The mouthpiece of GodSince right around the age of 15, I have known that I am the Mouthpiece of God.
Each time I sit to write, stand to speak or tremble to sing, my entire relationship with Him gives rise to what comes out of me. The words flow with surety and strength, because they come from God. His values, His teachings, His insights and principles. I have been steeped in them for 60 years. They are part and parcel of my fiber and being. I am the repository of God’s Grace and Judgment and the winner of many religious Trivial Pursuit games, to boot.
I was invited to be His child, and I accepted. I was commanded to be His disciple and I eagerly took Peter and Paul’s chairs. They are a comfortable fit for me, and I have the capacity to carry on the work they started. It is clear to me that this is my calling.
Yet my bride flushes an angry crimson when I say it. And goes out of her way to contravene the will of God when I elucidate it. She denies my status as the Lord’s mouthpiece in this world, and thinks it a sacrilegious claim. She gapes in bewilderment at the erudite pronouncements I make, and has the effrontery to challenge the wisdom and irrefutable logic I bring to bear.
She states outright that none of us can claim to be the Mouthpiece of God. But I know this to be untrue, because I plainly see that I am not alone. God has also seen fit to anoint several others as His interpreters for this globe we inhabit. Rush Limbaugh is an obvious one, as is Glenn Beck … at least they believe so. I see the signs in Alan Grayson and Barack Obama as well. And though he’s a tad young for the title, I see Pastor Nathan laying a claim to the title each time he uses Grace as a hammer and answer for all life’s ills, as though God himself felt the same way.
But I am the mouthpiece of God. So who are these pretenders to stand against me?
And how can you judge the wheat from the chaff and thereby know which one to attend, so that you might live your life aright? It is false doctrine and an insult to common sense to say that we are all correct and on target. Touchy feely, all-inclusive and accommodating to the max, but wrong headed and ultimately useless for spiritual food and practical guidance. So you have to decide. God commands you to decide. It’s in the commentaries on dealing with false prophets. You can look it up.
Luther said the same: you better be a discerning listener, or you will be led like sheep to the slaughter. And he suggested several ways to discern such a thing. You will know that I am, in fact, the Mouthpiece of God, when what I say agrees with scripture.
• Not just with a single verse pulled out of context, but
• With numerous references and stories. And
• Not just with specific texts but with the overarching message of scriptures.
Further, what I say has to hold together with the kind of logic that can stand up to logical counter-argument.
So, obviously, I AM the Mouthpiece of God --- but only when I speak His gospel, not my own. The same is true of Rush and Glenn and Alan and Barack and even Nathan. But they are NOT the mouth piece of God when they just make stuff up. At that point they speak sacrilege, or pure garbage, or at best it’s just personal opinion. And so do I. I wish it weren’t true, but sometimes it is.
So if God’s dominant message for us is Grace, but I - or Rush – speak with a decided lack of it … then as much as we hate to admit it, neither of us is speaking on behalf of, or with the backing of God. I have a tough time with that because I keep discovering “Yeh-but” circumstances.
“Yeh-but, that guy is Satan’s spawn and as sure as Hell is in the basement, his policies will drag us all down the stairs. It is my obligation to negate him, regardless of what it takes.”
I don’t think God gives me that out. I sure wish he did, ‘cause, Boy, are there a lot of folks that ought to be negated. Maybe Rush and Alan don’t have the same problem. I just know it is a struggle for me.
So here’s my final assessment; I am a mouthpiece of God, but only when I share the message that comes from Him. The problem is that YOU have to make the judgment of when I’m speaking for Him and when it’s just plain old Joe who’s spouting off, because I don’t always know, myself. In good conscience, I always think I am an accurate and honorable mouthpiece, but in hindsight, I know that wasn’t the case, at least a couple of times, maybe a dozen. Could a been more. Whatever the number, I need you to be a discerning listener, or reader. So do Rush and Alan, I imagine.
So do you, I’d hazard a guess. So why don’t we all be careful what we say, and how we say it? Even at election time. I could be wrong. But then again, you know … I am a mouthpiece of God. By: Joe Anderson
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