When I read Insanitybytes22 post, I thought of this post, https://citizentom.com/2020/08/25/shoot-me-i-am-a-domestic-enemy-of-the-state/.
Imagine being President Donald Trump. I don’t if he is a good Christian or not, but much of what he must do is just stand and bear the wrath of his opponents.
How well do the rest of us do at standing? Contemplate Ephesians 6:10-20. Think about what that means. When you are president, a secular job with a spiritual purpose, when you are trying to reason with unreasonable people often all you can do is mutter Bible passages to yourself.
I landed here in the 9th circuit of hell quite against my will some 45 years ago. My parents fled here, from Hawaii at the time. Hawaii really is my spiritual home, paradise, so the shift from the tropics to the grey, rainy, hostility of the PNW was a shock to the system already.
And by “hostility” I hope it’s quite clear I’m not just talking about the weather. Hawaii is (or was) very family oriented, a blending of cultures, everyone is your aunt, and kid’s sports matter. It’s a tight knit community in a way. Contrast that to a land where family, tradition, respect, roles, has now been totally replaced by politics, ideology, and shared beliefs. Rugged individualism rules the day. Family isn’t “family,” family looks like whatever we want it to, and you can choose your “family” just as you can choose your gender. Also, if you don’t…
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Citizen Tom 
Thanks for the reblog, Tom. I really liked your comment and the connection to what the President has endured. You’re quite right about Ephesians 6:10-20. Romans 15:1 also says, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.” I love that verse in terms of leadership.
I have to differ with Doug’s opinion that suggests, “A person who stands to bear wrath from his opponents is not without responsibility for incurring such wrath upon himself.” Somebody smart once taught me that I was not responsible for anyone’s wrath, ever. Conversely however, nobody else is responsible for mine. Nobody can really “make” you angry or wrathful or whatever.
LOL, absolutely nobody likes to hear this truth, but if you’re hating on Trump or rioting out on the streets, your wrath is totally your fault and your responsibility. That is true in any given situation.
The value of wrath exists only in the mind of the one imposing it. Although, the true value of wrath is that the object of your wrath knows about it.
Sadly, as you suggest, imposing your wrath has it’s consequences, across any level.
I recognize your remark about someone in your past telling you that the wrath befalling you was not your fault/responsibility. Such is the condition of being a victim of some level of abuse, or even death, from another’s wrath. Those are accurate words conveyed to you… and it hurts knowing they had to be said to you at some point in your life.
@insanitybytes22
@Doug
@tsalmon
Thanks, and thanks for the reference to Romans 15:1 and what follows. Hope Doug and many others read it.
Lovely writing IB, lyrical, even poetic. You must live out on the peninsula somewhere. I will read it a few times I think.
This seems apropos for some reason:
😌
A person who stands to bear wrath from his opponents is not without responsibility for incurring such wrath upon himself.
Thus endeth the lesson for the day.
@Doug
So, if someone hates you without reason, you are still responsible?
Since when has anyone since the beginning of time hated someone and not have a reason??
@Doug
Jesus was hated without a reason.
We don’t need a reason to hate someone. We need a motive, but not a reason.
Nah.. much too weak. You can squeeze a difference for legal applications but as it certainly relates to human emotion you might cite a definition difference but they both measure the same in application. For all the hate that Christ inspired in his day.. reason and motive were the same depending how one might have defined their hatred. End result to Christ was certainly the same by those who had that hatred toward Him. EVERYONE has a reason and/or a motive for doing something. Like the cops say… “He had reason to kill the victim, but he lacked the motive to carry it out.” or “He had motive and opportunity to kill the victim.” Kinda fits both ways.
@Doug
Jesus cited this verse in John 15:25.
In the context in which I used it, “reason” is a synonym for “cause”. Jesus did not inspire hatred.
Because Jesus is holy, He is an object of hatred.
When we see someone who behaves better then we do, the very existence of that person judges us. A holy God by His very being judges us. We can either choose to accept that judgement and plea for mercy, or we can hate God.
Hate is as human as love. Not sure why it has to be so complex.
@Doug
The price of the gift of reason.
@Doug
There has been much written about that.