It appears to be allergy season all over the country. I hear from my Facebook friends that people everywhere are dealing with the effects of allergies. I have been kind of "blah" all week for the same reason. In pondering the situation, and looking over the recent posts on my Facebook wall, something else came to mind.
Every time I think about denominations, exclusivity, or haughtiness in the church, my stomach feels a little queasy. That seems especially interesting in view of the fact that one of my fiercest supporters recently sent a link to a 33 page document on the python spirit. If you are not familiar with that spirit, you can see its manifestation in Acts 16 beginning in verse 16. The word translated "divination" in that verse is literally "python" in Greek. One of the interesting things about the python spirit, the author alleges, is that it is almost always found in connection with a spirit of haughtiness. Without going into a lot of detail, the python spirit hides in the darkness of our deceitfulness, dishonesty, and unrepented sin. We are all subject to its wiles.
Words mean things. If you are not familiar with the true definition of "haughtiness" use this one. Disdainfully proud, snobbish. That is from Dictionary.com. Or maybe you prefer to simply think of a haughty attitude as one that says, "I know better than you do." Of course for that to display haughtiness it would have to not be true. In other words, the person who says they know better (or more) than you do, would have to be wrong. There is always someone who knows better or knows more than we do. A large part of humility is acceptance of that fact.
A practice of mine over the past several years, when confronted with a statement or doctrine that does not sound quite right, is to assume the other person simply knows something I do not. That statement mostly refers to things theological, although one might suppose it could be applied to most anything. A good guess would be that, on average, half those things that sound odd probably are. That still leaves plenty of room to learn from people who might also seem a little odd.
In reading the 33 page document referenced above, it was obvious that the writer was either, a) being shown a revelation by the Holy Spirit, or b) completely out of his mind. Please keep in your mind that quoting scripture to support false doctrine is a favorite ploy of anyone who seeks to deceive. 2 Corinthians 11:14 reminds us that Satan himself will come as an angel of light. Of course then we also have to remind ourselves our warfare is not against flesh and blood beings. It is against spiritual forces. (Ephesians 6:12)
In case you are not putting all this together, if we see haughtiness in someone, we are really seeing a manifestation of the python spirit. This is deception in the most basic sense of the word. The person manifesting this spirit has no idea what the cause of his or her haughty attitude might be. A quick note here. It is much easier to see attitudinal problems in other people than in ourselves. In fact, attributing attitudes to other people is exactly what Jesus was speaking against when He said, "Judge not, that you be not judged, 'For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.'" (Matthew 7:1-2)
As with all spirits, the python spirit dwells in darkness. Yes, this blog is dedicated to demolishing the strongholds a religious spirit has erected in this valley. However, while the religious spirit is controlling the territory, we have to suspect the python spirit is affecting individuals who are unwittingly in league with the religious spirit. Perhaps that aids in understanding what must be done to break the power of the religious spirit, if not exactly how to go about it. Hey, keep in mind we see in part as does everyone else. As more information and a distinct strategy for our warfare is revealed we will certainly pass it along. In the meantime, we need to take some personal responsibility to get ourselves right rather than worrying about what is going on with our friends, neighbors, and other people with whom we associate. We do not want to make it all about us, but we are not going to be able to work change in anyone else anyway, so inside our skin is the place to concentrate our efforts. We must resist the urge to fix anyone else as long as there are things we need to fix in ourselves. "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13) There is a lot more to that passage than is usually taught. Maybe one day we can get into that. God bless!
Every time I think about denominations, exclusivity, or haughtiness in the church, my stomach feels a little queasy. That seems especially interesting in view of the fact that one of my fiercest supporters recently sent a link to a 33 page document on the python spirit. If you are not familiar with that spirit, you can see its manifestation in Acts 16 beginning in verse 16. The word translated "divination" in that verse is literally "python" in Greek. One of the interesting things about the python spirit, the author alleges, is that it is almost always found in connection with a spirit of haughtiness. Without going into a lot of detail, the python spirit hides in the darkness of our deceitfulness, dishonesty, and unrepented sin. We are all subject to its wiles.
Words mean things. If you are not familiar with the true definition of "haughtiness" use this one. Disdainfully proud, snobbish. That is from Dictionary.com. Or maybe you prefer to simply think of a haughty attitude as one that says, "I know better than you do." Of course for that to display haughtiness it would have to not be true. In other words, the person who says they know better (or more) than you do, would have to be wrong. There is always someone who knows better or knows more than we do. A large part of humility is acceptance of that fact.
A practice of mine over the past several years, when confronted with a statement or doctrine that does not sound quite right, is to assume the other person simply knows something I do not. That statement mostly refers to things theological, although one might suppose it could be applied to most anything. A good guess would be that, on average, half those things that sound odd probably are. That still leaves plenty of room to learn from people who might also seem a little odd.
In reading the 33 page document referenced above, it was obvious that the writer was either, a) being shown a revelation by the Holy Spirit, or b) completely out of his mind. Please keep in your mind that quoting scripture to support false doctrine is a favorite ploy of anyone who seeks to deceive. 2 Corinthians 11:14 reminds us that Satan himself will come as an angel of light. Of course then we also have to remind ourselves our warfare is not against flesh and blood beings. It is against spiritual forces. (Ephesians 6:12)
In case you are not putting all this together, if we see haughtiness in someone, we are really seeing a manifestation of the python spirit. This is deception in the most basic sense of the word. The person manifesting this spirit has no idea what the cause of his or her haughty attitude might be. A quick note here. It is much easier to see attitudinal problems in other people than in ourselves. In fact, attributing attitudes to other people is exactly what Jesus was speaking against when He said, "Judge not, that you be not judged, 'For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.'" (Matthew 7:1-2)
As with all spirits, the python spirit dwells in darkness. Yes, this blog is dedicated to demolishing the strongholds a religious spirit has erected in this valley. However, while the religious spirit is controlling the territory, we have to suspect the python spirit is affecting individuals who are unwittingly in league with the religious spirit. Perhaps that aids in understanding what must be done to break the power of the religious spirit, if not exactly how to go about it. Hey, keep in mind we see in part as does everyone else. As more information and a distinct strategy for our warfare is revealed we will certainly pass it along. In the meantime, we need to take some personal responsibility to get ourselves right rather than worrying about what is going on with our friends, neighbors, and other people with whom we associate. We do not want to make it all about us, but we are not going to be able to work change in anyone else anyway, so inside our skin is the place to concentrate our efforts. We must resist the urge to fix anyone else as long as there are things we need to fix in ourselves. "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13) There is a lot more to that passage than is usually taught. Maybe one day we can get into that. God bless!
I think even when we are right, we can exhibit a haughty spirit. Humility can and should still prevail while standing our ground for the truth.
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