Ray Ortlund Is Better Than You

So, another week. Another great week of life. Thank the Lord, and I'm just grateful that we made it, and that he's so good to us. I hope you had a great week. I had a really good week until today, and then I accidentally clicked on Twitter.

That's right, and that ruined my day, just knowing that I had helped Jack Dorsey, and all the stockholders, and all the powers that be. I helped them make a little bit of money. I don't know how much they make per click, or whatever, or if it even works that way.

I don't know. But it made me feel dirty, so I'm going to have a nice sip of iced tea, just to cleanse myself a little bit. All right. All right. Yeah, that's good. Anyway, so I clicked on Twitter, and I clicked on this Ray Ortlund tweet, and I just wanted to make a comment about it.

Not really so much about the message itself, but really just the tone is really what I want to talk about. It's not so much what he said, you see. It's the tone of what he said. No, actually, it's both, of course, and I don't really care about the tone at all.

But I find this so interesting. So, the first thing is, Ray said it out loud, but this is a very common belief. I remember there was someone in my life that I was very close with. I'm not going to tell you my relationship with him, but he used to talk about Southerners this way all the time.

And he would always just disparage Southerners. And he was a Christian, a professing Christian. He would always disparage Southerners and their religion as if they were idiots, as if they were Neanderthals.

As if they were just so backwards, right? And people do this with charismatics, and there's other people, other groups within Christianity that this is done all the time. And I never understood it, and I used to get into discussions with this guy.

Like, why are you saying this? Like, you always say this about the Bible Belt. What exactly are you talking about, right? This is not a Bible. And he would just say, mumble something about easy-believism or something like that.

And I'm like, okay, but see, it's not about the Southerners, though. There's easy-believism everywhere. You know what I mean? Like, what's specific about the Bible Belt? Why do you feel the need to disparage and disdain the Southerners all the time?

I've never lived in the South, right? I've never lived in the South, and I was a good Yankee when I grew up. I grew up in Connecticut. I was a good Yankee. I was taught that the Southerners were the ones in the wrong in the Civil War.

I was taught just like everybody, but I've never understood this just disgust that people have for Southerners. I've never understood it. And I remember when I first went to the South, it seemed like a lovely place to me.

I don't know. I just don't get it. But anyway, but people like Ray Ortlund, they descend from on high, and they love saying stuff like this. And I think I know why they love saying stuff like this. It's because it gets some pats on the head from their true masters, which is the powers that be, which is the spirit of the age.

This is the world. They love to get the world to be pleased with them. This is like Ray Ortlund's way of auditioning for an article in The Washington Post. He really desperately wants to write for The Washington Post or something like that.

So this is his audition. This is how he does it, right? And so it's just so pathetic. It's so sad. I actually had a thought just the other day. I was thinking of recording a video. Every time I walk out my door, my chickens will run out of the coop real quick because they hear me coming because they're just hungry.

They want food. They want something from me. And that's how it is when CNN comes around the corner of Big Eva way. All the Big Eva goons come out. Can I write the article this time? Can it be me? Pick me, me, me.

You know what I mean? That's how they do it. They're just auditioning for it. So it's just really sad and pathetic and all that kind of stuff. And you can see all these simps. Amen. Thank you for your faith.

Oh, amen. Of course. This guy. And they're just going in and all that kind of stuff. And I just one of the one of these tweets. And of course, they got some pushback as well, because this is a preposterous tweet.

Everyone can sense the elitism from this tweet. This is what Big Eva is. Ray Ortlund is personifying Big Eva and their mentality. They're up here. All you idiots are down here. Jesus didn't operate this way, by the way.

What Jesus did. Jesus had harsh words for people, but he had harsh words for the leaders, right? He had harsh words for those that were leading the people astray. But when it came to those who were being led astray, he had sympathy for those people.

He had sympathy on the masses, the common folk, and he ripped the Pharisees and the leadership very often. You see, Big Eva operates in the upside down, right? They think it's godly and Christ-like to rip the common folks and let the leaders alone.

Right? So that's how they do it in Big Eva. It's the upside down of Jesus. It's the anti-Christ of how to operate in society. They turn it on its head. Jesus had sympathy for the masses. They hate the masses.

Jesus ripped the leadership, and when you rip them, touch not the Lord's anointed. They can't even believe. There's even people to this day. They won't even believe that I dare speak to Ray Ortlund in this way.

Of course I dare. Of course I dare, because this is the example that Christ set for us. He got really upset at those who were leading the people astray, and he had sympathy for those being led astray, which is why I ripped Jamar Tisby.

But a little old lady who's a little bit woke, I'm not going to come down hard on her. You know what I mean? I'm not. I have sympathy for people like that. I have sympathy for those that Jamar leads astray.

I have harsh words for Jamar. I think that's the example of Christ, but that's not how Big Eva operates. They do it in the upside down. They do it the opposite of the way Christ did it, and this is what I wanted to point out here, because there's a lot of people just amening this tweet and all that kind of stuff.

And then I saw our friend Neil Shenvey, and Neil, listen, I always say this. I feel the need to say it again. I like Neil, right? I like Neil. I get a lot of grief for liking Neil. People on my side think that I'm being naive for liking Neil.

Listen, I wouldn't want to be with Neil in a bar fight, obviously, but, like, you know, there are certain things that I think Neil is very useful at. Like if I wanted to solve an equation, I'd call up Neil Shenvey.

But if I wanted to fight the goon on the other side of the bar that was harassing my wife, I wouldn't pick Neil. I mean, it's just that simple. But the thing is, like, and I mean metaphorically. I'm not talking about his actual fighting skills.

I don't know the guy. He's probably more jacked than I am. Anyway, here's how Neil responds to this, and this is what I find so amazing about this. He says, And the thing is, like, he's talking to Ray as if Ray gives two rips about this, right?

Like he's like, it's, see, Ray, he comes to him with his hat in his hand. He's like, It's not so much that you are elite and you're speaking from on high, criticizing the masses and ripping them. No, no, it just contributes to that sentiment.

You know, just the average Christian will look at that and they might not like it, so maybe rethink it. It's not about rethinking how he worded it. It's about the mentality, Neil. See, that's the thing, Neil.

Like you have this standard where if you're winsome, then that's godly. If you're angry and frustrated, then that's not godly. And the reality is that that's not how the scripture talks about people that are leading the others astray.

In fact, it often says that those who are doing this, who are leading people astray, who are operating for the wrong team. Like this tweet shows you squarely what Team Ray Ortlund is on. He's on Team Elite.

He's on Team I'm-Gonna-Rip-The-Common-Christian, right? That's the team he's on. So it's not about rethinking it or rewording it. It's about the mentality. You see, the Bible says that people that lead the masses astray often come to you with gentle words.

And so it's like this tweet is vicious, guys. This is a vicious tweet. This is a vicious tweet worded, oh, so sweet, just like a sweet old man. And you just read it. You just want to, like, just grab his little cheek and squeeze it.

Like he's just being so sweet. He's a lovely man. This guy has a squeaky clean reputation. And the reason he got it is because he tells you evil, awful things. He has war in his heart, but his words are smooth as butter.

That's a direct quote from the Bible. There's war in his heart, but his words are smooth as butter. He's tricking you. The whole facade of being just this lovely gentleman and all that kind of stuff, it's a trick.

There's nothing but hatred in this tweet. This is one of the most vile tweets I've read in a long time. And lots of people picked up on this, by the way. I'm not the only one. I'm not reading this weirdly.

This is what comes across here. This is vile. And I would argue, Neil, that it's not about rethinking it or the perceptions. No, it's about Ray has exposed his heart. And it's full of disdain and hatred for the common Christian in the Bible Belt region.

That's what's going on here. That's what's going on here. And so, again, I just have to reorient everyone who listens to this. If you watch my channel, you understand this already. I don't have to reorient you.

But I ask that you share this with people, right? It's those who have vicious words, but they sound oh so delightful. Those are the people that are really dangerous. And the thing is, you know, this is going to have the wrong tone for a lot of people.

What's your tone, AD? It's your tone. I'm pleading with Ray here to put down this rebellion, to stop with this nonsense, this elitist nonsense, and start caring for the body of Christ the way Christ did.

That's what I'm calling for you to do. I'm pleading with you with strong words because you're a man and you can take it. Stop this. Stop this. I know you're like the godfather of the evangelicals. It's like you're one of the Dons.

There's like the five families of evangelicalism. You're one of them. I get that. But this stuff, this hatred that you have in your heart towards common Christians is so palpable that it's going to destroy you if it hasn't already destroyed you.

So I'm asking you, and I'm asking you with harsh tones, because that's what I think you need to be shaken out of this stupor where you're up here. You don't even know what you're doing. You can't even tell that your heart is full of hate, and it's going to destroy you.

And so I would ask you, if you know Ray, do something. Say something. You don't have to send him my video, but you've got to stop this man. This hate will destroy him. This hate will destroy him. And so if you love Ray Ortlund, I would ask you to intervene here because his heart is not right before God.

Anyway, I hope you found this video helpful. Enjoy your weekend. God bless.