“DON’T SAY CONSPIRACY!”
The other day, as I was getting ready to leave after a workout at Planet Fitness, I had a very disturbing conversation with a guy who was about my age. He was really into conspiracy theories, and apparently President Trump was going to deal with them all.
Now, I am most definitely not a fan of Donald Trump, but I can understand why many people are. I grew up in the country. I get why people don’t like being called “Appalachians,” or “hillbillies,” or “fly-over country.” I don’t like being called “the rust belt,” or even “the Bible belt.” Trump tapped into an aquifer of anger for decades of mistrust of our government, and the desire to be taken seriously. I get that.
But all these conspiracy theories really worry me. Do we really believe that our military could have bombed North Korea and Iran into submission, without the word leaking out? That was the talk of the gentleman in the locker room.
However, on further review, it occurred to me that we all (yes, me too) are prone to believe in conspiracies. I suspect that there are at least two reasons for this.
One reason is that there really are government conspiracies that are unmasked at times. Therefore, it is easy to believe that our government might be engaging in other conspiracies.
But there is a second reason: Conspiracy thinking caters to our innate human tendency to want to pass the buck, to pretend that we are not part of the problem.
Isaiah lived at a time when there really were a lot of political conspiracies. Foreign powers were meddling in Judean politics, and some within Judah were siding with various foreign powers.
And yet, here is what the prophet is told,
Is. 8:11 For thus the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
13 “It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 “Many will stumble over them,
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught.”
Notice that believers are not to get caught up in conspiracy theories, or even in conspiracy realities. Rather, they are to fear the LORD, even dread the LORD, and regard the LORD as holy.
But then, right after Isaiah is told to fear the LORD, he is told that the LORD is a sanctuary.
Too much concern and talk about conspiracies is not appropriate for believers. This applies whether those believers think that President Trump (or anyone else) is the best thing that ever happened to America, or the worst thing. Our focus needs to be on God, who is both the one to be feared and trusted. Only then can we honestly say that God is also the one who is our sanctuary.
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