The Consumption of Vitriol

Proverbs 21:23, "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles."

Matthew 15:18-20, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19) For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20) These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

Ephesians 4:29-30, " Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

Colossians 3:8, "But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth."

Do Not Be Fooled!

Vitriol. It's everywhere. There isn't a subject that can be spoken of in this day and age where you won't find it lurking in the thoughts and souls of others. It's increasing at a frightening pace. No rhyme or reason. It just is. It exists for a purpose that the enemy is clearly trying to perpetuate and we, as Christians, should not participate in, nor get sucked into, the vacuum! As long as there are humans, there will always be some form of vitriol but I am going to be bold in saying now, that the entire world seems to be consumed with it. They are pushing agendas and beliefs on those who disagree, and it has escalated to a frightening level with the 2016 presidential elections in the USA. People lost their sanity over what they saw or perceived as a threat. Remember, perception is reality. They began an exorbitant amount of protests, lies, baiting those who have differing opinions, and then began to push harder their agenda of hate. They tried, unsuccessfully, to pass it off as tolerance. Sure their "followers" believe the lies and bought into their rhetoric, but all the others, not so much. Vitriol then was taken to a whole new level. So much so that due to the intensity of it, and those behind it, has caused laws to be enacted, free speech to be slowly taken away, freedom to "think" is being attacked, parental rights to vaccinate or not is becoming "law", homeschooling is being targeted, and a number of other "agendas" are being enforced and pushed. All in the name of tolerance which by every stretch of the word is the exact opposite of what THEIR definition is and the exact opposite of what their fabricated, and regurgitated, ideologies have become in their fantastical society. Their voices are becoming deafening.

Before we go any further, let's see what vitriol actually means.

Vitriol - "something felt to resemble vitriol especially in caustic quality especially: virulence of feeling or of speech."
Virulence - "bitter hostility; rancor, extreme bitterness or malignity of temper"

Now that we've established the meaning of vitriol, can you see it all around you? Are you experiencing it from those you know and/or love, or have you in the past? If not, wait. It's coming to your door, especially if you are bold in your beliefs, if you are bold in your Faith, if you stand for the rightness of things and if you aren't afraid to voice your opinion through the eyes of God who gave us this platform! For such a time as this......remember though, that if we choose to follow the inerrant teaching of Jesus Christ through His spoken word in the bible, we need to remain neutral as to this world because like Jesus, our kingdom is not part of this world. The harshest vitriol comes from those who are not in Christ, who believe in only themselves or false pagan gods/deities, and those who claim to be Christian but jump on every "cause" train jumping at every chance to be part of "change" also in the name of tolerance. Those so-called Christians cannot support and uphold such tragic, abominable, and caustic "causes" such as abortion (at any stage), the homosexuality/transgender equality ruse, gun rights restrictions, the infringement and restriction of freedom of speech and religion, etc., taking a backseat to the far left liberals who are trying to dictate the "norm" for everyone, while allowing the practice of these agendas to permeate our schools, indoctrinating our children and tearing down our family structure. The word "vitriol" is used to present an argument and is used to characterize an extremely caustic, though very often a literate, verbal attack or argument posed in highly abusive terms. Abusive. Yes. That is what kind of society we are living in at this very time. Abusive verbal attacks are being strewn about as though it's okay to do so while at the same time, the same people who perpetuate this abuse, are screaming the loudest to STOP the abuse and bullying in schools and in our society. Do you see how the devil confuses and destroys the thinking mind and diminishes it to mush?

While many people, both Christians and non-believers, can argue about the degrees of acceptability or the differences between passionate debate and insult, vitriolic speech is a form of speech that undeniably crosses over the line of decency by any general standard. Vitriol reviles, vilifies, insults, belittles and assaults the opposing parties and is where it crosses over into abuse. It goes beyond the normal, healthy passion and snakes into becoming mean-spirited, spiteful and hateful and as such, reduces the value of the original argument when value is even present at all. You see, venom, bile, bitterness, sarcasm, hatred, contempt, and scorn are all words that are synonymous with vitriol. In the scope of vitriolic speech, this is the common attitude that's often displayed when speaking of such things as God’s saving grace, eternal security, or His guidelines and Truths. Many of you may not connect the dots but the majority of the vitriol being consumed and spit out today stems from opposing the Word of God and all that is taught throughout His Word. Period. Abortion, murder, worshiping pagan gods, selfishness, greed, homosexuality, religion and the list goes on. I believe you can see the correlation. It's obvious to me that there's more going on here than meets the eye. It's an all out war against Christians, everything we stand for, everything God commands and everything perfectly created. One Scripture verse in particular comes to mind, Ephesians 6:12, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." 

Vitriol speech sort of reminds me of a rabid dog foaming at the mouth. It's not attractive. It's not helpful. It won't disseminate the information that they are trying to get across. It's harmful. And like a foaming at the mouth dog, you don't really want to get too close! Here are just a few headlines that have been in the news in the past. I will not link to them but feel free to look them up if you find them interesting enough to read.
1) Violent leftists now targeting children: Antifa threatens young daughter of pro-Trump journalist
2) Students threatened with doxxing if they join conservatives
3) Fearing for their safety, Bay Area conservatives meet in secret
4) In their own words: Anti-Trump ‘resistance’ leaders say they want to make America ‘ungovernable’
5) ‘Leftist Fight Club’ trains UCF students to fight Republicans
6) MSNBC’s Tur suggests Trump will be responsible for ‘suspicious deaths’ of journalists
7) Sen. Warren: It is time for structural change in America
8) Clinton: 'I'm living rent free inside of Donald Trump's brain'

So what all of these headlines have in common is that they illustrate just how far the left is reaching new levels of violence and hysteria. Every single second there's more headlines in the MSM (main stream media) attacking something to its death, or at least trying to anyway. Democrats and liberals alike can barely keep up with their problems with Trump, real or imagined, raising some to wonder if their perpetual opposition is undermining a more focused message or agenda. This simply means that the left has lost its collective mind. No other way to look at it. They are the ones causing such division and they're creating falsehoods to gain support for their destructive, yet emotional, agendas. They can't do it with truth. They can't do it with peace. So they are doing it with vitriol. With hate. With lies. With bile. With created chaos. With new causes. They’re painting Trump as some sort of über-villain with some kind of superhuman evil powers that's clearly designed to take down the free world. Or so they'd like everyone to believe! They are actually painting everything America stands for as caustic and failing. The free world is being taken down by the left, the Democrats and all of their followers they've gained for their cult. And yes, it's a cult in many ways. None of those that are spewing the vile, evil wickedness against all that God has created and ordained want freedom of anything UNLESS it's on their side, their beliefs, or lack thereof, or their agendas. It's clear. The leftists agenda and those perpetuating it, are now irrational and basically insane. Most of these actions and some of the verbiage can actually be seen in the mental health community. Fact. But sadly, the aggressiveness and the carelessness in which the left, and MSM are pushing this agenda, is also driving millions of Americans right over the edge! Right into extreme anger, faux victimhood, violence, depression, debauchery, addiction, despair and suicide. This, too, is also frightening. Look around. You'll see it too!

Love Trumps Vitriol

These conditions, these heart conditions are caused by the consumption of vitriol. Plain and simple. Sadly, the wrong side is forcing everyone to consume it by force-feeding lies and manipulation of truth. The media plays into it and they have orchestrated this very precisely. They began conditioning everyone early on to accept these fabricated issues and to divide our nation. No longer are the days of accepting eachother's differences of opinions. No longer are the days of true tolerance for and the respect of individuality. This was designed this way by those in the media, the agenda and the propaganda. It saddens me, but it's gone above and beyond anything I've ever expected to see in my lifetime. For the most part, as Christians, understand the importance of truth and out duty as believers to protect and guard the doctrinal truths of Scripture. The New Testament authors repeatedly warn us to be vigilant against the inevitable distortion of truth that results when prideful and arrogant influences invade the Church as a whole and it's happening as I write this very sentence! In the following Scriptures, we can see the warnings clearly.
1 Corinthians 16:13, "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."
1 Timothy 6:20, "O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—"
2 Peter 3:17, " You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;"

With all of this vitriol and hate growing in leaps and bounds, it's hard sometimes not to get caught up in it. Maybe not for a face to face confrontation, but in the age of social media and the bravado that comes along with it, many will, and have, taken to the platforms to spew their own vitriol in response. Now Christians are by no means perfect in any way, we are just forgiven and covered by His blood! However, we ARE to use Jesus as our example to live by each day and use His words to navigate our lives in this world. Remember, we are not OF this world, we just live in it! That comes with a heavy price and a large weight bearing load! We have a responsibility not to propagate what is in the world, but instead confront it with love and Truth. We have a responsibility not to react with the same hateful attitude as those in the world react, nor should we allow it to reside inside of our thoughts for long as we will then become what is unpleasing to the Lord. Our testimony will weaken and that's the last thing we should want to have happen! John 13:34-35 tells us, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." This may sound difficult to do when facing a world consumed by vitriol, but God never told us following Him would be easy!

You seem when Jesus was asked who we should love, He said we should love everyone. Everyone encompasses those we are most different from and whom we are most at odds with. Jesus told the story about The Good Samaritan. Most of us know this story well. If you aren't familiar with it, you can find it in Luke 10:29–37. It's one of the most beloved gospel stories for young and old alike. In a nutshell, a man going from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by robbers who stripped him and beat him. A priest and a Levite pass by without helping him. But a Samaritan stops and cares for him, taking him to an inn where the Samaritan pays for his care. In order to fully grasp the importance of the story, we must first understand the times and concerns of first-century Judea. Judea is where Jesus and his followers lived. And to do this, we must also understand the relationship between Jews and Samaritans. This is sometimes hinted at in the modern interpretations of the parable but rarely fully grasped. So who were the Samaritans? They were not simply the outcasts as many would like to believe: They were actually the despised enemies of the Jews. Yet, where the listeners would have expected a Jew to be the hero of Jesus’ story since the Jewish nation and people are the apple of His eye, instead they would have been shocked to hear that it is a Samaritan. Only by understanding this reality to its fullest intent, does the powerful message of the parable come through. The parable evokes a story of life, not of death and in comparison we can reference 2 Chronicles 28. It recounts how the prophet Oded convinced the Samaritans to assist and help their Judean captives. As you can see, it insists enemies can prove to be neighbors, that compassion has no boundaries, and that judging people on the basis of their religion or ethnicity will leave us dying in a ditch and left for the vultures to peck at. No kind of life is this and it's a valuable lesson we all need to learn, and moreso, apply. Christians should be vigilant in trying to live this good Samaritan life as best as we can because we must not become full of the consuming vitriol of those who are wanting to see us be left to die.

The term, "good Samaritan" is thrown around so loosely these days. People use it to describe someone who stops to assist someone stranded on the side of the road, someone in need of any help whatsoever. Yes, by doing those good deeds can, and will, show the love of Christ for sure, however, that wasn’t the point when Jesus told the parable. You see, to the Jews that were listening to Jesus, the Samaritans were the most despised of all people groups. To them, there was no such thing as a "good" Samaritan because they believed there was not an ounce of good in any Samaritans! It would be like saying someone was a "good white supremacist" or a "good black panther member" or a "good KKK member" or any number of derogatory, horrific, and obscene group. So by comparison, you can see just how the Samaritans were viewed. Not in a good light! But by making the morally inferior, theologically incorrect, racially despised Samaritan the hero of the story, Jesus was saying to all of us that we should love ALL of our neighbors, even those we disagree with, those who frustrate us, those who have a completely opposite world view, those who vote differently, and even those people who have deeply hurt us. This is very hard to do, especially for those who have had very traumatic experiences in their lives. Jesus didn't tell us that we must befriend those who have hurt us or abused us. He didn't tell us we had to allow them back into our lives. Jesus didn't call us to respond with malice or vindictiveness to people who mistreat, disrespect, hurt, or offend us, even when it's clearly justified. He called us to do the exact opposite - to love. BE love. Be truth.

We also need to be careful not to allow our concern for truth over-ride our love and tolerance of people. By tolerance, I mean the original definition not the recent skewered version of it's definition. We are called to be judgmental of bad ideas and actions, while at the same time, be kind and tolerant to those who may hold them or act upon them. Sometimes it’s honestly difficult to defend the truth without becoming proud of the fact we hold the truth in the first place. It's our nature to be prideful and self-satisfaction can often lead to vitriol as we conquer the false ideas besieging us. Yes, Christians can consume vitriol as well. Vitriol can also be defined as a "biting sharpness of feeling or expression."  This is all around us today! When our proud vigilance turns into acidity, bitterness, or cattiness, it’s time to examine what we are trying to achieve and what we are projecting to those around us. Remember, someone is ALWAYS watching! Don't be fooled when you think nobody sees your actions or reactions or hears your words. There are always eyes watching and ears listening.

Be Kind and Speak in Love

Since we are living in a culturally vitriolic age, and since the world says revenge, retribution and retaliation are justified, we, as Christians should desire to make a difference in the world. In that desire, we have to be different from the world, stand out from the world, and not be quiet in our stance. In this age, Christians must embody the virtues of courage, conviction and civility. The virtue of conviction is what binds us to our most cherished and least changing beliefs. It grounds us in biblical truth and forms our core, the core that gives us the strength to stand solidly with both feet planted firmly. Courage is the special virtue that calls us to act boldly, far-reaching beyond the horizons of possibility. This must be guided by civility that will bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are called to be a present witness within our culture, not screaming lunatics and finger-pointing "judges." If we can master those three virtues, maybe we will be able to make progress on the seemingly intractable challenges of our day. So much is at stake right now. I believe strongly those profound things at stake are being lost in the screaming matches, the battle, the abuse, and the downright insanity. But isn't that what the enemy really wants anyway? Absolutely. He wants nothing more than to divide and conquer. He wants nothing more than to break down the entire system that is based on Christianity and rebuild it as a "free for all" society so he can reign supreme over this world the way he wants to and desires.

He sees to it that the secular media and progressive elites attack our faith to the core of our being. He sees to it that the liberals and atheists blast Christians for offering prayers for the victims of school shootings, or any other tragedy that occurs because of evil doers, attacking the sincere faith of fellow Americans. He sees to it that the verbal filters are unhinged on social media taunting the Christians to react in ways that aren't Christ like. He sees to it that the verbal viral violence mirrors the violence in the real world that has infiltrated our families, schools, churches, concerts, streets. He wants us to act out just like his minions are acting out and doing his bidding but we must refrain from doing so because it tarnishes our testimony and it weakens our ministry. Some of what's been taking place is the exact opposite of what Jesus and the Bible teach us in responding to such things. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, and to forgive over and over and over and over again. No matter how many times we must forgive, we MUST forgive. Jesus also taught us that souls matter more than anything else in this fallen world as we are only here temporarily! None of know when our time is up and we're called home to be with the Lord. But that's just it. Us Christians will be called home to be with the Lord, but not those that are lost and reject the Savior! And the truth is souls matter much more than any of the institutions of our society. Sure, it's true that none of us want to lose our freedoms and we can see them dwindling away little by little. To many of us, it's certainly a fight worth praying for and battling for in the public arena, but in a civilized manner. However, if the end result of our battling and arguing causes us to, in any way, view our opposing opponents as our enemies, while also forgetting their eternal worth, then all we've done is be like those that spew the vitriol we detest. We've then just done the exact opposite of what God intended us to do on this earth in the first place. It's not possible to love our "enemies" when we're screaming at them in a fit of uncontrolled, unforgiving rage and calling them names, no matter how one tries to "justify" those actions.

The Bible clearly teaches us that we are not supposed to battle and fight PEOPLE at all! Instead we're actually in a spiritual battle against unseen forces once again referencing Ephesians 6:12, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." 
Attacks on Christianity are a guarantee and the attacks come hard and fast from those who don't believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Attacks come in many forms but no matter how they are presented, every form of our faith, our Lord and our Creator God will be attacked. Everything good is being seen as evil. Everything once believed to be evil, is now being called good. Jesus promised attacks would happen and that we would be hated as He was hated. However, He didn't say we shouldn't defend the faith, but Jesus didn't want us to do it with the same tactics and worldly attitudes as the anti-Christian crowd. We're supposed to be the salt and the light. We're NOT supposed to pour salt into the wounds of people who don't know Jesus, and we're not supposed to blind them with the "light" of our brilliant retaliations. What purpose does that serve the Kingdom? None. We don't want to blind anyone from seeing the light of the kingdom and if we retaliate like the lunacy we are experiencing today, we will blind them from seeing the Light and knowing the Truth.


Ephesians 4:29-32, " Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31) Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Amazing words to live by....and in the vitriolic days we are experiencing now, those words are more profound, more amazing and more needed than ever before!


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