Blogs

GUESS WHAT?—YOU WILL HAVE ENEMIES!

      I had been stuck for an opening to this column, when I began to think about social media and the thousands of people who are addicted to having their postings being ‘liked’.  I’ve even read about some teens and millennials committing suicide over the lack of likes on their social media pages and postings.  Some of them listed among the dead were—surprise—social media influencers!

      Let an old P-school Ranger clue you in on one key fact of life.  You WILL have enemies!  Doesn’t make any difference in how you choose your words, change your look or what part of the country you may move to.  Doesn’t matter how much good you do.  Someone will take it upon themselves NOT to like you, for whatever reason their ‘pea brain’ may generate.

      The KJV Bible calls them ‘Heathen’.  Check Psalm 2, John 9, and Acts 4 for more info.

      Young people, there are plenty of small-minded people in your sphere of influence.  Jealousy can easily become envy; envy can grow rancid and become bitterness and bitterness can fester and become hate.  Haters will expect you to ‘give in’ to their temper tantrum, which is usually fueled by feelings and estrogen.  In fact, IF you ‘gave in’ to haters—and YOU made all the changes they wanted in order for them to ‘accept’ you, they would still hate you because you ‘caved’ into their demands.

      A few years back, a sixties singer by the name of Ricky Nelson came out with a tune called “Garden Party”.  Yes, it’s on YT, and I dial it up occasionally, just to hear the refrain of the tune: “You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself!”

 AS YOU GROW—SO WILL YOUR ENEMIES:

     Enemies will ‘dog’ your steps through every venue of your life.  Even IN the church.  Sad to say, there are folk who have had ‘church feuds’ going on for decades because someone said or did something someone did NOT like.  Truth be told, some of these feuds have been going on for so long, no one can remember the original offense—nor the reason why their church split.

      Enemies will sniff you out through elementary, middle (Jr. High), high school and/or college.  Enemies quickly surface after a relationship goes sour (or, even before it begins).  Enemies will multiply on your job, career path, or when you get a promotion.  Vacations are not safe from enemies, as some of your neighbors will get ‘out of joint’ because you went to some exotic location while they had to have a ‘staycation’ because their finances were tight.

      Enemies will get mad when their candidate loses, and madder when the other candidate wins.  Never mind the fact that God sets down one, and lifts up another.  The Hater mob will burn down their OWN house out of hate, and DEMAND that you help them rebuild—and hate those who have the mercy and grace to help them in their time of need.  The heathen will rage against those who won’t be manipulated.  The heathen will post all kinds of idiocy on social media to ‘resist’ common sense.  Unfortunately, when folk don’t pay attention to their mess, they just yell louder and perform more outlandish and crazy antics for all the world to see.

      Jesus Christ had his share of enemies.  Those who follow Him will also have enemies.  Several places in the New Testament He silenced his critics with the truth of their OWN motives and hearts and continued to do good.  Did that slow his enemies down? No!  Like “Bebe’s Kids” they didn’t die—they MULTIPLIED.  Not only did they become enemies of Jesus, but they also became enemies of those who followed after Him.

 AS YOU AGE—SO WILL YOUR ENEMIES:

     During the seventies—when enemies seemed to abound--many Black artists, who had some foundations in the church, drew on those experiences.  Gospel, R&B, Soul and Jazz all came from the same root system of godly spiritual inspiration.  One truly special ‘down home’ Gospel group that hit the charts was “The Staple Singers”.  Their breakthrough hits “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There” were part of the foundation my soundtrack which I was blessed to build to kept me on track and on goal during some of the trials and tribulations which hit my life.  More importantly, their music stressed the fact that God was real, and His church…nor His servants…were NOT to be trifled with.

      Keep on doing right.  Keep on loving and serving Jesus Christ.  Don’t drink the ‘hateraide’ of society.  Let the heathen rage, and the resistance build.  Eventually, like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner, their rants, traps, schemes and insults will blow up in their faces and you will cruse over to the other side, and continue to do your own thing.

      If the haters and ragers and resisters don’t get it, don’t argue with them.  Don’t cast your pearls before swine.  Let ‘em wallow in the hog pen.  That’s where they belong.

      As I bring this column to a close, here is my ‘anti-heathen’ soundtrack from the seventies.  I trust it will bless you, and feel free to build your own playlist to get you through:

1.  Staple Singers: “I’ll Take You There”

2. Earth Wind and Fire: “That’s The Way of the World”

3. The Temptations: “Ball of Confusion”

4. Eddie Kendricks: “Keep On Truckin’”

5. Lou Rawls: “A Natural Man”

6. Tavares: “It Only Takes a Minute”

7. Fifth Dimension: “Puppet Man”

8. O Jays: “Backstabbers”

9. Staple Singers: “Respect Yourself”

10. Earth, Wind and Fire: “Shining Star”

11. William DeVaughn: “Be Thankful for What You Got”

12. Chicago: “Life Saver”

13. The Incredible Bongo Band: “Bongo Rock”

14. Billy Preston: “Outa Space”

15. Kool and the Gang: “Funky Granny”

16. Chic: “Funny Bone”

17. The Crusaders: “Put It Where You Want It”

18. Average White Band: “Pick Up The Pieces”

19. Parliament: “Flash Light”

20. Heatwave: “The Groove Line”

21. Tavares: “Bad Times”

     Life is too short to pay attention to the enemies in your life.  If they do not want to make peace or be friendly, saturate them with your absence and move on to better people, better times, and the location that God has for you.  Why waste your time arguing with fools and heathen?  Who cares what they think? Shake the dust off your feet, move out and move on!

     Mike Ramey is a Retired Minister, KJV Bible Teacher, syndicated columnist and book reviewer who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.  “The Ramey Commentaries” is one of a variety of his columns appearing and abounding in print and cyberspace, written from a biblical, business, and common-sense perspective since 1996.  To drop him a line—or a whine—the address is still the same: mgmikeramey@yahoo.com.  ©2024 Barnstorm Communications International.