Woke Vs. Awake – The Great American Divide

I read an interesting article this morning in the Epoch Times. It talked about identity politics and how it was like a bad religion.

It’s a religion where sin isn’t a commonality but attributed to one group, and unlike Christianity, there can be never be anything to rectify it.

It is a great article, and you can read it for yourself here.

It also got me thinking a little bit. I believe two movements are going on in America right now. There is the ‘woke’ movement and, for lack of a better term, what I’ll call the ‘awake’ movement.

THE WOKE MOVEMENT

The woke movement is a movement that seeks to fundamentally change our society, to place value on someone’s identity alone (race, gender, sexual orientation), and reward those in one category while punishing those in another. It is a movement that claims it’s about justice while simultaneously it ignores the black lives that are destroyed and lost (in the violence it incites). To it, they are an unfortunate casualty.

It compares itself to the American Revolution while also condemning those who took part in that revolution. In reality, it is the farthest thing from the American Revolution. The American Revolution was about liberty and freedom. The woke revolution is about contrition and retribution.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

If there is any revolution that it can compare to, it would be the French Revolution. While the French Revolution was inspired by the American Revolution, it quickly devolved into mob rule. Over Forty thousand people were executed in the name of justice. Even many of the revolution’s original leaders (like Robespierre) found themselves on the chopping block (losing their lives in the end).

All revolutions start with the goal of justice, but it is where its leaders look to for guidance that determines its direction. Do they look toward a higher power, or are they lead by their own feelings and understanding?

Feelings ruled the French Revolution. Ultimately, it ended in the installment of a dictator (Napolean). It’s a pattern we see repeated over and over in history. We all know about the totalitarian regimes of this past century that came to power by taking advantage of their citizens’ feelings.

THE AWAKE MOVEMENT

The Awake movement is a direct response to the woke movement. It doesn’t deny the reality of the world. It recognizes that many minorities in our country are at an educational and economic disadvantage. It understands that this is something that we have to work toward correcting. However, it rejects the idea that our society is inherently racist/evil, and believes that the best way to empower those at a disadvantage is to change the policies and social conditions that created this climate.

It sees the woke movement as pushing bad policies and values even farther and capitalizing off pain to further a racist, Marxist, and anti-God agenda. Our media and educational systems have championed these agendas for years. If you disagree, then you are racist, sexist, or a bigot. That kind of attack has done well in silencing dissent.

It’s much easier to go about our comfortable lives and say nothing. No one wants those kinds of labels placed on them. So that’s exactly what many of us have done. We have kept silent, focused on our own lives and our families.

REVELATION 3:16

As I was thinking about all this, though, something else came to my mind, and that was revelation 3:16. In it, God says:

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Revelations 3:16

What does that mean, and how does that apply to today? Well, I believe it has a direct application to the times we find ourselves in. I can see it, especially in my own life.

For a long time, I’ve been lukewarm. If I disagreed with someone’s values, I remained silent. I held back my own beliefs/values, thinking that I was considerate or tolerant. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I wasn’t considerate or tolerant. I was simply doing what was comfortable, what was easiest, and what took the least amount of effort. I wasn’t concerned about the other person. I was concerned with how others saw me.

In our culture, we are rewarded for that exact behavior, and as a result, sometimes we confuse being comfortable and doing what is easy with being caring and considerate. In reality, it is a false compassion. It is a self-gratifying compassion.

THE WORK AHEAD

Decades of keeping our beliefs to ourselves and trying not to offend others has only resulted in a PC echo chamber that has culminated in much of the hatred, rioting, and violence that we see out there now.

There is serious work ahead, and it can’t begin until we get beyond the fear of what others might think of us or what labels they may put on us. We can not fear the judgment of man. If we allow it to cripple us, then our values are worthless. We might as well not even have them.

Now more than ever, we have to stand up for what we believe (to take up our cross and follow after Jesus’ example). To fight back against a dangerous and extreme agenda. No matter the hate or anger that might align itself against us.

God is on the throne. He has already achieved victory. It is far better to play a small role in that victory (follow his will) and lose everything than to remain silent and go about our own lives.

How we go forward from here will be how history judges us. For many of us, it’s time to take a stand. To not allow the legacy media, cancel culture mob, or weaponized political correctness to keep us silent. The cost is far too great.