By Patty Reiswig
The Culture of Honor Sustaining A Supernatural
Environment by Danny Silk is a book that I intend to re-read again and
again until all aspects are truly embedded within my spiritual being. It is my
prayer that God will continue to use this book to bring clarity and change to the
way I view my relationships with God, family, other Christians and all those in
the world yet to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. I believe I gleaned principles from every
chapter but there are a few truths that particularly “stung like a bee” but
positively impacted the spiritual woman in me. I can never be the same or think
the same.
The most painful realizations were
found in the principles of—being “unpunishable” in Jesus and preserving
“restoration of relationships” rather than the seeking instead a form of repentance
by following the rules (Chapters 3 and 4). I was left with a “huge painful welt” as I
read these words,
“We have to be aware of how
natural it is to be offended, and what offense does to you. What offense does
to you is it justifies you withholding your love. I get to withhold my love
from you when you have broken the rules, because people who fail are unworthy
of love, and they deserve to be punished. In fact, what punishment looks like
most often is withholding love. And when I withhold love, anxiety fills the
void, and a spirit of fear directs my behavior toward the offender.”[1]
Even as I write this review, I feel shame and I
am grieved in my spirit by my own failures to fully understand the essential
core values of heaven to earth before I first read these lines. As I think back
over my life thus far, I cannot recall a time when any earthly relationship has
modeled anything other than punishment and a withdrawal of affection. Not that
this is any excuse but it does explain why it never occurred to me. Back to the point, as I was reading this
section God spoke to me, “You know this is exactly what is happening in your
relationship with …….?” I never knew I was doing this. How could I be
withholding my love? And if I was, well, yes they do deserve to be ostracized
from the intimate details of my life. If I let them back in, they are only
going to hurt me again—they cannot be trusted with my heart. Surely you know
that Lord, right? Well, okay, they said they were sorry and desire a healthy
relationship and to make it right but I cannot trust them. I am afraid of them…
Do you hear me Lord? I guess it’s clear I fought to justify myself but the
sting of the truth had already left its mark. This is a hard truth to accept
because it demands that you live it; that you remain open and vulnerable and
seek restoration. The author of the Culture
of Honor writes, “Sin does not need to be punished. It doesn’t need to be
controlled. It’s not a powerful force. It’s just that we don’t believe it. It’s
easy to preach stuff. It’s another deal living it!”[2]
And again he writes, “Walking in the light is not for wimps. It requires a deep
faith in God’s love and the power of His grace to give us what we need to
change.”[3]
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts
out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not
perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and
hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom
he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him,
that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”[4]
The consequence of continuing with
the practice of punishment and withdrawal of affection is contrary to
developing healthy relationships. It is not bringing down the “Heavenly” to
earth. I no longer desire to be directed by fear or to live with the anxiety
the offender’s presence in my life has caused because of that fear. I do not
wish to continue a behavior that does not please the heart of God. I wish to
let go, seek restoration, and with God’s help to forgive as He has forgiven me—He
withholds nothing! And yet, I cannot express the depth of the spirit versus
flesh war within me to just let the offense go, to give up control. It must be
accomplished by His grace. I am willing to be love-driven. Yet, I am powerless.
“I find then the principle that evil is present in
me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law
of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of
my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the
law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will
set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God
through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind
am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”[5]
Another principle that stirred the
bee hive to its height of activity, deals with the freedom in having a “wealthy-mindset”
(Chapter 5). Danny Silk writes, “The
development and expansion of a wealth mindset is an essential key to our
successful introduction of Heaven coming to earth and having it remain on
earth.” Okay, Mr. Silk, I accept that, “I am rich in Christ.” However, upon
reading further, I found out I did not understand the principles of a “wealthy-mindset.”
That I have in fact, most often operated
in the mindset and limited view of being poor or middle-class in my relationship
with Heaven. This is unacceptable! I’m now in real pain. I’m having a major
allergic reaction. A change of view is
being birthed out of this pain.
So, here is what I really want to
see in me. First, I want to encounter the beauty of God daily. It is often my prayer, “God orchestrate
something beautiful today.” I don’t know
if I have “expected it” in an unlimited supply every day, all day as a
description of what my life on this earth is all about. But, “I want it!” “Got
to, Got to have it!” Second, I want to
be described as “one of generosity.” I not only want to receive the inheritance
but to pour my life out for the benefit of others now and for future
generations to come. I desire to move forward and access what God seeks to
accomplish through this time in history. Third, I want to partner with God in
the “global picture” to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Lastly,
I don’t want to be motivated to just survive or to somehow escape my pain. I
don’t want to live in the chaos of my own creation. I don’t want to strive for
self-achievement. I want to live a life fully connected to God, to make the
necessary sacrifices to be in the presence of God, and to connect with and
actively support God’s anointed in resources and time. I want to give my life
for those things that are eternal and deserve honor. To find a worthy cause in EVERYONE
I meet. To quote Danny Silk, “Every person you encounter is one Christ has
honored in His life, death, and resurrection. The person may not know who he
really is from an eternal standpoint, but we do, and when we have a wealth
mindset and a heart of honor, we will treat him accordingly.”
When I was a child…I was often
embarrassed by my father’s need to always witness to my friends. I would find
myself saying, “Dad, so and so goes to the Methodist Church just down the
street” or I would just try to change the subject somehow. Now, I think back on this time with regret. In
fact, I find myself typing through stinging tears. I should have embraced it,
encouraged it; accepted as my own birth right, responsibility and
privilege. I will not repeat the
mistakes of my past. EVERYONE my life touches is my mission! I will clothe them
with the clothes of royalty that they may encounter the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. So I may not be ashamed, I will say, “I chose to honor my identity as
a daughter, Princess of the Most High God!”
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you
may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy.”[6]
BIOLOGRAPHY
Silk, Danny. Culture
of Honor Sustaining A Supernatural Environment. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers Inc. 2009
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962,
1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975,
1977, 1995 by The
Lockman Foundation
[1] Silk, Danny, Culture of Honor Sustaining A Supernatural Environment
(Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers Inc. 2009) 93
[2] Silk, Danny, Culture of Honor Sustaining A Supernatural
Environment (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers Inc. 2009) 80
[3] Ibid 114
[4] 1 John 4:18-21 (NASB), emphasis
added
[5] Romans 7:21-25 (NASB)
[6] 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NASB)
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