Substance vs. Accusation

Dialogue vs. Contrariness

Exhortation vs. Ad Hominem

What makes ignorance not bliss?

How can a man know what is rooted in a criticism?

Is it jealousy?
Is it a one-sided, narrow minded, hypocritical judgment?
Is it rooted in the need to feel superior, or to hide feelings of being inferior?
(The need to win an argument in order to feel better about oneself?)
Is it a cover-up or a smoke screen for dodging or not solving the real problem?
How can you know when a criticism is meant to mature, bless, and benefit you?
(or when it is designed to defile, derail, or derange you?)

This is a super important skill and tool necessary for discernment.

In a minute, I want to dive into this subject and answer these questions.
But first, I want to personally thank my son for the reason, impetus, and challenge to think about this problem and its solution, that helps me see it more clearly.

“That’s awesome you got to hear from Noah!

No offense, but I’m not a political guy. I don’t think I’m gonna watch these.”

[My son, was referring to the videos I sent to make a point, so that he could hear from a perspective and veiwpoint that was not a common part of his intellectual circle.].”

Dear Zechariah,

No offense taken. But…. I would be remiss and irresponsible, if I did not challenge you (or exhort you), my son in response to your statement: “I’m not a political guy …”

Please note I am not criticizing a person, no negative judgment here. I take no offense at the “quick” and not confrontational sidestepping of a more difficult discussion. I actually admire the way in which my son can diffuse a possible heated discussion.

But I do want to address the underlying pretense, and deflection of “not being political,” and the veracity of such a belief, statement or feeling. And while were at it, let’s throw in the “I’m not religious” statement that often accompanies the other statement so we can have a full pot of meat and potatoes to deal with.

I pray that you will have a measure of patience and grace. I request your mercy while reading the message below, because I am trying to communicate in sentences above my writing ability. So even in the midst of trying to create a form of communication through writing, I know that my imperfect attempts may possibly fail. Yet, even in the midst of good intentions of both the writer and the reader without the grace of God, helping both sides of the communication, there is a little hope that the essence of the message will come forth. So I at this moment I invoke the help and mercy of God to help this little message find the place, and open the door to what is true in the midst of a complex and difficult subject.

The Goal of every Good Father

THE GOAL, THE JOB DESCRIPTION, AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY GOOD FATHER: is to do his level best to see his children grow up into the full maturity that has been ordained for them. The maturity that has been predestined for them. That maturity process begins at birth and continues on until death.

[That should always be my commitment to you, son. If I ever choose to deflect, or defect from that duty, I can no longer be a good dad.]

I beg you, as your father, to take a moment, or rather have a season of patience with me.

What I am going to say is going to challenge what I believe to be two false ideological viewpoints that hinder a man from becoming who God made him to be: A True Hearted, Right Minded, Mature Man.

The Gift of Provision

Here is my viewpoint: this is a continuation of the previous post(s).

God has given virtually every man by nature, two arms: a left arm, and a right arm, in order to do work, in order to build, to protect, to provide, and to produce an abundance. These are gifts from God for a man to use to bring blessing, honor, praise, Thanksgiving, gratitude, service … and faithfulness, into a man’s home, Family, community, and nation.

At every level, God is willing to equip every man for the job, and the purpose, of bringing life, and truth, into his world; And by applying life and truth: to enhance his every decision and choice in such a man’s life.

The Privilege of Every Man

It is the privilege and honor of every man to use his two arms and his two hands, in coordination with his two legs, and his mind and his heart, and to use the creativity that God has given each and every man (who has been created in the image and likeness of God) to grow in the full stature and full measure of his own personal manhood.

This privilege and honor to grow is given not only to himself, and for himself … but, his maturity (which is designed to grow until the day he dies) is a gift given by God himself. The potential has been given. The potential to bring glory and honor back to the Creator is the final objective that will define the fruitfulness of his life.

Just like the potential inside an apple seed planted in good soil, so is a man planted in good soil designed to bear good fruit.

That life begins as a seed with potential. That seed came from your father, and his father, and so on–all the way down to the original Seed Creator, who gave the first man, the power to procreate and give his seed to other men. That seed giving process was meant to be a privilege, an honor, and a sacred trust.

But like many things of dignity and nobility that were given to be preserved with the intentionality of the Giver of the Gifts, such gifts have lost their value. Why? Because they have lost their meaning (due to the corruption of the language, and the perversion of the understanding). As such, the privilege of the gift has been denled, and its power has been defiled, thus destroying the original purpose, privilege and intent intended for the gift of the seed.

As it stands, there is a path, and a process, of redemption, to restore the dignity, and nobility.

Yes, it still takes time to germinate. Yes, it must endure seasons of hardship. It must to grow strong roots, develop a sturdy trunk, build strong branches, healthy leaves, and ultimately glorious fruit. And that all happens over time, and through trials and seasons of abundance, as well as seasons of scarcity.

But you will notice by the time, the Tree (and the Man) produces mature fruit , it is ready for consumption.

But Notice: The fruit is not for the tree. The trees pleasue is to give away the fruit free of charge. Only a small minimal part of the harvest is designed to procreate the lineage of the tree to expand its family and survival. The vast majority of the fruit is designed to be given away.

The fruit is for the animals, and people around the world. In order to nourish them. And bring the delight to them. It has been predestined and ordained to be shared joyfully. It has the potential to be preserved, in juices, in vinegar, in sauces, canned fruit, etc.

A right minded mature man will be grateful for the fruit, knowing that it was a gift given, not only by the tree, but by the one who created the tree.

A right minded mature man will know a seed that no man created, but was a gift from God originally. And so, the tree itself keeps its place of honor, and responsibility, and enjoys its privilege to produce fruit to give to others.

So is the privilege of every man. To grow into maturity. To grow in gratitude. To grow an honor. To grow in wisdom, and skill, and creativity, and ability, to serve and bless the community that was given to him as a gift. Beginning with his family. Such is the man of integrity, who becomes a man of honor, a man of truth, who matures into a man of wisdom, and has not been perverted in the mind, corrupted in the heart, deceived in the flesh, or polluted by the world.

The is the potential privilege and honor of every man.

The Harvest to Share

A right minded man, a right hearted man … is designed by His Creator to become a mature man.

Every man has this potential, but not every man will make the decisions required to fulfill their destiny–the life that what was predestined for them to enjoy from before the foundations of the earth were laid. And that fruit will not be tainted.

A mature man, will become “Right Willed” and by the force of his own decisions, character, and nature (nurtured and developd by God himself to represent His Likeness) ……… he will produce an abundant harvest of fruit to share. Just like the mature apple tree planted in good soil.

His gift is intended to become a glorious, beautiful, strong, gift of service, in its full maturity, just like the seasoned strong, fruitful apple tree. while becoming the good man that he can, and hopefully choose to become.

As an infant, the child only sees the hard work his father does, but at each stage as the son develops, he is given opportunities to learn, grow, and mature in his ability to serve and provide for others (not just himself). This is his privilege and his honor, and also his duty.

The truth be told, you cannot force privilege and honor upon a man. You cannot force a man to think. You cannot force a man to serve. You cannot force a man to be honest, helpful, caring, giving, or responsible. You cannot force a man to tell the truth. To know the truth. Or to be a living example of the truth.

The Power of Invitation

The only way God’s kingdom works from God’s perspective, is through the invitation.

Every man has been given an invitation to use both his arms and both of his hands to build on the foundations of those who have gone before him.

In such a case, every man must walk in humility, and acknowledge with gratefulness all those who have gone before him, providing him with gifts and tools and abilities, he himself does not deserve, and has not earned on his own, but were still given to him as gifts. Such a man acknowledges his debt in a spirit of gratitude, which opens the door for God’s heavenly reality to bear fruit in every area of his life. And that fruitfulness in humility is easily acknowledged that it comes from God who gave the ability in the first place.

In other words, the seed does not boast that it is no longer a seed. It recognizes that it was a seed created by God, given a purpose, given an ability, given strength, and due to God-given circumstances that tree became mature and was able to bear much fruit. The tree doesn’t claim any special superiority. It doesn’t put down other less fortunate trees. It just keeps going reproducing fruit year after year, according to the plan of God, according to the invitation given to the seed.

The Power of Perspective

In the beginning, a young man is needy. He needs help. He needs food. He needs shelter, etc. All of which he did not have the resources to procure for himself in the beginning. So he receives them with gratitude, recognizing that someone else worked hard to provide those things for him.

The job of a farmer, (or husbandman) is to plant the seed, water the seed, care for the seed while it is growing. The husbandman serves the seed, in the beginning, middle, and right up to the end of the life of the seed.

All the while, hoping that the seed will also serve the husbandman. And that is a work of faith. Often times the husband men will plan to seed, knowing that he will never receive any fruit from the seed that he has planted. But he has the intention that others will benefit from the seed he plants today that they might reap the fruits of his planning tomorrow.

Having a long-term, long range, investment perspective radically changes, the mindset of the farmer to be like that of the mindset of God. Investing himself in the plan for the future, and not only for himself, but for others who will come after him is both a privilege, and honor, it is both a responsibility, and a duty, that he gladly receives that he may walk in his predestine path to be like God, one who was constantly giving to others, because that is what his nature is like.

Without this perspective heavenly perspective, selfishness, greed, complacency, ineptitude, decadence, depravity, debauchery, degeneracy, drunkenness,

harvest some of the fruits to be eaten now, and preserve some of the fruits and seeds to be eaten or used later (like having seed for replanting, etc.).

Here’s a short clip on:

The Power of Changing Your Perspective

Often times the first person to speak. Seems right, until another person comes and Questions him.

Proverbs 18:17

In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right,
until someone comes forward and cross-examines him.

Strengths vs. Vulnerabilities

But the Husbandman cannot make every single plant grow. He cannot force his will upon all the seeds that he plants. He can, will and should provide the optimal environment, according to his own resources and skills, but the plants themselves have a will of their own.

Every plant has its own nature. It’s own strengths and vulnerabilities. It can be encouraged. It can be nurtured, but it cannot be forced to grow, nor forced to mature, nor forced to develop discernment. Every Tree has its own timetable, and its own path, that the farmer can assist but ultimately cannot fully control.

Every plant does best in good soil appropriate for its own nature. The better the soil, the better, richer, more excellent the fruit.

The job of the husbandman is to select good soil, and prepare good soil before he plants the seed. Yes. He also must maintain that soil, a be careful to keep in balance for the plants under his care. If the soil becomes too dry, too acidic, too full of pests, diseases, weeds, or without healthy abundant pollinators, the harvest may be doomed. And the life of the tree threatened.

A right minded man, a right hearted man, right willed man, will have strengths and vulnerabilities, that only a humble, right the humble man can admit and navigate through.

So much of a man’s ability to humbly assess his own character, nature and situation comes from his own ability to see the world. He lives in through God’s perspective. By looking to see through God’s perspective, a man becomes humbled, a man becomes patient, a man becomes generous, merciful, forgiving, kind, and long suffering. A man gained self-control over his tongue, over his emotions, over his thoughts, and over the desires of his heart.

A man of noble character has seen the face of God, has seen his own debt, has faced his own insecurities, has obtained mercy, and received grace, and has a vision of eternity, that can only come from God himself.

The same rules apply to developing a mature is to provide the elements for growth, but ultimately each plant will produce according to its own potential and schedule.

As the saying goes, you can lead a man (or a horse) to water, but you can’t make him drink. In other words, you can lead a youth to truth, but you can’t make him think.

Trigger Words

In order to communicate, God has given his children the gift of languages and words.

Yet, to engender “evil” (the opposite of “live”) miscommunication there is a constant continual misuse, and a conniving undermining of the usage of words that causes good words to become ineffective and disruptive. Just as “good individuals” can have their characters and reputations attacked, deranged, and defiled, through slander, libel, lying, and evil accusation, so can words suffer from the same derision.

Just as groups and whole political parties can have “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and control the narrative that everything Trump has done, is doing, and is going to do is evil (destroying our freedom), and yet giving Biden, Kamala, Clinton, Hilary, Obama, and the Ebstein/Diddy Pizza-Gate Booty People a complete pass, who have allegedly done 100x more evil, and criminal acts, like, performing illegal sex acts while in the White House. For example: recording gay sex orgies in the US Senate Building (*), snorting lines of coke in the White House, embezzling millions and billions in the White House (with no accountability, and coverup after coverup), then giving amnesty to them same criminals connected to the White House for more than eleven years, and yet there is no outrage, no investigation, no upset, but instead, cover up, pure lying, perjury, disinformation and scandal cover up, with media complicency.

[ (*): It happened in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, a space that has hosted significant political events such as Supreme Court nomination hearings and the 9/11 Commission].

Words like: God, Jesus, politics, the Bible, the devil, angels, religion, judgment, common sense, truth, justice, righteousness, wickedness, right and wrong—These can be strong trigger words for insecure men. By simply mentioning these words, certain men can go into reactive mode. They can become obsessed with negative childhood feelings and strong emotions. Certain men and certain women can become like unhinged blaspheming deranged demons at the mere mention of these commonly abused trigger words.

As a result, many such immature men, can metaphorically, cut off their nose, despite their face. Metaphorically speaking they can cut off one or both of their arms if they are not careful. (They can refuse to discuss politics or religion.) And like, Peter Pan, they can simply refuse to grow up. Like ostriches who mythically put their heads in the sand, and refuse to validate 1,000’s of years, of the righteous function, and proper use of the words God has given us to communicate with.

The left arm of politics, and the right arm of religion can be severed prematurely, in the immature mind and heart–the one “poisoned not see”, believe, own, or value their place and strength, power and giftings to every man living in a civilized society, gifted with literacy, and opportunity to learn and grow.

What many immature citizens cannot see, nor perceive: Is that they have been groomed, they have been programmed, they have been skillfully manipulated. In order to keep such people in the dark. They have been emotionally and mentally exploited and trained like Pavlov’s Dogs, to salivate and become irrational, at the mere mention of certain words. Such is the diabolical genius to control the narrative.

Once people become emotionally unhinged, their real mind with the real ability to weigh facts, and examine evidence flies out the window. In fact, immature men will refuse to even listen to or consider evidence that doesn’t fit their own narrative, which is not exactly theirs. It was carefully crafted, ingeniously prepared, and consumed by repetition, and through information bias.

Trigger words can prematurely disable a good mind, and poison a reasonable heart. The end result? They damage the man to the point where he becomes unable to reason and serve. Unable to work. Unable to mature. His path to his God ordained, predestined road to maturity, freedom, service, responsibility, protection, provision and service to his family and his community becomes derailed and defunct. Is that not the very definition of immature?

How do I know this? Why do I dare say or share all of this?

Do I want to control?
Do I want to manipulate?
Do I want to perpetrate?
Do I want to win a stupid argument?

Of course, all those accusations are available and plentiful…

Trigger Words, assist people escape responsibility,
for telling the Truth and Dealing with Reality:

Accusations VS. Substance

How can you know what is rooted in a criticism?

Now we can get to the core of the Apple, is it full of potential, full of rich, vibrant and life giving seed?
Or is it rotten, decaying and foul to the core?

… But I would suggest that such accusations are immature and premature. On both levels they lack substance, and seek to evade and avoid the real issues, and the obvious concerns.

Such accusations just enable a man to have feeble arms and withered hands, unable to produce fruitful and majestic work, character development, and substantial development needed to reach one’s full maturity.

The keyword being substance.

Men without substance simply become accusers. Without substance, they have nothing substantial to speak. Since they have nothing to build up, the only tool left in their toolbox is one to tear down. Hence the tool of accusation.

That is what you see happening regularly on both the political and the religious stage of immature bickering, fault finding, and continual accusation with no positive movement forward.

Those without substance resort to name calling, cursing, and personal attack. You see this happening every day.

Those with substance are working and serving to build something positive. Those without substance are working to counteract and derail the positive work being done. Their common sense has been thrown out the window.

They have no mind for truth. Take care not for God’s design. In fact, they prefer to destroy it. In the end, they only destroy themselves. Their families. Their communities. And their world.

The truth be told: no one gets it perfect. No one does a perfect job. Every person is prone to make mistakes, and to have blind spots in their thinking, feeling, and work, but those who produce true substance are on a different plane from those who just spout ideology that tear others down. The sooner one sees the difference, the sooner one can do something about it. The sooner one can have a voice of reason, and substance.

Genuine substance never needs to be faked.

It is important to me, my son, ZECHARIAH Israel Devick, that as a father, I see the difference between substance and accusation. And that I pass on that reverence of understanding to my sons, my family, and my community.

I do this service with hope in mind. I recognize the treacherous waters involved. But I welcome the adventure of the rapids just as a welcome the risks of riding a motorcycle and traveling to India by myself with no one to protect me, but God himself.

And I can see that I have passed on some things Good to you that you value. Some good attitudes. Some good principles. Some good perspectives. And some good substance.

The truth be told, no matter how old a man gets, he always needs his father. The father’s life and service in the life of the son doesn’t end at conception—according to God’s design. It is a lifelong commitment. It is essentially an eternal commitment.

There is a great difference between a man with substance to pass on, and a man with accusations to condemn.

A true man, a good man, a mature man, makes friends with those who oppose his thinking, and his beliefs. What would normally be called enemies, he would call friends. Why is that because a man of substance knows that he has something to offer even those who oppose him, even those who want to harm him, or even kill and destroy him.

That is the man that has the use of both his arms, both his political and religious tools to make life better for himself and others.

That would be the difference between an accuser, who walks in insecurity, and thinks it’s strange when others don’t walk in the same insecurity, and a man of substance. (1 Peter 4:4)

This generation is so self-centered that the word sacrifice has little to no meaning to them. My father’s generation, and the generations before him knew that sacrifice was necessary, on a daily basis for the majority of the populous. For without making daily sacrifices and daily serving in the family, with everyone doing their part to take care of the farm animals, and the growing food, harvesting the food, serving the food, and preserving the food that they brought to the table the people would not have been able to prosper and build strong, healthy relationships that could endure a hardship, and taking care of the weak and disabled in the community, doing the work necessary so that others could prosper, the majority of people would not have good food to eat, nor good clothes to wear, nor a good roof over their heads.

Without right headed politics, and right minded religion, there would be no abundance of food, no abundance of provision, no safe borders, no just laws of protection, no righteous laws of production, no abundance of innovation, and no abundance of time, teaching, advancement, and creativity. All of these are the fruits and the substances of good, clean, true, politics, and religion.Without the right arm and the left arm, nothing could have been created. We would still be living like pygmies, slaves, and barbarianss, in a kill or be killed environment—that is the best atheism and anarchism has to offer. That is why people are fleeing those kinds of places and environments, and risking their lives to come to a land you were born into.

To be ignorant of these things is not a good look—and it is infecting and progressing in your generation.

And it is my specific prayer that you would not succumb to having two useless arms and two feeble hands.

Love,

Your father, THOMAS Perry Devick.

Now the question remains: what will you do with a message like this Zach?

Of course the ball is in your court. If you have actually taken the time to read this message and consider the thought that has been put into this message, I would consider you a mature man. But knowing human nature, and the way most people become triggered by principles and values that don’t enlist into their particular stripes and labels embedded into a persons echo chamber, the typical response would be to become mad, and distance oneself from a person who didn’t fully adopt and adhere to their own particular persuasion of thought and reason.

As I see it, a man of substance with opposing views that he values and feels strongly have value, he would share those very things, and bring them to the table. That’s what mature men do. They put their differences on the table and allow them to be evaluated openly, and vulnerabley. That is what mature men have been doing throughout the centuries, evaluating the evidence and making decisions that enhance the good and the true, and weeded out the bad and the false.

The short video clips I sent you are just about that subject. Weeding out the bad, so that the good can survive. That’s the job of every good farmer, husband, father, son, and garden tender== every mature man. Without plucking up the weeds and taking out the trash, all the man has left is weeds and garbage to live in.

Your country and community can become that completely—and it wouldn’t take much work to achieve it. Sooner or later we will pay the piper. No family, no individual, no state, and no nation, can continuously live above their means. Spend more than they make. And not take responsibility for their own politics and religion that drive their decisions.

In the end, ignorance is not bliss, and destruction waits for the fool. With no foundation, no family, and no father, there is no place for the prodigal to return to.

The reason I share this with you is because I care about your growth as a man. If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t share it if I didn’t cherish you as my son, I would not attempt to reach you even though I know he might despise the very things that I share as treasures. Rejection is the first stage of love. A mature man will understand that. A mature man must risk rejection in order to achieve love even as Jesus was rejected, he is our example. (Isaiah 53:3)

Below are some examples of communication that produces both accusation and exhortation.

These examples are provided to test the discernment of the observer. Decisions need to be made. Choices need to be matured. Conclusions need to be drawn. Understanding when a person crosses a line, needs to be delineated in order for maturity to take root and grow in: strength, confidence, wisdom, and fruitfulness.

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