Kingdom Mechanics – Gregory Scott Blog

Why America Failed in Afghanistan

Well it’s over. We lost in Afghanistan. The Afghanis decided to continue to cling to their guns and Korans rather than apple pie, democracy, and the American Way.

Our record is now 10-2, which is not bad as far as war records go. Even the Romans lost a few. If there was a playoff for the militaries of the world, we would probably make it in.

But I feel horrible for those who sacrificed so much to see it given away in a little more than week. They thought they were fighting for an ideal, and the last images we now have are people fighting to get on planes to get out of a place we put so much in.

Of course it is not a total loss. Even if we didn’t change a nation, we did get Bin Laden. And that is the positive spin you will hear from the talking heads and politicians. Unfortunately it cost us twenty years and a trillion dollars, not to mention the lives of thousands of men, women, and children. This was no doubt the most expensive manhunt in history.

So what should we think of this defeat? We should be sad, but we shouldn’t be surprised. We thought if we hung around long enough and the Afghanis got a taste of freedom and the American Way, they would almost certainly come around to our way of thinking. After all, who would choose Muslim tyranny over American freedom?

What Your Work Says About You

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1.

God’s work discloses something about Him. It is a revealing of who He is. Work is that way. It manifests for all to see, what would otherwise be hidden. It is true of the work of God, and it is true of our work. People can’t see into our soul, but they can see our work, and our work reveals our soul. It reveals whether we are careful or cavalier, thorough or thoughtless, excellent or expedient.

This is the reason termination consistently ranks as one of the most traumatic events one can suffer behind divorce, death of a loved one, and terminal disease. Our work is an extension of ourselves, and when we are terminated we instinctively know it is not just a rejection of our work but a rejection of who we are. We are our work.

Unfortunately, people often don’t think of this until they are terminated. They produce sloppy work, neither caring nor realizing they are revealing something very personal and often shamefully deficient about themselves. It is ironic that people who would never reveal personal medical information at work, are every day hanging out their inner dirty laundry for the world to see and don’t even realize it.

God’s work declares His glory. What does your work declare about you? GS

On the Insurrection

Yes….an insurrection. A Republican insurrection. Republicans Gone Wild. Republicans breaking and entering, forcibly taking over a government building, and injuring 50 police officers.

When it was Black Lives Matters marching and violence erupted, the Right wanted to label BLM a domestic terrorist group. Now the Left wants to label these Trumper Republicans domestic terrorists.

Much has been written about terrorism in the last twenty years, but I think there is a general consensus among those who study the subject that what usually gives rise to terrorism, whether of the foreign or domestic sort, is the feeling of powerlessness, that there is nothing else that can be done to be heard or bring about change. It is the last resort of the disenfranchised. I offer that by way of explanation not excuse. I have written here before about why resort to violence is neither wise nor justified.

The BLM movement arose because of 400 years of systematic and cultural disenfranchisement of black Americans, culminating this year in some very public killings of black Americans by law enforcement officers. Black Americans were justifiably angry over a history of racism and systemic discrimination and some decided during marches that marching was not enough.

On Wednesday, Trump Republicans gathered in Washington D.C. feeling they had been disenfranchised by an election they believe was fraudulent. Incited by President Trump to march on the Capital, once there many decided that peacefully protesting was not enough and broke in, occupied, and trashed the Capital.

On the Election

Well, apart from the fallout from an insurrection and a possible upcoming impeachment all the drama from the election may be over. Joe Biden will be President and Donald Trump will not.

To my friends on the Right, I express my condolences. It is true our taxes will likely be higher, the stock market will probably not do as well, and there will be more business regulations. But will any of that prohibit you from loving your neighbor, being a godly parent, spouse, or employee, or from telling others about Jesus?

To my friends on the Left, I express my congratulations. The pandemic will probably be taken more seriously, as will care for the environment, the poor, and racial relations. But will any of that make it easier for you to love your neighbor, be a godly parent, spouse, or employee, or tell others about Jesus?

In other words, how much does the election really have to do with the kingdom of God? GS

On Covid Conspiracies

I’ve had the disheartening task of trying to reason with two of my closest family members over the last few weeks. If it was something trivial I would have just let it go. Unfortunately, it is very important, perhaps even a life-or-death issue. You see, they are Covid-deniers.

What they believe is still not entirely clear to me, but it involved the coronavirus being created in a lab, Bill Gates patenting it, drug companies hiding a cure so they can make more money later on it, and 130,000 people not really dying of COVID-19 because hospitals make more money by wrongly coding the deaths. It seems like everyone is in on the conspiracy, including the CDC, the FDA, and the NIH.

I don’t think they think I’m in on the conspiracy because I was genuinely shocked. I kept asking, “You don’t really believe this, you are just joking with me, right?” No, they really believe it, and they sent me a ten minute YouTube video from a family physician in Texas to prove it. None of his COVID patients have died, you see, so he knows it is all exaggerated.