Several days ago, I was listening to a news broadcast on Elon Musk becoming the first trillionaire after the SpaceX stock offering that brought it to the forefront of Wall Street talk once again. The discussion was about the difference between the liberal and conservative ends of the political spectrum and how Musk, and consequently Tesla, were darlings of the liberal end of the spectrum until Musk was “red-pilled” and became more conservative and seemed to align with President Trump more than in the past.
There was no explanation of the term “red-pilled” and I couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with the political parties – you know, red for Republican and blue for Democratic affiliations. So I looked it up. But I wasn’t even close to understanding the meaning. It seems that the term first came into vogue in 1999 when Keanu Reeves starred in a movie called, “The Matrix.” Now, that was one of the movies that I saw back in the day, but I never really understood it. So I was pleased when an explanation was offered about the whole red pill thing.
It turns out that the movie introduced two pills – a red pill and a blue pill. As I understand it, if you want to live in an alternative reality, you decide to take the blue pill. It refers to “unquestioning acceptance of progressive thoughts and values.” And if you take the red pill, you desire to “recognize a reality previously concealed from you.” So in the movie, it has nothing to do with politics but the terms have come to be used in political commentary. In fact, the terms have taken on a more direct and demeaning connotation and are now sometimes even used to denigrate one position or the other side.
The bottom line in the news broadcast was a reporter questioning whether Musk had changed his views on things because someone had “red-pilled” him and therefore, he had become more conservative in his politics. I’m just amazed that the term was bantered about so easily and I have NEVER even heard it before… As much as I try to stay informed on current events, I admit that I really felt out of touch listening to the various commentators discussing red pills and blue pills.
Of course, this leads me to our religious discussion for the evening. This past week, the local news was full of commentary about a local mega church pastor who was summarily dismissed from his senior pastor position for poor leadership decisions as well as some questionable behaviors surrounding his ministry. There had been questions when he was hired almost four years ago, but those concerns were investigated and found to be inconclusive. The elder board and leadership hired the pastor and have stood behind their decision – until now.
It seems that the reality of the recent reports that were coming in moved them to action after carefully considering their roles and responsibilities as leaders of this church. It would seem that, in the words of the new language I have heard about this week, they were “red-pilled.” Things that had previously not been obvious now were impossible to ignore and action had to be taken. Of course, prayers for the pastor, his family, the elders and church leaders, as well as the congregation are all in order. It hurts the entire body of Christ when things like this happen.
But when it comes to our Christianity, I hope that everyone takes the red pill. After all, we don’t want to be ignorant of the realities of God and try to go through life in our own power. Clearly, mankind hasn’t done such a great job with the problems of the world and we need to be fully aware of Christ as the head of the church. We have been promised eternal life and we have been charged with stewardship of the resources on this earth.
Sitting under the teaching of a skilled pastor/teacher or other religious leader is imperative to grow deeper in our faith. Our verse for tonight comes from a psalm of David. He was one of those people who had a very authentic, real relationship with God. David worshipped the Lord and, throughout his writings, he expressed almost every human emotion through his authentic relationship with God. David tells us, in Psalm 9:7-10. “The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
My encouragement this evening is that Jesus is there to listen to our concerns and confusion. And there will be times in our lives when we may make the wrong decisions, but that’s okay. As long as we turn to Jesus and confess our insecurities. My prayer is that we will always seek to understand God’s truth and will always commit to take the “red pill.” The truth of Jesus and His Heavenly Father is something we can always depend on. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…