Response to a Private Message

I decided to post here a response that I sent to someone who sent me a private message on Facebook in relation to something I had posted earlier. It came from an account with both a man and a woman's name on it. It was so heavily encrypted, or perhaps so hemmed in by privacy measures, that I could learn nothing about the sender of the message by checking the FB profile. I have made a few edits and additions to the original reply.

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First, I'd like to know whether the person writing here is [husband] or [wife]. Since I believe that what I'm saying could be said to either one of you, I'll go ahead in spite of this uncertainty for now.

"I'd encourage you to do a little more research . . ." Let me assure you first that I know how to do research. I've submitted many research projects to teachers of college classes, and gotten approving feedback and good grades for it. I've also taught many high school language arts classes, including teaching students how to do research. For a number of years, I was in charge of crafting a bi-monthly school-wide research project on current events. That's when I first started really paying attention to current events. I retired from teaching in 2018. After that I had a lot more time to read and study to my heart's content.

I have developed and taught high school courses on Anabaptist History. IOW, I know our history in relation to political involvement, and I know that much of what I see now is a radical departure from that good tradition. This is a great grief to me.

I too grew up in a family with strong opinions and spirited debate. We're a diverse group today (12 children), but all of us have high regard for how our parents (and even our grandparents and great grandparents) modeled a life of curiosity about current events and issues, and took a highly principled stand in relation to what was going on in the world. My grandfather, Ananias J. Beachy, for example, was jailed during WW1 for refusing to buy war bonds. He was not disobeying the law, but public sentiment was so strong that anyone who stood for the principle of nonresistance in that way was seen as a collaborator with the enemy.

My Amish great grandfather, Jonas Beachy, subscribed to the Kansas City Star, the biggest daily paper in the region (he lived in Iowa), and it was said in his obituary that he saw great value in knowing what was going on in the world, or else we would not be able "to discern the times."

My father, David L. Miller, left his tracks on every Beachy board (except AMA), since he was a founding member of all of them. He was on a number of inter-Mennonite and community "founding boards" as well. He attended college as an Old Order young man and was ordained to the ministry in the OO church after that. He was a teacher at Calvary Bible School and a regular columnist for Calvary Messenger. I don't say this because I want you to be awed by any of it. I'm saying it to emphasize what I will say next.

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but what you're saying to me tells me that you have not taken time to really hear from me in order to learn. You're listening just long enough to get an idea for how to set me straight from your "superior position and knowledge." For example, I don't know how many times I've explained why I don't vote, and still feel called to speak truth publicly, even when it involves topics like politics that people have strong opinions on. You either did not read that or didn't understand what you read. I'll just point you for now to things that I've already written, and to the example in Scripture of people who spoke prophetically, and the Lord blessed their ministry. My Facebook posts have always been public, so you can go back as far as you want to see earlier posts. I haven't posted much on my blog for some time, but there's a long series on my blog about some of the same topics that I've been writing about on FB of late. My blog address is miriamiwashige.blogspot.com. You can enter a search term there in order to find posts on a particular topic.

I've also said a lot about media consumption in the past. You don't seem to understand where I'm coming from on that front either. Your reference to my "preferred political candidate" is another case in point. I don't have a preferred political candidate except "anyone other than Trump." I know that Biden is old and that he has ailments. I also know that there's much more to learn about this than whether or not he has dementia and whether he should continue to be the candidate. I reference some of what happened in my parents' final years when I evaluate what I see in Biden. Some of it is cautionary, and some of it makes me want to counter the "panic." In short, what you seem so confident of from your sources (that he has dementia--end of story) differs from what some other credible sources are saying, so I'm reserving "judgement" on that for now, and praying for the Lord's will to be done. It will make no difference in my vote (because I won't vote, of course).

I sense that you also might have "prophetic" motivations. Believe me, I know how hard it is to function appropriately in a Beachy setting with such a motivation, especially for women. I'm sure that you know that speaking prophetically means "speaking truth" as much as it means "fore telling." A commitment to speak only truth takes deep humility and a willingness to keep your mouth shut until the Lord pries your lips open with truths that compel others to fall down and worship the God of the Universe. All gifts are given for the edifying of the body of Christ, and putting prophetic gifts on parade for other reasons is counter-productive at best. Opinions on politics are a dime a dozen, and I personally don't think sharing my opinions (or yours) benefits anyone very much--only calling people to faithful living in relation to the claims of God on one's life.

I also realize that speaking prophetically in a God-honoring way means to stay far away from gaslighting. I'm not sure where the term for this manipulative maneuver originated, but I picture it as flooding the area with inflammatory gases and then blaming innocent people for starting a fire if they stroll into the room, bringing a charge of static electricity with them, which causes an explosion. In other words, I dare not spread toxicity or lies and then blame people for causing a problem when they disagree with me.

This leads me to one topic on which I would be glad to hear from you again: How do you look to Scripture and especially to the way of Jesus to guide your ideals as it relates to promoting the growth of the Kingdom of God--today, in America, in this political morass? I still feel a deep need to learn in this area, and I would be glad to learn from you.

After you have familiarized yourself further with what I have already written, I would be glad to communicate on other topics as well.

Please communicate with me by email in the future. My address is miriam@iwashige.com. If I knew your email address, I would be happy to let you continue to write via Messenger, but I want to respond by email.

One more thing: I plan to travel to my sister's place in Oregon for a time of fellowship with my siblings and their spouses, leaving on Tuesday and coming back the following Monday. Since I'll be away from my computer, it's not likely that I'll be very reachable electronically during that time.

Blessings on your walk with God.