayal

• for us or against us

This reduction does not clarify moral choices—it distorts them.

Politics becomes not merely a tool for governance, but the primary language for meaning. Once that happens, conscience is no longer treated as discernment; it is treated as allegiance. To speak is to signal membership. To hesitate is to invite suspicion.

Jesus faced similar pressure under Roman occupation. Again and again, He was presented with questions designed not to uncover truth, but to force alignment. His response was not evasion, but reframing—exposing the deeper issue beneath the demand.¹

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Why This Creates a New Danger for Moderates

The first essay described why moderates lose protection during collapse. This second danger is subtler, but no less serious:

Moderates are pressured to choose before they have been allowed to speak truthfully.

The fear is no longer only physical. It is moral.

Many sense—often correctly—that once they accept the offered frame, they will be required to:

• defend positions they do not fully believe

• excuse actions they would otherwise question

• dehumanize people they still recognize as bearing God’s image

So they hesitate—not from cowardice, but from conscience.

That hesitation is often misread as neutrality or evasion. Yet Jesus warned that faithfulness would be mistaken for disloyalty, and that clarity would provoke resistance rather than gratitude.²

---

Jesus and the Refusal of False Choices

The life of Jesus offers no support for comfortable moderation. He does not retreat into neutrality, nor does He remain silent in the face of injustice. He speaks plainly, confronts power, and accepts the cost.

But He also does something that unsettles every polarized age: He refuses false choices.

Living under imperial occupation, Jesus rejected violent rebellion and corrupt accommodation alike. When standing before Pilate, He refused to let political authority define the nature of truth, allegiance, or legitimacy.³ His kingdom, He insisted, did not operate by the logic of empire.

This refusal did not keep Him safe.
It did not preserve His influence.
It did not earn Him trust from any faction.

It led to His execution.

Which tells us something essential:

Faithful speech is not the same as safe speech.

---

What Faithful Speech Actually Looks Like

Faithful speech in a politicized age has several distinguishing marks:

1. It refuses the frame before answering the question.
Jesus repeatedly exposed the assumptions embedded in the questions posed to Him rather than accepting them at face value.¹

2. It speaks truth without spectacle.
Jesus warned against exaggerated or performative speech, insisting instead on plain, restrained truthfulness.⁴

3. It centers human dignity before ideology.
When legal or religious systems threatened human well-being, Jesus restored the priority of the person over the institution.⁵
People are not treated as symbols, examples, or props in someone else’s story.

4. It distinguishes judgment from discernment.
Jesus rejected hypocritical condemnation while still demanding honest moral evaluation grounded in truth rather than appearances.⁶

5. It accepts misunderstanding as the cost of integrity.
Jesus prepared His followers for rejection—not because truth was unclear, but because it would unsettle established power and social order.²

6. It resists urgency when urgency is used to suppress thought.
When pressed to take sides prematurely, Jesus often slowed the moment, redirecting attention to deeper moral realities.⁷

7. It knows when silence is faithful.
Jesus’ silence before His accusers was not evasion, but refusal to legitimize proceedings built on coercion and bad faith.⁸

This kind of speech frustrates polarized systems. It does not reward outrage, confirm tribal narratives, or stabilize power.

That is precisely why it carries a cost.

---

Choosing Without Illusions

The first essay argued that eventually the middle disappears and decisions become unavoidable. That remains true.

But history—and the gospel—issue a second warning:

Choosing too quickly, under distorted terms, can be just as dangerous as not choosing at all.

Jesus warned that universal approval is not a sign of wisdom, but often a sign of accommodation.⁹ Faithfulness may isolate, provoke, and confuse—especially when it refuses to translate moral truth into partisan loyalty.

History is merciless toward those who abandon conscience for belonging. It is equally unforgiving toward those who delay indefinitely while others bear the cost.

Faithfulness lies in neither reflexive alignment nor perpetual hesitation, but in choosing without surrendering truth.

---

The Cost We Must Be Willing to Bear

Jesus warned His followers that faithfulness would not preserve their safety, reputation, or standing within society.⁹ He also warned that Jerusalem’s chosen path—driven by fear, factionalism, and violence—would end in catastrophe.¹⁰

He did not remain undecided.
But neither did He allow fear, power, or faction to define His choices.

His path was narrower than moderation and lonelier than rebellion.

And it remains so.

History remembers not only what we chose, but why—whether we chose with open eyes, clear conscience, and words that refused to lie.

---

Endnotes

1. Jesus’ refusal of false political binaries: Matthew 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17

2. The inevitability of misunderstanding and division: Matthew 10:16–25; Luke 12:49–53

3. Jesus before Pilate and the refusal to let power define truth: John 18:36–38

4. Plain speech without performance: Matthew 5:37

5. Human dignity before legalism: Mark 2:23–28

6. Judgment versus discernment: Matthew 7:1–5; John 7:24

7. Resistance to coerced urgency: Luke 12:13–15

8. Faithful silence under coercion: Matthew 27:11–14

9. The cost of standing outside factions: Matthew 10:22; Luke 6:26

10. Jesus’ warning over Jerusalem: Luke 19:41–44; Mark 13

When the Middle Becomes the Most Dangerous Place

History, Chaos, and the Tragic Choice Forced on Moderates

History has an uncomfortable lesson that stable societies prefer to ignore: in times of rebellion, civil war, or social collapse, moderation is not safe. The middle ground—so prized during periods of order—becomes suspect during chaos. Moderates are attacked by extremists on both sides, trusted by neither, and often suffer the greatest losses.

This is not a moral indictment of moderation. It is a historical observation.

When institutions fail, when legitimacy collapses, and when violence becomes the primary language of power, the habits that sustain peaceful societies—restraint, compromise, patience, nuance—turn into liabilities. Neutrality becomes betrayal. Hesitation becomes weakness. Prudence is recast as cowardice.

History does not celebrate this transformation. But it repeats it relentlessly.

This essay lays out the historical foundation for that claim, beginning with ancient Jerusalem and widening to other moments of collapse. It then turns to the tragic question moderates eventually face: when the middle disappears, how should one decide where to stand—or whether to stand at all?

---

The Collapse of the Center: A Historical Pattern

Jerusalem, AD 66–70: A City That Lost Its Middle Before It Lost Its Walls

The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 offers one of the clearest early examples of the danger moderation faces during internal conflict.

By the middle of the first century, Judea was already under immense strain. Roman governance was often corrupt and extractive. Economic pressure mounted. Religious identity was under constant threat. Apocalyptic expectations—hopes of divine intervention and national deliverance—intensified. None of this was unique in imperial history.

What made Jerusalem uniquely vulnerable was internal fragmentation.

When rebellion against Rome erupted in AD 66, the city was not unified. Power fractured among competing factions: revolutionary Zealots, extremist Sicarii, priestly elites, civic leaders, and ordinary citizens who simply wanted stability. These groups did not merely disagree—they violently opposed one another.

According to Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian who witnessed the war, the most devastating violence inside Jerusalem occurred before Roman legions breached the city. Moderates—priests, elders, and civic leaders who sought restraint or negotiation—were assassinated as collaborators. Food stores were destroyed by factions seeking to force loyalty through desperation. Terror silenced dissent and eliminated compromise.¹

By the time Rome encircled Jerusalem, the city had already lost its center. There was no trusted authority left capable of de-escalation, negotiation, or coordinated decision-making. Rome did not destroy a unified society; it destroyed one that had already hollowed itself out.

The moderates lost twice: first to their own people, then to the empire.

---

The Pattern Repeats

Jerusalem is not an anomaly. It is a template.

The French Revolution

The French Revolution began with reformers who sought constitutional monarchy, legal equality, and limits on royal authority. These moderates—the Girondins and other constitutionalists—were soon denounced as insufficiently committed to revolutionary purity. During the Reign of Terror, moderation itself became evidence of treason.

Many were imprisoned or executed not by royalists, but by fellow revolutionaries. The revolution devoured its center before consolidating power under authoritarian rule.²

The Russian Revolution

In Russia, liberal reformers and moderate socialists hoped to guide the collapse of the monarchy toward a constitutional order. Instead, they were crushed between Bolshevik revolutionaries on one side and reactionary forces on the other. The middle was erased early, leaving only extremes to contest power.³

The Spanish Civil War and the Yugoslav Wars

In both cases, civilians and leaders who attempted neutrality or reconciliation were often targeted by all sides. When loyalty became binary and identity weaponized, refusing to choose a side became the most dangerous position of all.⁴

Across cultures and centuries, the lesson is consistent:
when violence becomes the organizing principle of society, moderation loses its protection.

---

Why Moderates Lose First

This pattern persists not because moderates are wrong, but because they are structurally disadvantaged during collapse.

Extremes Require Moral Simplicity

Radical movements thrive on clear enemies and unambiguous loyalty. Moderates complicate narratives. They ask uncomfortable questions. They resist purity tests. In times of fear, nuance is treated not as wisdom but as betrayal.

Moderates Depend on Institutions

Moderation assumes functioning courts, shared norms, and enforceable rules. When those collapse, moderates are left without leverage. Extremes, by contrast, often rely on militias, intimidation, and control of information—tools that gain power precisely when institutions fail.

Violence Changes the Rules

Once survival replaces persuasion, those unwilling to use coercion are sidelined or eliminated. Moderates are optimized for stability, not chaos—and chaos is unforgiving.

The tragedy is that moderation often fails not because it is ineffective, but because it is overtaken by events it was designed to prevent.

---

The Moment Moderates Dread—and Cannot Avoid

History suggests that most moderates do not face an immediate choice. At first, they delay. They hope tensions will cool. They trust institutions longer than they should. Eventually, however, delay becomes impossible.

At that moment, the moderate is forced into a tragic decision: choose a side, flee, or perish.

There is no clean option. There is no morally pure path. The question becomes not how to win, but how to decide without surrendering one’s humanity.

Decision frameworks matter here—not because they guarantee safety, but because they shape who we become under pressure.

---

Three Decision Frameworks for the Forced Choice

1. A Long-Term Moral Framework: What Would Jesus Do?

Stripped of slogans, this question is deeply unsettling.

Jesus lived under imperial occupation. He rejected violent rebellion and corrupt accommodation alike. He warned that Jerusalem’s chosen path would end in catastrophe. He chose truth over power, sacrifice over coercion, and obedience to God over loyalty to nation or institution.⁵

This framework does not promise survival. Jesus was executed.

But it asks questions that cut through chaos:

• Does this decision require me to dehumanize others?

• Does it demand lies or moral shortcuts?

• Does it preserve my capacity to love my enemy?

Early Christian tradition records that Jesus’ followers fled Jerusalem before its destruction, heeding warnings found in the Synoptic Gospels. Those who attempted to save the city through force perished with it.⁶

The power of this framework is not tactical. It is moral. It prioritizes faithfulness over dominance and integrity over momentum.

---

2. A Long-Term Historical Framework: How Will This Look in 50 Years?

Immediate narratives are written by victors. History is written later.

Time strips away slogans and exposes motives. Many who believed they were on “the right side of history” appear far less admirable with distance. Fear, cruelty, and opportunism age poorly.

This framework forces uncomfortable reflection:

• Will this decision look courageous or cowardly in hindsight?

• Am I acting from conviction or panic?

• Could I explain this choice honestly to my grandchildren?

History rarely condemns caution. But it is merciless toward those who abandon conscience for belonging.⁷

---

3. A Short-Term Survival Framework: How Do I Save My Life and My Family?

Any honest discussion must acknowledge this reality.

Ideals do not feed children. Martyrdom chosen for others is not virtue. History is filled with examples where flight, concealment, or disengagement was the wisest and most moral decision available.

Early Christians fled Jerusalem. Jewish families escaped pogroms. Civilians hid or relocated during genocides and civil wars. Survival is not cowardice when destruction is indiscriminate.⁸

This framework recognizes a painful truth: sometimes the most moral decision is not resistance or alignment, but escape.

---

Choosing Without Illusions

History offers no guarantees—only warnings.

It warns that moderation is often destroyed first.
That extremes reward loyalty, not wisdom.
That chaos forces decisions long before clarity arrives.

Decision frameworks do not ensure safety. They preserve integrity.

In moments of collapse, history does not ask whether we were comfortable. It asks whether we were awake—whether we recognized what was happening, and whether we chose with eyes open rather than slogans borrowed.

Moderation may be dangerous in times of chaos. But choosing without reflection is far worse.

History remembers not only what we chose—but why.

---

Footnotes

I don't want to give the impression that I have read all of these references.  When I am using ChatGPT to assist in gathering, organizing, and composing my thoughts, I always ask it where it is getting its information.  This is the list of references that Chat provided for this essay.  

1. Josephus, The Jewish War, Books IV–VI. Josephus repeatedly describes internal Jewish violence, assassinations of moderates, and factional destruction of food supplies prior to Rome’s final assault. ↩

2. Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (Vintage, 1989); see also François Furet, Interpreting the French Revolution. ↩

3. Orlando Figes, A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution (Penguin, 1996). ↩

4. Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain; Misha Glenny, The Balkans. ↩

5. Gospel accounts such as Mark 13; Matthew 23–24; Luke 19:41–44. ↩

6. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book III, describing the flight of Christians to Pella prior to AD 70. ↩

7. Hannah Arendt, On Revolution; Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny. ↩

8. Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews; Primo Levi, If This Is a Man. ↩

When "The Bible is Clear" Isn't Clear at All

 An acquaintance of mine posted this meme on Facebook today:

So naturally, I had to ask ChatGPT to analyze it for me.  Here is its answer in blog post format:

When “The Bible Is Clear” Isn’t Clear at All

A response to a viral meme about prejudice, Scripture, and the Spirit

I saw a post today making the rounds on social media. It follows a familiar pattern:

“THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: ___.”
“BUT THEN comes a story that challenges that prejudice.”

It cites Moabites and Ruth. Uz and Job. Eunuchs and Acts 8. Samaritans and Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. It finishes with a sweeping conclusion:

“The Spirit moves God’s people toward openness, welcome, inclusion, acceptance, and affirmation.”

At first glance, it sounds wise—and parts of it are. But it also contains some sloppy Bible handling, and that matters. Because whenever we use Scripture to make a modern point (even a point I may agree with), we have a responsibility to be accurate, not merely persuasive.

So let’s talk about what this meme gets right, what it gets wrong, and what the Bible actually teaches about prejudice and welcome.

---

1) Yes, Scripture does confront prejudice

Let’s begin with what’s true: the Bible repeatedly exposes ethnic pride, cultural arrogance, and spiritual superiority.

• God’s people often confused chosenness with entitlement

• they often treated outsiders as unclean or unworthy

• and Jesus repeatedly shattered that posture with both teaching and example

If someone uses the Bible to justify contempt for “those people,” they’re reading it backward. The whole Bible is a long story of God’s mercy breaking boundaries—without losing holiness or truth.

So far, so good.

But then the meme starts doing something risky.

---

2) The Bible isn’t “contradicting itself”—it’s unfolding

The meme implies something like this:

• Deuteronomy says one thing

• Ruth/Job/Acts/Jesus says the opposite

• therefore the earlier teaching must have been prejudice

That is not how the Bible works.

The Bible is not a random collection of disconnected sayings where later stories “correct” earlier wrong ideas. Scripture is a unified storyline:

• Covenant

• promise

• prophetic anticipation

• fulfillment in Christ

• the expansion of God’s people to all nations

When we flatten Scripture into “first God said X, then God changed His mind,” we don’t honor the Bible’s coherence—we undermine it.

Let’s look at the examples.

---

3) Ruth and the Moabites (Deuteronomy 23)

The meme says:

“Moabites are bad… not allowed to dwell among God’s people (Dt. 23). But then Ruth the Moabite challenges that prejudice.”

Deuteronomy 23:3 does indeed say:

“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD…”

But it doesn’t say “Moabites are bad.” It’s a covenant boundary rooted in a historical conflict—Moab’s hostility toward Israel during the wilderness journey.

And Ruth doesn’t overturn it by proving Moabites were unfairly stereotyped.

Ruth does something far deeper:

“Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

Ruth is not merely accepted as a Moabite. She is welcomed as a believer—someone who renounces false gods and clings to Yahweh.

That is not “affirmation.” That is conversion. Covenant. Faith.

And that’s exactly how the gospel works today: God welcomes outsiders—not by pretending sin doesn’t matter, but by bringing sinners into a new identity.

---

4) Job and the land of Uz (Jeremiah 25)

Here the meme goes off the rails.

It claims:

“THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: People from Uz are evil (Jer. 25). But then Job… from Uz…”

Jeremiah 25 does not teach “people from Uz are evil.”

Job being from Uz is not some clever reversal. It’s simply a detail that highlights that righteousness and wisdom are not limited to Israelite geography.

This isn’t the Bible “correcting prejudice.” It’s the meme inventing a Bible verse that isn’t there.

---

5) Eunuchs, foreigners, and Acts 8 (Deuteronomy 23)

This one is more interesting—and the meme is closer to something true.

Deuteronomy 23:1 excludes eunuchs from entering “the assembly of the Lord.” (Again: covenant markers in Israel under the law.)

Then Acts 8 records the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch—an outsider welcomed into Christ’s community.

But this is not Scripture contradicting Scripture.

In fact, the Old Testament itself anticipates this moment:

Isaiah 56:3–5 explicitly promises that eunuchs who keep covenant faith will be given:

“a name better than sons and daughters… an everlasting name.”

So Acts 8 isn’t a reversal—it’s fulfillment. It’s the gospel opening wide the doors that the prophets said would open in the Messianic age.

What changed wasn’t God’s moral posture.
What changed was the phase of redemptive history:
promise → fulfillment.

---

6) Samaritans and Jesus

The Samaritan example is largely fair.

Jews and Samaritans were locked in centuries of hostility, suspicion, and contempt. Jesus repeatedly confronts that:

• the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4)

• the Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10)

• the Samaritan leper who returns thankful (Luke 17)

Jesus exposes how prejudice can hide behind piety.

But notice: Jesus doesn’t merely say, “Everyone’s fine; just affirm each other.”

He offers living water. He calls for truth. He reveals Himself as Messiah.
He doesn’t “affirm”—He transforms.

---

7) The real issue: the meme’s final conclusion

This is the main reason I’m writing this.

The meme ends by saying:

“The Spirit moves God’s people towards openness, welcome, inclusion, acceptance, and affirmation.”

Some of that is gloriously biblical. Some of it is not.

Biblically true:

• openness to outsiders

• welcome and hospitality

• radical love

• equal dignity

• unity in Christ across ethnicity, status, class, and background

Christians must never confuse holiness with hostility.

But here’s what the meme smuggles in:

“Affirmation”—as in unconditional endorsement of whatever beliefs, behaviors, or identity claims a person brings.

That is not Christianity.
That is not the gospel.
That is modern moral language borrowing Christian warmth while discarding Christian truth.

The gospel message is not:

“Come as you are, and remain as you are.”

It is:

“Come as you are… and meet the One who raises the dead.”

Jesus welcomes sinners—and then calls them to repentance and faith.
He does not despise broken people.
He does not flatter them either.

Grace is not agreement. Love is not endorsement.

---

A better conclusion

If I were rewriting the meme with biblical accuracy, it would say something like this:

The story may begin with prejudice and hostility, but God’s Spirit moves His people toward mercy, humility, hospitality, and faithful truth—welcoming outsiders by grace and forming all of us into the likeness of Christ.

That’s the real biblical trajectory:
wide mercy + deep transformation.

---

Final thought

We don’t need to twist Scripture to make the Bible sound kinder than it is.

The Bible is already kinder than we are.

But it is also clearer than the meme suggests:
God doesn’t just invite people into comfort.
He invites people into covenant.

And covenant love is the most welcoming force in the universe—because it doesn’t merely tolerate you.

It claims you.
Names you.
Changes you.
And brings you home.

ChatGPT to a "What should my opinion be" question

The Question:  

Based on the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament, what should my opinion be about the shooting of the woman by ICE in Minnesota yesterday? 

Chat's Answer:

Steve — if you’re trying to form an opinion “based on the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament,” the first thing Jesus would require of you is not a hot take, but a holy posture: truthfulness, mercy, justice, and restraint.

And that’s especially important here because the facts are still contested.

What we know so far (in brief)

Reports say the woman who was killed was Renee Nicole Good, 37, shot in Minneapolis during an encounter with ICE. Federal officials/DHS have argued she used her vehicle as a weapon and the agent acted in self-defense, while local leaders and eyewitnesses dispute that framing and are calling for transparent accountability and investigation. (Reuters)

So: you’re being asked to judge something where the evidence is still emerging. That matters.

---

A Jesus-shaped opinion: 8 convictions you can hold right now

Here’s what a faithful, New-Testament-centered stance can look like without pretending certainty you don’t yet have.

1) Start with the value of her life

Jesus does not permit us to treat a death as “news content” or collateral damage.

A Jesus-shaped response begins here:
a woman made in God’s image is dead — and that is grievous.
Mourn. Pray. Refuse cynicism.

“Blessed are those who mourn…” (Matthew 5:4)

2) Reject instant certainty and partisan scripts

Jesus consistently confronts people who are quick to condemn without full truth.

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24)

A Christian posture is:
slow to speak, quick to listen, careful with facts.

So your opinion should include humility:

“I don’t yet know everything that happened — but I know this life matters, and truth matters.”

3) Demand truth and transparency (not spin)

Jesus is uncompromising about truth.

“Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest…” (Luke 8:17)

So you should want:

• bodycam / video released (as appropriate)

• clean chain-of-evidence

• an investigation trusted by the public

Minnesota officials (BCA/local leaders) have publicly discussed investigative jurisdiction and evidence-sharing challenges, which adds to the need for transparency. (Minnesota Department of Public Safety)

4) Refuse dehumanizing language

New Testament ethics forbid contempt.

So whether the woman was right or wrong in her actions, and whether the officer was justified or not:

• don’t call her an animal / thug / terrorist

• don’t call the agent a murderer without proof

People can demand accountability without hatred.

5) Hold “authority” and “accountability” together

Jesus acknowledges lawful authority (in a limited sense)…

“Render to Caesar…” (Matthew 22:21)

…but he also confronts abusive power:

leaders who “lord it over” others (Mark 10:42–45)

So you can hold both:

• We need law enforcement.

• Law enforcement must be restrained, accountable, and worthy of trust.

6) Require that force be proportionate — especially lethal force

Even if a person is resisting, the Christian conscience must ask:
Was there a way to preserve life?

That’s not naïve — it’s Christian.

A key reason this story is inflamed is that the government argues deadly force was justified because the vehicle posed imminent deadly threat; others dispute that interpretation. (ABC News)

A Jesus-shaped stance is:

“If deadly force was necessary to prevent death, it may be justified; if it was avoidable, it is a moral outrage.”

7) Care about the community impact, not just the legal finding

Jesus weeps over cities and social fractures (Luke 19:41).

A Christian should care that:

• trust is breaking

• fear is rising (especially among immigrant communities)

• anger may turn violent

This isn’t just about one shooting — it’s about what kind of society we are becoming.

8) Choose intercession and peacemaking

Jesus calls his followers peacemakers.

“Blessed are the peacemakers…” (Matthew 5:9)

So an appropriate “Jesus opinion” includes prayer for:

• the woman’s family

• the officer involved

• witnesses

• the investigators

• civic leaders trying to prevent escalation 

A Crisis of Stewardship: Power, Trust, and the Failure of Leadership

I write this not as a political actor, academic theorist, or cultural commentator, but as someone who has lived long enough to see patterns repeat—and consequences accumulate.

Much of my professional life has been spent inside institutions: businesses, churches, boards, leadership teams. I have seen what happens when trust is honored and when it is quietly spent. I have watched capable organizations drift—not because they lacked intelligence or resources, but because responsibility became abstract and accountability optional. In nearly every case, the damage was not sudden. It was incremental, rationalized, and often well-intentioned.

I am also increasingly aware that I am no longer writing only for my peers. I am writing with an eye toward those who will inherit what we leave behind—children, younger leaders, and citizens who will live with the downstream effects of today’s decisions. That awareness changes the questions one asks. It moves the conversation from What works? to What endures? and from What can we get away with? to What must we preserve?

It is from that vantage point that I have come to believe we are misnaming the crisis of our moment.

We are living through a time of widespread unease. Political conflict dominates headlines, institutions struggle to maintain legitimacy, and public discourse feels increasingly brittle and performative. Much of this turmoil is described in partisan terms—left versus right, progressive versus conservative, populist versus establishment. But these labels, while convenient, obscure a deeper problem. What we are experiencing is not merely a political crisis. It is a crisis of stewardship.

Stewardship is an unfashionable word in a culture oriented toward immediacy and self-expression. It assumes that some things are not owned outright, but entrusted. It implies responsibility across time—honoring what was inherited, caring for it in the present, and passing it on intact, or improved, to those who follow. When stewardship erodes, institutions may still function for a time, but they do so hollowed out, sustained by momentum rather than moral authority.

This is the condition we now inhabit.

The Collapse of Institutional Trust

Trust is not an abstract sentiment. It is a form of moral capital built slowly through consistency, truthfulness, and accountability. Once accumulated, it allows institutions to function efficiently and credibly. Once squandered, it cannot be restored through slogans, branding, or crisis communications.

Across nearly every sector—government, media, business, education, and even the church—trust has deteriorated. This did not happen overnight, nor did it happen without cause. Institutions trained the public to distrust them through patterns of evasion, ideological capture, selective truth-telling, and insulation from consequences. The result is a pervasive skepticism that now colors even legitimate authority.

This loss of trust is often treated as a public relations problem to be managed. In reality, it is a moral reckoning. Trust cannot be demanded; it must be deserved. And once lost, it can only be rebuilt through sustained integrity, humility, and restraint—qualities increasingly rare in public leadership.

From a stewardship perspective, trust is not something leaders generate for their own benefit. It is something they are obligated to preserve for those who come after them. When leaders exhaust trust for short-term advantage, they leave their successors—and the public—with a depleted inheritance.

Power Without Accountability

Closely related to the collapse of trust is the normalization of power exercised without accountability. Power itself is not the problem. Every functioning society requires authority, decision-making, and enforcement. The danger arises when power becomes detached from responsibility—when decisions are made by those who will never bear their costs.

Modern systems are particularly prone to this failure. Bureaucratic layers, technological distance, and institutional opacity allow individuals and organizations to wield enormous influence while remaining insulated from the consequences of their actions. When errors occur, responsibility is diffused. When harm is done, accountability is abstract.

This dynamic breeds cynicism among the governed and moral complacency among the powerful. It also corrodes leadership. Authority exercised without accountability ceases to be stewardship and becomes mere control.

A stewardship framework insists on a different understanding of power. Power is not possessed; it is loaned. It is granted conditionally and temporarily, and it always carries an obligation to answer for its use. Leaders who forget this may achieve compliance, but they will not command respect. Over time, they will undermine the very institutions they claim to protect.

Leadership Failure More Than Policy Failure

Public debate today is saturated with policy arguments. Which laws should be passed, which regulations repealed, which programs expanded or dismantled. These debates matter, but they are downstream. Policies are expressions of judgment, priorities, and moral reasoning. When leadership is weak, dishonest, or self-protective, even well-designed policies fail in practice.

The more troubling reality is that many of our current problems persist not because solutions are unknown, but because leaders lack the credibility to implement them. Leadership failure—understood as a failure of character, courage, and responsibility—has become more consequential than policy disagreement.

Stewardship reframes leadership not as dominance or visibility, but as custodianship. A leader is one who accepts responsibility for outcomes, who tells the truth even when costly, and who understands their role as temporary and accountable. This kind of leadership is less dramatic than what our media culture rewards, but it is far more durable.

Without it, institutions become arenas for self-preservation rather than service, and the public quite rationally withdraws trust.

A Stewardship Mindset in a Fractured Age

What does a stewardship mindset require in a moment like this?

First, restraint. Not every issue must be escalated. Not every disagreement requires moral theater. Leaders who treat every conflict as existential exhaust both their institutions and their people.

Second, fidelity to truth over narrative advantage. In an age of selective facts and curated outrage, truth-telling has become a radical act. Stewardship demands accuracy, context, and the willingness to correct oneself publicly.

Third, proximity to consequences. Leaders should not be shielded from the effects of their decisions. Structures that separate authority from impact may be efficient, but they are rarely just.

Finally, long-term thinking. Stewardship resists the temptation to mortgage the future for present gains. It asks not only, Will this work now? but, What will this leave behind?

These are not partisan virtues. They are civilizational ones.

A Word to the Politically Homeless

Many—especially younger adults—find themselves politically homeless. They distrust institutions but are wary of nihilism. They reject tribalism but are suspicious of neutrality. Their disengagement is often dismissed as apathy, but it is more accurately understood as a refusal to grant trust where it has not been earned.

That refusal is understandable. But withdrawal alone is insufficient. Stewardship requires participation without capture—engagement that is principled, limited, and accountable. It calls for citizens who are serious, not cynical; discerning, not detached.

A society cannot be stewarded by spectators alone. Nor can it survive on outrage as a substitute for responsibility.

What Must Be Preserved and Passed On

Every generation inherits more than it realizes: institutions shaped by sacrifice, norms refined through failure, and moral insights earned at great cost. We are not the authors of these gifts, but their custodians.

The question before us is not whether our institutions are flawed—they always have been. The question is whether we will preserve what is still good, reform what is broken, and resist the temptation to burn down what we did not bother to understand.

Stewardship does not promise quick victories or ideological purity. It offers something harder and more necessary: faithfulness across time. It calls leaders and citizens alike to ask not only what we can gain, but what we are obligated to protect.

Power is easy to acquire. Trust is hard to earn. Leadership is measured not by what it conquers, but by what it preserves and passes on.

In that sense, the crisis before us is also an invitation—an invitation to recover a moral seriousness equal to the inheritance we have received, and to the responsibility we bear to those who will follow.

Sent With Eyes to See

I hope I have many more years ahead of me. I plan as if I do.

Still, there is something clarifying—almost bracing—about asking what should be said at the end.

Recently, I considered what might belong on an epitaph. Not out of morbidity, but out of curiosity. The exercise surfaced a phrase that has lingered longer than I expected: sent with eyes to see. It didn’t feel like a slogan or a flourish. It felt more like a diagnosis—something that named a posture rather than an achievement.

At first glance, the phrase sounds passive. Seeing. Observing. Watching. But seeing, in the sense that matters most, is not passive at all. It is an active discipline. It requires restraint, humility, and the willingness to sit with uncertainty longer than is comfortable.

Looking is easy.
Seeing is not.

Most of us are trained—by education, by work, by culture—to respond quickly. We reward decisiveness. We admire confidence. Over time, speed begins to masquerade as wisdom. Having an answer becomes more important than understanding the question.

Discernment works differently.

Some of the most consequential mistakes I’ve witnessed—in business, leadership, and faith—were not caused by bad intentions or lack of intelligence. They were caused by incomplete seeing. Someone reacted before understanding the system. Someone solved the wrong problem exceptionally well. Someone confused urgency with importance.

I have done all three.

Having “eyes to see” is not a compliment. It is a responsibility. It implies that clarity is something to be earned slowly and used carefully. Insight, once gained, creates obligation.

That is where the word sent matters.

To be sent is not merely to go. It is to go on behalf of something larger than oneself. It implies stewardship, accountability, and purpose. Being sent assumes that what you have seen is not meant to terminate with you.

Much of my professional life has unfolded at the intersection of numbers, decisions, and people—often under pressure. I’ve learned that financial statements can tell the truth, but only if you ask the right questions. Metrics reveal patterns, but only if you’re willing to linger long enough to notice what doesn’t fit.

Clear seeing rarely arrives with drama. More often, it shows up as quiet discomfort. A sense that something doesn’t add up. A realization that the obvious answer is probably incomplete.

Experience tempts us to skip that discomfort. Pattern recognition is efficient. Sometimes it’s accurate. Sometimes it isn’t. Discernment requires a humility that admits experience can become a liability if it hardens into certainty.

This is just as true in matters of faith.

For many of us, belief was first received as inheritance—language, assumptions, and practices handed down before we were old enough to question them. That inheritance can be a gift. It can also become fragile if it cannot withstand honest examination.

The phrase often attributed to Jesus—“Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 13:9; cf. Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8)—is frequently softened by familiarity. In context, it is not an invitation to spiritual superiority. It is a warning. Seeing and hearing rightly would cost something. It would disrupt comfortable categories. It would require response.

Discernment and discipleship are inseparable. What we see eventually shapes what we do. And what we refuse to see shapes us just as surely.

There is also a deeply personal dimension to this idea.

In recent years, I’ve spent time tracing family histories—names, dates, migrations, quiet lives that left little written record. The work has reminded me how easily people disappear from memory. How much meaning can be lost if no one pauses to notice, to record, to ask what shaped them.

Seeing, in this sense, becomes an act of love. Attention offered across generations. A refusal to let lives be reduced to census lines and headstones.

Legacy, I’ve come to believe, is not built primarily through accomplishment. It is built through attentiveness. Through decisions made with care, relationships handled with integrity, and responsibilities carried without spectacle.

If someone were to read an epitaph someday and encounter the phrase sent with eyes to see, I would hope they would not hear certainty. I would hope they would hear posture.

A posture of paying attention before speaking.
Of listening longer than required.
Of resisting the urge to rush toward closure.

I would hope they would hear someone who tried—imperfectly, often haltingly—to see clearly enough to act responsibly.

And then to be sent onward.

Not because the work was finished, but because it was carried as far as it could be.

Thinking this way does not diminish the desire for many more years. If anything, it sharpens it. It reframes daily work not as something to get through, but something to be present within. It reminds me that clarity is not a destination. It is a practice.

Every season sends us again.

The question is not whether we will act. We always do.
The question is whether we will see well enough to act wisely.

If the end of my life someday requires a single line, I hope it points not to certainty, but to attentiveness. Not to arrival, but to faithfulness.

Sent.
With eyes to see.

My epitaph

 A Chatgpt thread:

I hope I have many more years but just in case, based on what you know about me right now, write my epitaph.

Here is an epitaph shaped by what you’ve shared—your work, your faith, your love of people and legacy, and your quiet insistence on doing things the right way:

---

Steven R. Perryman
Husband. Father. Grandfather. Friend.

He sought truth over comfort,
stewarded well what was entrusted to him,
and helped others see more clearly—
in business, in faith, and in life.

He believed work should have dignity,
leadership should serve,
and a life well lived should leave
people, families, and communities stronger.

Faithful to the end.
Sent with eyes to see.

---

If you’d like, I can also:

• Make a shorter, stone-engraving version

• Write a more poetic or more plainspoken version

• Adapt it as a closing paragraph for a memoir, family history, or legacy letter

• Write one that your grandchildren would read differently at 15, 35, and 65

You still have a lot of chapters left—but this one already reads well.

Why do you include "sent with eyes to see."

That phrase is there for three layered reasons, and I included it deliberately—not as ornament, but as summary.

1. It reflects how you move through the world

You are not simply curious; you are attentive.
Whether you’re reading financial statements, tracing family lines, coaching leaders, or wrestling honestly with Scripture, you keep asking:

• What’s really going on here?

• What’s beneath the surface?

• What am I missing?

“Eyes to see” captures that posture better than words like intelligent or analytical. It’s about perception with responsibility.

2. It carries a biblical resonance without being performative

The phrase echoes Jesus’ refrain:

“Whoever has eyes to see, let them see.”

That isn’t about certainty or triumphalism. It’s about discernment, humility, and willingness to be changed by what is seen. That fits your faith as you’ve lived it—not loud, not brittle, not defensive, but engaged and honest.

And “sent” matters just as much. It implies:

• vocation, not just belief

• responsibility, not just insight

• action, not withdrawal

You’ve consistently treated insight as something to be used in service, not hoarded.

3. It functions as a benediction, not a conclusion

Most epitaphs summarize the past. That line subtly points forward.

“Sent with eyes to see” reads less like he arrived and more like he was entrusted and dispatched. It leaves room for mystery, hope, and continuation—especially meaningful for children and grandchildren who will read it long after you’re gone.

It says, in effect:

He saw clearly enough to act faithfully—and then he was sent onward.

If you’d prefer, I can:

• Ground it more explicitly in Scripture

• Make it more understated

• Replace it with a line that leans more toward legacy, service, or family

• Or write three alternate closing lines, each with a different theological or philosophical weight

But as it stands, that line isn’t decorative.
It’s diagnostic.