The Voice - The Word
Reflect for a moment, regardless of your beliefs, of a shadow, the image of yourself that falls on walls, on the ground, from sunlight. No sound, just an image, in front, behind or to the side. Your movements may be reflected as well. Now consider a hidden apparition, a remarkable silent voice, yet heard, whenever an individual commits an act that is wrong. The voice may not be heard immediately, but it appears after, at some point, and may dwell. It is in your head. The voice can be like dust on a shoulder, not easily removed; it may take several brushes of the hand, but never is it all gone. An alternative is to cover the dust, or for the voice, to deny its existence. That silent voice, but heard inside your head, is called ‘guilt.’ Too often ignored.
But where does that voice come from? Guilt is as the voice of truth, an awareness of knowing you have committed an error of judgement, actions that are abnormal, and do not reflect on correct habits or activities. Very few do not feel the guilt nor hear the voice. Who or what is it that infects the mind of man with reminders of folly? The voice is as a righteous decree. From a historical perspective the voices heard by our ancestors from all over this universe were referred to as an all powerful force of nature, or a god. Attempts to describe god resulted in icons of the imagination. There were moon gods, birds, animals, reptiles and idols made from clay, wood, even rocks to look human or non-human. Yet they represented but one thing. It is as an inherent element that exits within every person. For many the voice is God, and for over 2 billion, possibly much more, it is the biblical God. In fact for all, it is God. I will tell you why.
Why the Biblical God? If you read the Bible it is as the voice speaking and making clear the demands on our human nature necessary to lead a proper life, a life caring of others, considerate of our bodies, prudent and moral, loving neighbor and God. Jesus is provided as the perfect example, an example humans may strive for, yet never achieve.
Let me share a few Bible verses and as you read these verses substitute in your mind that ‘voice’ for the word God.
“…God is being revealed…against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness….God has made it plain to them….Since creation…invisible qualities - …(an) eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen (or felt)…so that people have no excuse.” (from Romans 1). The Bible says we need to thank the ‘voice’ for when everyone collectively obeys their ‘voice’ in the appropriate fashion life is better and peace exists. Your neighbors feel safe and secure. Women feel safe. People do not live in fear of others. There is freedom. In denial of what the ‘voice’ tells us people, their hearts and minds, turn to “sinful desires, sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. (The truth is ) exchanged…for a lie.” The decision by humans ignoring the ever present voice is to create a false truth (a fabrication) to justify actions opposing the ‘voice.’ If enough humans agree or act in unison they create a false sense of being correct. The adage, a lie told often enough, by many, can become truth, from a media perspective anyway. Individually they know otherwise. The result is manmade laws defying God’s commandments.
Why was the Bible necessary? The world was being taken over by immoral forces. A united force of evil rebelled against the ‘voice’ to do as they wanted. This was the biblical fall from Grace, the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. So humans can know or be reminded of how to live properly for themselves and others the passages written in the bible are their guide. The ten commandments is a good guide; who can deny that. But many do. If you already listen to those voices and avoid being condemned or subject to guilt, you do not need to be reminded. Unfortunately that is not the case for any of us. No one is perfect, except the biblical Jesus.
“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. (Think LGBTQ etc.) They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, (liars), God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents, they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.” (Romans 1) The Bible continues saying people know God, hear the ‘voice,’ yet do bad things in defiance, and continue to do such things, practicing bad habits daily, regardless, “but also approve of those who practice them.”
There is a power in the universe, a reminder that lives in all of us. From the Bible again, the Book of Mark, chapter 3, “Know the power we are working with, especially spiritual.” The more the Bible, if you read it, informs us of what is proper and cannot be denied, the more meaningful it becomes until at some point it is impossible to ignore the inspiration behind what Christians call “the written Word.”
by Thomas W. Balderston
Author and Blogger
