As a forerunner, I often pursue topics that are ahead of the curve–and I’ve been doing it for much of my life. I learned how to travel in the spirit around twelve years ago, before almost anyone I knew was talking about it (you can read the story here). Over the past 4-5 years I have been focused toward not just trying to raise the dead, but teaching and providing an atmosphere for others to do the same–and only two other ministers I know do this. The past number of years the Lord has been leading me to learn and teach on immortality, and I have authored numerous books that speak of signs, wonders and miracles. In all of this running ahead of much of the pack, I have learned many things, one of which is: I am not the jackass whisperer.
No, really. I’m not. And why is this important to a forerunner? Because I run into it frequently–and if you blaze the trail for others in any area of life you need to hear this. Every time I publish a new book about the miraculous, and probably in almost every discussion I have on social media about resurrection, immortality, or the miraculous, I get a variety of people. Some are interested and want to hear more. Some are skeptical or have differing thoughts than I but we have a good discussion. Still others appear regularly on these threads with apparently no more goal than to disagree, and yet a fourth group appear out of nowhere, leveling the heresy finger, and expecting me to bow to their wishes.
I enjoy the first two, and the third group, while mildly entertaining and somewhat irritating all at once, is usually manageable. The fourth group, however, I am reaching a point of no tolerance for. Their seemingly only goal is to sow chaos and discord, doubt and confusion, and little to nothing they share is uplifting. Quite often their comments are full of baseless assumptions that anyone who has spent any time around me, this blog, or even just connected with me on social media will know are simply not true. Furthermore, they have the gall to tell me about the demonic nature of the contents of my books–books they have never read, mind you, nor would they ever be willing to.
I like to think of myself as someone who gives grace in a lot of situations (such as this one), but I have learned that at some point, I have to set boundaries, and firm ones. I have come to the point where if someone shows up to cause trouble, they are not welcome and I will simply make them go away. The “Block” feature on social media is a wonderful thing. And don’t get me wrong–when someone who appears contrary first comments, I usually let it go for a time or two to see where they are going with it–and to see where their heart is at. They could be one of the ones in group three above who is annoying and mildly contrary but not enough to really warrant blocking. Then again, they could be an out-and-out internet troll, and I simply don’t have time for that.
Correction. I choose not to make time for that. Really, I have far better things to do with my time than babysit the jackasses in the world. I’m not the jackass whisperer–and neither are you! It’s our job to run forward and pave the way. To explore new things, test the waters, and discover all that is out there for us to find. We don’t have the time to be held back by those whose only goal is to, well, hold us back. So the next time you come across someone who is inexplicably contrary to you, remember that it’s not your job to fix them, and most likely they won’t let you. Shake the dust off and keep walking. After all, even if someone else signs up for the job, you are not the jackass whisperer either.
