1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: and look! The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter—on the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter.
2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, more than the living who are still alive.
3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
-Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 (NKJV)
Jihadis For Jesus
God warns us, in Deut. 4:2 (and many other places) to refrain from adding to or taking away from his word. Verses 1-3 above are a part of his Word. Part of me hates having to print them because Jihadis for Jesus cults (activist groups who’ve commandeered the faith to introduce an alternative gospel to lead astray as many as possible) have misrepresented the faith and perverted God’s good intentions by hijacking the language. There’s nothing new under the sun, it has all been done before. I don’t want to derail the conversation but, I will need to (briefly) contrast biblical Jesus vs. Che Guevara Jesus (the lord and savior of the Jihadis for Jesus cults) so we can have a proper context for the discussion that follows.
Oppress: 1a: archaic: SUPPRESS b: to crush or burden by abuse of power or authority 2: to burden spiritually or mentally: weigh heavily upon.
Oppression: 1a: unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power b: something that oppresses esp. in being unjust or an excessive exercise of power 2: a sense of being weighed down in body or mind: DEPRESSION.
Definitions from Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition.
Unfortunately, too many have allowed themselves to be programmed to react reflexively and viscerally to various trigger words. Some of those being: oppression, oppressed, oppressors, and power, all of which are found in verses 1-3 above. Like Pavlov’s dogs, individuals as well as groups, must respond in a certain manner when they’ve been cued and stimulated. Upon being exposed to certain trigger words one is obligated to suspend critical thinking and react with intense emotions and sentimentality. Any context beyond the immediate explosive emotional state is to be disregarded and one is required to fully lose oneself in an intense emotional experience. Anything less than this proves the individual does in fact hate the oppressed class and is part of the oppressor group.
Let’s talk about an example. Circa 2020 there were a lot of riots around the world. Theoretically this was all in the name of “justice” and to fight oppression, etc. Is that really the case?
Think about someone who had their business destroyed as a result of these (mostly peaceful, although fiery) protests. They shed tears as a result of having their lives unjustly upended, destroyed (without due process). There was no one to comfort them because the power (of the mob, the mainstream media, corrupt religious organizations, governments, etc.) was on the side of the oppressors and against the innocent, without justification.
Since we’ll be talking about oppression we need to think of it in an objective sense; Not in a secular subjective sense where a double standard is deployed to claim “oppression” for an extreme minority while justifying oppressing the majority (the “cry bully”).
Let’s have a quick recap…
Chapter 1: We realize everything is cyclical, regardless of how we feel about it, we’re stuck in a cycle we can’t escape from.
Chapter 2: To deal with the entrapped feeling we focus on pursuing our self interest and making life better. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. The satisfaction doesn’t last and we become unsettled again.
Chapter 3: The answer seems to be to embrace the cycles and live “in the moment” (while keeping an eye on eternity). This helps for awhile but, ultimately will not be satisfying for long either.
One of the biggest dangers to becoming increasingly self focused is to feel the world is increasingly against us. Because the “injustice” of our own entrapment is oppressing our mind, the natural overflow of our heart is for our mouth to begin speaking about the “oppression” all around us. Becoming hyper-sensitive to oppression we see it everywhere. There’s oppression under my bed, in my closet, in my sandwich, everywhere outside, everywhere on t.v. Everything is made of oppression. Yes, things have in fact become this ridiculous. This ends in a fatalistic and nihilistic attitude; it would be better if nothing existed since everything is so corrupted by “oppression”!
Of course the answer, and the desire, is to become a “Jihadi for Jesus” and set the world straight. Too many times this is a superficial reaction to try and deal with a deeper issue. The situation isn’t as dire as it’s portrayed to be by the media and other corrupt organizations as mentioned previously.
Relationships are an answer to all this (well, sort of…). Having grounded individuals with whom we have common interest can go a long way in keeping us from becoming extreme in our views. It’s not about compromising or always finding a “third way”. It is about being balanced, with the help of those with whom we have mutual respect. This is not to be confused with those who will create a hivemind which only validates those errors we’ve already come to believe.
Verses 13-16 relate how we may be surprised from whom enlightenment may come. It could be from an unexpected source. We also never know how we may benefit others. Even if we, or someone else comes from nothing and has a significant impact for good, it will be forgotten eventually. Even though we strive for the good of others, to some degree it’s self serving. In the long run, it, like us, will be forgotten by time.
In the end relationships, helping others, doing good, overcoming oppression, all of it is vanity.
So, what’s the point of it all…?
Top image: Fantasy Character courtesy of Echonn. Che Guevara image courtesy Open Clip Art Vectors. Both via www.pixabay.com