ALL MEN ARE SCUM

Today I just want to put out my thoughts on the famous social media slogan, all men are scum. And this blog being what it is –a site that serves up creative spiritual nourishment- we would go back to see if this line has a biblical stem. And I believe it does. Come with me to hear what Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of all times, a man whose utterance, power and insight carved a way to thrones, lands and homes, a well-travelled man who must have known something of a lot of men, has to say about all men.
 
Let’s get to 1kings 19 down to verse 10: ‘“I’ve been working my heart out for the God-of-the Angel-Armies,” said Elijah. “The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.”’ THE MSG
 
Elijah thought that every single person in Israel –asides himself of course- had abandoned the Lord. He thought all men in Israel were disloyal, forgetful, adulterous -for following other gods instead of God- he essentially thought they were all scum. He must have had a reason for saying that, he must have seen how Israel unanimously went against God and this led to his conclusion. But what did God say in response?
 
Verse 18 of the same scripture says: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which had not kissed him.”
7,000! How far from the truth could Elijah be? How could such a large number of people go unnoticed?
 
Now back to us. Every day, tales of the evil things men do inundate us from all sides till we can almost see nothing else. It’s the news snagging the headlines, what is popping on the internet, trending on twitter, the gist in the salon… Every-single-where! And it always come with that requisite generalization, ‘all men…..’ you can fill the blanks. And it seems true, but then, I know that there are many men whose knees haven’t bowed to Baal, neither have they kissed Baal. Substitute all that scum stands for into that statement. There are many men who still serve God from a pure heart. Men who still excel in the corporate world with the consecration of Joseph. Men whose knees would not bow to the pressures of the swaying backside of an advancing lady. Men in Lagos whose loyalty is to their wives alone –because Lagos seems to be at the focus of all these. Men who are not looking to have sex with every lady that comes their way. Men whose minds are renewed in the word of God and whose feet are planted in righteousness. These men bow their knee to the Lord and have submitted themselves to the working of the Holy Spirit and so their lives yield the fruit of the spirit not scum. If the Lord should disclose the statistics of such men that are still in existence to us, I bet we’d be as stunned as Elijah was.
 
But there is something the Devil does with generalizations, he obscures the truth with it. He makes the person doing the wrong to feel a fake sense of leverage with every other person and the victim of the wrong being done to feel false comfort in ‘this is a problem common to everyone’. Lies thrive on false generalizations. ‘All youths get throwed.’ ‘No one can live a life that pleases God’ ‘Everyone in church clubs’ ‘All ladies chase money’ ‘All men cheat!’….. You name it.
 
I’m not speaking from a point of ignorance or denial. I know there a whole lot of abusive men out there, men who have their consciences seared with hot iron, men who truly are scum. Yes, there are many people on the wrong path, but the Lord would always have a remnant. Now dear brother, are you on the Lord’s side or are you just going to use all men are scum as an excuse to remain a scum between someone’s toes?
Dear daughter of Zion, the thoughts God have towards you are thoughts of good! Not of scum. Don’t settle for scum. The Lord has not raised you to chuck you in the bosom of a man who is scum. Don’t use all men are scum as an excuse to settle for trash. ALL MEN ARE SCUM!
 
Jesus does not come into a man’s life to leave him as scum. ALL MEN ARE NOT SCUM!
 
Okay, we can share this and let the fetid stench of a false generalization lose its hold on the lungs of people. And if you are a man reading this, make sure you are not scum. With the help of the Holy Spirit, let’s take away every dross from our silver that we may be ready and useful for the silversmith.