Proverbs 29:1 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
     
      We have gone through a lengthy dispensation of uncertainty. There is a desperation within people who want to believe in something significant or someone of strength, or anything of value. These desperate souls can become disappointed, disheartened, and depressed when their trust has been betrayed by those they believed in. At the point of betrayal, they will either admit to making the wrong choice and will learn from the experience, or double down and remain obstinant in believing the one who deceived them. When a person chooses what they want to hear regardless of what others have said, this chosen blindness to the truth is childish and can be ruinous to a person’s life. Their stiff-necked attitude will cause problems. Prov. 29:1 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.      
      For example, when someone puts their faith in the words of a political leader and that leader is exposed as a fraud and has been caught in criminal acts, the trust that was in that person gets shaken. If those who put their trust in the fallen politician continue to stubbornly deny they did anything wrong, then they will also have to admit to themselves that they were wrong with their choice of candidate. Their admission to being deceived does not settle well in a person who is desperate to believe in something relevant. It reflects poorly on their self-esteem, which barely exists because they have nothing of substance to believe in. Jer. 17:5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
      In the last few years of disruptions throughout the world, there have been a lot of desperate feelings in people’s souls. They are latching onto whatever they can if only to believe in something. Many people have become bitterly disappointed with government leaders. When these politicians make promises, it is often said or written in vagueness and designed to be misunderstood and therefore, can be denied, leaving the impression of being corrupt or inept. In some cases both. It is not only in the political arena that this is happening. Unethical business practices, school-board shenanigans, and condo strata groups all seem to be laced with perfidious management and double-dealings.
      Where there is no God, all is permitted and foolishness reigns. Psalm 14:1a The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Where there is no belief in God, the desperation to believe in something becomes paramount in people’s lives. The fundamental need that vibrates within our existence is to believe in something. We were created in God’s image and have a built-in desire to worship, believe, and express our hearts. This is what separates us from all creation. The problem we create is when we remove God from our belief system – we end up vulnerable to being deceived. This is why some of the most nonsensical things will be defended by seemingly intelligent people and will cause the strangest of choices to be clutched onto.
      When reading historical events, we sometimes marvel at the people’s ignorant and silly ways they dealt with their problems, and we think, “Surely they must have seen how pathetic and irrational it was to believe in despots like Hitler, Stalin, or Mao Zedong.” We smirk and mock those who once believed in ridiculous superstitions, mythical beings, and those who thought the world was flat, and yet, we are no different. To this day, we allow despots to rule and wage war and they are still arguing whether the world is flat or not. We are constantly discovering how ignorant we are and prove our folly by what we defend and insist on believing regardless of the mountain of evidence to the contrary. Rom. 1:22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. In a hundred years from now, what will the people be laughing their heads off at the woeful choices we made and the nonsense we insisted on defending even with the evidence of the truth that surrounded us?    
      There is a high intensity of polarising views worldwide. The desperation to believe in something is causing this divergence in people’s hearts and the only way it will stop is to believe in who God has given us to save our souls. John 3:15 That whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. Jesus is Lord, and if we could start from that premise there would be a softening of the hearts to allow Godly reasoning to influence our lives. The Lord instructs us to test what is said before we run headlong into something contrived and irrational, and give our souls to defending it. 1John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.
      Jesus is our lifeline, and through Christ, we can walk in His peace and grace rather than the world’s desperation, dysfunction, or disillusionment. The Lord provides clear answers for our heart’s necessities, but we need to ask the Lord for the answers by faith, and we need to act upon the wisdom He gives us. If our hearts are full of Jesus, we won’t be so heartbroken when those who manage the world’s affairs let us down. We might even become mature enough to pray for them rather than curse their existence. Our desperation should be in wanting more of what God has for every one of us. Jer. 29:13 And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. When our hearts are busy seeking God it will be difficult for the events of the world to disrupt the eternal assurance we have in Christ. Desperate beliefs will not be part of our daily bread. Amen!