Do Not Bite Hands That Feed, God Rules Earth From Heaven

Narrow and polemic views of the past can blind people to what God has established on earth.
There is a certain order God initiated since ancient time, and its fruits
are being realized in ever-increasing measure in light of Messiah's teaching.
This image's symbolism properly depicts what God has done, allowing the children of Judah
 to inherit the earth while Messiah reigns as King from heaven over all people.

Recently I had a conversation with a retired Navy man who did 13 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and later worked privately.

I asked him to describe his experiences during that time and share his opinions of conditions on the ground and the surrounding areas.

He openly shared his personal experiences, what he saw, did, and learned.

He explained how slavery is still very common in that part of the world, being reinforced by racism / identity prejudice / ancient cultural traits set in motion thousands of years ago. (things taught at home and reflected in society)

He said chaos ensued after Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya, and since then subsaharan people who are leaving their homeland in hopes of reaching Europe are captured and sold as slaves by ethnic Arabs in Libya. (an ancient - and modern - practice in the Arabic religion of Islam)

He mentioned how Gaddafi was working on a Pan-African union similar to the European Union (a positive mention of that man's legacy to which I agreed).

We both acknowledged how a less than desirable strongman seems preferable to an entire region of lawlessness and tribal factions. (what has come about since the Arab Spring and the toppling of regional strongmen)

He said India has the most slaves; slaves also being made out of people who have emigrated into India looking for a better life from surrounding countries, but having to be servants for a set amount of years to a purchasing family before being released.

For a complete rundown of global statistics regarding slavery and human trafficking, go here.

Ethnic and cultural prejudices reinforce and justify attitudes of indifference between people of different backgrounds.

Economic incentives justify the ill treatment of human beings.

He mentioned how the U.S. is the least racist place on earth when comparing all other places in terms of economic freedom or upward mobility.

I responded how someone living in America wouldn't believe this opinion after listening to the news.

No place on earth has 'arrived' in terms of establishing perfection, or perfect law and order, or has removed all trespasses of people's heart and mind... but there are certain places on earth whose aim is such... and this growth and progress is evident.

One such place is where this man mentioned:

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time. 

- Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, 2008 speech

I think, in pride, any regime or government of men claim they have it right.

However, the qualify of life of the poorest, the marginalized, the weak is usually the litmus test to such claims.

How citizens or people of any country or place treat those not resembling them, or those most vulnerable (whether fellow citizen or countrymen, or not) is the evidence of what is written down as 'law' is actually upheld or followed by that people's government.

A human being has rights in the United States regardless of their origin, or ethnic background, or citizenship status... but not everyone pursues or invokes or knows their rights, because rights have to do with how one individual treats another and understands God.

Very quickly rights are ignored and incarceration is applied for those who mistreat others, or ignore the law.

Laws (and their enforcement) and an economic system (based on the law) that allows for upward mobility is the reality in the U.S. (and other western nations)... but still, sadly, not in many places on earth... but things are improving while taking generations to blend into any place's culture.

There are U.S. laws and programs that assist citizen minorities who set their sites on work and less on the prejudiced sentiments others have towards them.

In other words: even if someone senses or experiences racial discrimination in the U.S., such sentiments (whether popular or unpopular) are addressed and cause for legal concern according to the law... a law that is continually being perfected.

In light of this effort, such sentiments are becoming less and less of an issue when considering the laws already written.

The economic opportunities open to those who pursue them in the face of discouraging sentiments of ancient cultural traits steeped in an identity crisis void of God in Messiah, hold no sway for those abiding by the law.

This is the contrasting reflection from a prior article entitled The Century Of The Self; the contrast being that prejudiced views of the past are being systematically dealt with... not only from the top-down (government response in law), but from the bottom-upwards (popular sentiment directing policy change and law enactment).

I mentioned, to contrast and be fair, how just like those people and situations he was working in, some people in American are still afflicted when beholden to external identifiers that further separates themselves from others.

Many people are still listening to, or influenced, by their ancestral prejudices.

We both agreed that the laws of the land are the factor, the difference, and the enforcement of such laws the path towards more equality, order, and peaceful interaction.

He called where he was working “The Land of Lies”.

He said this because when working privately for the Department of Defense, his job was to teach people in that part of the world how to keep an agreement / contract... and what was written in the agreements was often times ignored and the obligations broken.

He was teaching locals that they are obliged to uphold their part of any signed contract / agreement.

The very basics of [contract] law; the back of all governments and organized societies of men... still ignored or refuted in tribal circles or among people who align themselves by unique subgroups and less by national identity or accepting all human beings as their peer equal.

He explained how this seemed like a new concept in places where sentiments, prejudices, and cultural constants steer one's action to ignore agreements or the law (to keep one's word only when convenient).

Loose tribal communities, despite the effort of central governments (whether legitimate or de facto), usually have a law of their own based on traditions and cultural tastes and ethnic prejudices.

The same could be said in America regarding sub-cultures (including homogenous groups large or small) who persist with rebellious attitudes, rebellious lifestyles.

Yet the law is eventually applied where trespass is evidenced and all are considered equal under the law.

Slavery was outlawed over a period of a hundred years in the U.S., working its way from state to state... yet ethnic prejudices persist in some places where slavery was long institutionalized (and where a slave-master notion persists on both sides of that dynamic).

Too often popular sentiments, while working to bring about some good in policy and eventually influencing the law, are sometimes hijacked by dishonorable media personalities or media efforts.

The law is ignored for the sake of emotional sentimentality... an outcome, I think, from what I was exploring in the review of the 'Century of the Self' documentary.

He shared stories depicting acts of criminal negligence witnessed by him by locals and foreigners that I won't go into.

I'll mention simply how blood money is a typical resolve to the killing of someone in the part of the world he worked, regardless of how the death / murder / killing happened... and the murderer / killer goes free.

This, also written into law by the hands of men in that part of the world.

To some, according to their cultural background, they understand such remuneration for death as 'just' and adequate... and this is true for them according to their landscape of knowledge and understanding.

Yet, if the law's perfection is to include a moral code... where is such a moral code found and defined?

And if that definition depicts all human life as sacred (made in the image of God), then a law that allows for a payment due to a killing may need more perfecting.

Otherwise, those with the means to set-off the killing of others (by accident or by plan) may justify the extermination of others according to payment and citing the law.

In place of monies paid, perhaps prison time (a loss of freedom in addition to monies paid) is a better form of justice.

Perhaps this effort of perfection may better teach the knowledge that mankind is made in the image of God... and thus the sacredness of human life can be restored in places human rights are not respected.