Wokism: The Tedious Task of Explaining Nonsense
 
Wokism: The Tedious Task of Explaining Nonsense
Written By Rev. Thorin Anderson   |   07.01.23
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Anyone who loves God, cares for the truth, cherishes children, appreciates freedom, and desires better racial relationships in America understands that Wokism is decidedly not the answer.

Can you, or rather, should you come to terms with such irrational and harmful thinking? Woke ideology is founded on lies. In a nutshell, it declares that whatever we say or believe is somehow “true” and whatever we want is “good,” and not to be denied.

It is paganism and arrogance all rolled up in an untidy package, attempting once again to whitewash mankind’s sin.

It divides by design, plays to people’s pride, and replaces God with self. Wokism fails to distinguish between fantasy and reality, which is, by the way, the legal definition of insanity! The worst thing about Wokism may not be its inherent absurdity but rather the fact that it is being forced upon us!

Ridiculous ideas have abounded forever, and some people have been enticed by them. We are reminded of a comment, attributed to Lincoln,

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

Some have been fooled by Wokism, but shame on those who know it’s all lies but parrot it all, nonetheless. And special shame on those who would force it upon us! Truth should need no compulsion to compel agreement. It is rather tarnished and diminished by the use of coercion.

The tremendous pressure brought to bear to normalize Wokism exposes the fact that it cannot stand on its own.

Those of us who have chosen to plant our feet on truth and reality find it bizarre that anyone would be fooled by the Woke ideology. It is fantasy on steroids and so obviously false that even five-year-olds would not be fooled if the adults in their lives were not in on the deception.

Every sin has consequences and lies are no exception. When you intentionally speak a non-truth, you condition your mind to accept lies.

Worse than that, you damage and weaken your conscience, which is God’s gift to discourage you from wrongdoing. Each time you lie, you make it easier to lie again until you have seared your conscience and no longer care. You thus break down your own resistance to lies and open yourself to being fooled by lies.

A wise person might ask why anyone would be so willing to lie and accept lies in the first place. Is there a single person on earth who would publicly, with a straight face say, “Everyone, please tell me lies?”

Do we not get angry when we discover advertisers have lied to us? Do we not want to know what we are eating, for example? Do we want to be told that we are eating quality, natural foods only to discover that we have been given processed, chemically altered substitutes?

I think not!

Do we not want the people we depend on day by day to be who they say they are and do what they say they will do? One would think so, but it is not that simple, is it? Sadly, while I suppose no one would say out loud, “lie to me,” for a variety of reasons, many are apparently quite fine with being lied to. It goes back a long way.

It all started with man’s rebellion against God.

God is Truth (John 14:6) and He demands truth throughout His universe. We, on the other hand, want to run our own lives and do not want Him or His Truth. (There is no truth but His Truth, and anything that contradicts His word is a lie).

We operate under the absurd notion that we can run our own lives; but He will not be dethroned by us, and He tells us exactly what kind of people we are and the consequences of that fact. We may resent being lied to, but we often hate being told the truth even more!

We, fools that we are, convince ourselves that we can ignore and defy the Truth and suffer no consequences.

Thus, having rejected God and Truth, we are left to live with lies, or, more accurately, to die by lies. But we fail to deal with the fact that death is far more than the grave. It is everything that separation from God brings: disease, conflict, discontent, futility, loneliness, foolishness, and finally, the grave and Hell.

Tragically, it is everything that plagues the world, and especially contemporary American culture. Every characteristic of a dying culture is manifest in America, but few take notice.

God, as our Creator, knows what we need, and joyfully offers it to us, if we will return to Him. (By that I mean turn from our sin, trust that God, because of Christ’s death on the cross, will forgive us and make us His children). Critics snipe at Him asking, “Why, if God is loving, does He allow bad things to happen to people?”

Seriously, what a foolish, ignorant question!

God has given us so much even as we have rejected Him! But really, how would you deal with house guests who want to use everything in your house, but spit in your face whenever they meet you in the hall? No, He is kind to us beyond words, and His grace is amazing beyond imagination.

So, what does this all have to do with Wokism? Please bear with me: among the many purposes of God in creation was His plan to create “friends” who would choose and delight to fellowship with Him forever. Genuine friendship cannot involve coercion, of course, so He gave us the option to accept or reject Him.

What we chose in Genesis 3 is tragically obvious! But the point is that He designed us to be relational beings, and the most important relationship we were created to enjoy is with Him. Church Father, Augustine, wrote that “within every man is a God-shaped vacuum only God can fill.”

There is a hunger within us all that cannot be satisfied apart from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, yet thousands of years after Adam, we persist in rejecting Him, and so the void remains. 

Mankind has sought out a myriad alternatives to God to satisfy that hunger, and the current substitute for that relationship is Wokism. It promises to satisfy the cravings of the soul. How appealing to the heart at war with God! The human need for purpose, fulfillment, achievement, peace, and so much more, which can only be met supremely in Christ, will supposedly be satisfied by going “Woke!”

To the Leftists, to be “Woke” is evidence that you care! And “caring” is the idol of the moment, number one on the Woke list of “What you need to do to prove you’re good.” Thus, two hungers of the human heart are “satisfied:” the desire to see oneself as good, and to be recognized by others as good.

Hence the term, “virtue signaling.” Two illusive birds with one stone! Discover what the “cool” people say is “good,” do it, and you too, are one of the “good” people! To all who hunger for approval and purpose, (because they do not know God), joining the Woke brigade promises fulfillment! That satisfaction is short-lived, however. I am reminded of the African proverb, “beware the naked man who offers you his shirt.”

Only God can satisfy these fundamental needs.    

The empty promises of the Woke hucksters are not new, of course. There have been snake oil salesmen, I suppose, ever since men first discovered snakes possessed oil. (Thinking about it, the first scam in history  was a snake offering men an alternative to a relationship with God!) One would think that very few would buy a lie so obvious, yet here we go again.

The desire to find an alternative to God and His word is so powerful that millions will apparently accept any substitute, somehow expecting different results this time. It won’t happen. And, tragically, conservative’s warnings about its tragic consequences are not hyperbole! America is awash in the dead and dying victims of these lies, but few appear to notice!

Wokism is a trojan horse, evoking curiosity, appearing beneficent, but often delivering deadly consequences to those who follow.

Wokism, like all its predecessors, promises to fill one’s internal spiritual void, but delivers only further emptiness. It tells you that you can do as you like, follow your heart, and face no consequences! God, His word, and Christianity erect fences to protect people from such hurtful choices, but Leftists call these attempts to warn foolish people, hate!

When I was a child, my parents often said “no” to my childish requests. On more than one occasion, I thought in my heart that they did not love me and did not want me to be happy! How blind I was in my childishness. Tragically, we are now dealing with people old enough to know better needing someone to tell them, “No!” They ought to be embarrassed for their foolishness, but they remain undeterred.

Wokism is an insidious lie offered by God haters to weaken America and gain power for themselves without regard for the harm it does. It is nonsense that cannot be rationally explained, but due to the fear tactics used by its proponents, it has an exaggerated influence. Therefore, because it is so destructive it must be resisted. Remember the words of the Lord Himself in the Gospel of John,

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!”  (John 8:32).

There is no substitute or alternative for and no source of fulfillment apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ!

“Seek the Lord while He may be found.  Call upon Him while He is near,” (Isaiah 55:6).


Rev. Thorin Anderson
Rev. Thorin Anderson is a member of the Advisory Council to Illinois Family Institute and the former pastor of Parkwood Baptist Church on the south side of Chicago. Pastor Anderson has faithfully pastored at Parkwood Baptist Church since September, 2000 until 2022. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Central Seminary. He and his wife Toni have seven children and 19 grandchildren. Pastor Anderson also serves on the board of directors for Men for Christ, an association that organizes annual weekend men’s rallies in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois on a rotating basis. For more information on these...
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