The essence of strategic ambiguity

Unknown to ordinary people is that the use of language involves commonly accepted conditions, not necessarily based on truth. The shades of colour are the most common, in depicting human deception. After having communicated dishonest information over a long time, humans would eventually adopt such falsehoods as truth. Tradition is another vehicle for transmitting falsehoods. This is a trending problem that affects the entirety of humanity across the world.

In communication, we speak loosely of there being black and white people. But when carefully examined the usage of white or black, referring to humans, bears no truth. There has never been a white or black person ever seen in this world. This is, but one example of falsehoods being projected and accepted as truth, through language. This confirms a reason why it is foolhardy to sustain faith in physical materials. That conclusion provides a special reason why all physical things are subject to change, including human beings.

My photos, taken two decades ago, are a total misrepresentation of my current outlook. My current image is different from how I looked, some twenty years ago. The same is true of anyone reading this material. Some people may be gripped with denial, preferring to remain in the same mode. Hence, death remains unreal, and yet death is an unavoidable phenomenon.

Who can reverse the years of physical survival; whether living in surplus or poverty? This world has been adorned by millions of the most beautiful women, unable to avoid eventually succumbing to old age, before death. Some of the names of those luminaries can be privileged to survive longer before eventually being forgotten in a fast-changing world.

Through shading, common colors can be tinted in many different decorations, but still be portrayed with the same description. For instance, colour can be adjudged as light green or dark blue, but leaving various other tints improperly described. Such is the limitation of language. Light and darkness are not exceptions in language misrepresentation. Light is commonly assigned with white colour. But light cannot be described as one of the colours.

Although projected in a rainbow as having seven colours, this is still an inaccurate projection of light. Shades in colouring can be in millions. This reveals that there are more unknown realities in this world than those assumed to exist. Light and darkness are sustainable dichotomies, carrying substance on corrupt languages.

Pure light cannot be observed by the naked eye, without risking blindness. Pure darkness is simply a condition of the absence of light. Darkness as a condition of the absence of light is similar to nothingness representing the absence of substance. Alternatively, this is similar to death as being the absence of life. The only sustainable communication between light and darkness depends on the amount of light when projected over darkness.

The more light there would be, the fainter the existence of darkness. In other words, darkness vanishes in the virtual presence of light. This portrays a simple truth that can be scientifically verified. The rest of the people feel comfortable with acceptable falsehoods, in-between truth and error. Truth and falsehoods represent similar dichotomies as manifested in light and darkness.

The more truth is availed, the fainter the existence of falsehoods remains. Falsehood vanishes in the virtual presence of truth. How much attainable is the virtual presence of truth? I suppose virtual truth is scientifically impossible, in a physical universe. Although Jesus’ appearance served to cast the possibility of the virtual truth, His presence created a problem that led to His murder.

Jesus could not live longer, representing the virtual truth on this planet. Jesus’ murder confirmed the reality that truth cannot be tolerated on this planet. Hence, Jesus did not openly teach the mysteries of God’s Kingdom to the general public. Virtual truth was provided only to those who had been willing to lose everything to follow him.

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Matthew 13:10-17 NIV).

Jesus had the virtual truth that could not be divulged to ordinary people, for their safety. Just as it is impossible for physical humans to observe virtual light, physical people can’t access virtual truth. The real person, created in God’s image, is spiritual, more than physical.

The physical condition is aligned to darkness, rather than to light. In His loving mercy, Jesus could not divulge the secrets of God’s Kingdom to ordinary humans. The most interesting portion of Jesus’ statement appears as misleading: “Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

That statement suggests a possible misleading of ordinary humans. One could be tempted to comically liken this to the controversial Chamisa’s strategic ambiguity. This is when considering that as infantile as CCC is considered to be; it remains a talking point, across the world. Currently, even ZANU PF talks about CCC more than they talk about ZANU PF. How can one confirm this reality, without attributing this to strategic ambiguity?

The Zimbabwean developments may as well be shadowing the worldly events, before the second coming of Jesus. The parables were designed on the template of strategic ambiguity. Light and darkness can never share space, unless when disguising each other. Only in darkness, are secrets contained. Jesus used parables to share God’s mysteries in a world of darkness.

The strategic ambiguity started in the Israelites’ story. Joseph was sold to Egypt, leading to Israel’s migration from Canaan. Nothing could be suspected of future developments, at that time. God was exercising His strategic ambiguity, even during that time. Hence; “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30 NIV).

The entire plan of salvation cannot work without applying the principle of strategic ambiguity. Without it the only appealing condition of dealing with a sinful humanity is annihilation. The forces of darkness invite brutal force.

Simon Peter’s desire for revenge at the Garden of Gethsemane was driven by a natural appeal for revenge. The inclination had been to decimate those intending to arrest an innocent Jesus. Such type of self-defence did not appeal to Jesus whose knowledge was way above the behaviour of those imbeciles.

The idea of avoiding revenge when provoked comes from informed people. When harming another person, it is not the victim that suffers. The person committing the crime is the one deserving mercy, as spiritually more vulnerable than the victim. This confirms the reason why Jesus instructed His followers to pray for their enemies.

God’s Kingdom attends to the spirit, more than catering for the physical body. Injuring another person gives the impression that the aggrieved person would be the one at a disadvantage. On the contrary, it is the person committing the heinous crime who would be at a disadvantage. Jesus instructed His disciples to pray for their enemies. However, among Christian groupings, prayers are commonly about friends and relatives, rather than for those causing suffering.

Praying for friends and relatives appeals to those of this world, although nothing is wrong with praying for one’s relatives. Jesus understands such people, just as He understood Martha and Mary after Lazarus’ death. The wrong idea is upholding the assumption of being Christ’s follower, when different.

The strategic ambiguity keeps the opponent unaware of the infiltration through the opponent’s strongholds. Hence, Jesus said it would be impossible to destroy His Church, whose members are not identified denominationally. Those regarded as opponents are commonly regarded as friends, but unknown to actual enemies.

For that reason, strategic ambiguity is impossible to contain, as supported from within the enemy’s ranks. God’s righteousness cannot be attainable to humanity. As long as living in the flesh, one cannot attain God’s righteousness, except by God’s grace, made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross.

Jesus’ death validated our salvation. While ordinary humans consider Jesus’ murder as unfair and deserving of condemnation, it facilitated human deliverance. Without the cross, there was no hope for humanity. The parable of the Prodigal Son clarifies the workings of God, on the plan of salvation.

The only condition that led to the atonement between the prodigal Son and His father was love. The Prodigal Son’s criminal activities deserved irreversible condemnation. This portrays the reason why God’s love cannot be reconciled to a common understanding. The faithful brother was justifiably aggrieved. He could not understand how his father seemed to violate simple terms of justice.

The common appeal was that justice required punishment for the wayward son. It was the faithful son who deserved lavish treatment, as having unyieldingly remained with his father. There is an apparent travesty of Justice in that scenario. Hence, God’s strategic ambiguity is confirmed in Jesus’ services.

The father of the Prodigal Son sacrificed his faithful son, to accommodate a condemned wayward son. Without love, the bitterness engulfing the faithful son could have condemned him. But he remained steadfastly committed to His Father’s service. The story ends with the most gratifying appeasement.

“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:31-32 NIV).

The above statement assured the faithful son that he was not different from his father, after all. That statement alone could have triggered the faithful son to mete justice against his wayward brother. However, the oneness implied, could not make that possible. The faithful son had to adopt his father’s celebratory mood, at the return of the wayward son.

Ordinary people cannot understand how that parable applies when considering Jesus’ death on the cross. The brother of the Prodigal Son was not condemned to the cross, to fit in the fulfilment of Jesus’ sacrifice. This comes from the inability to appreciate that, spiritually; a cross is a blessing, more than a condemnation.

Nothing else confirms the Lordship of Jesus, except the cross. Currently, ordinary people assume that Jesus solely deserves praise. But several others would be on the throne with Him at His second coming. The Book of Revelation proffers this reality, without ambiguity.

“The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron sceptre.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and his thigh, he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:14-16 NIV).

The event, about to take place does not imply imminent judgment for humanity. The man having been subjected to the cross would then be given political power over the nations of the world. He would not be ruling by Himself. People commonly highlight Jesus, unaware of several others, occupying positions of authority. The Judgment Day would be yet to come (Revelation 20:11-15 NIV).

Those with an aberration concerning the strategic ambiguity, could as well have a field day, condemning God’s plan of salvation. The significance of strategic ambiguity is the only one workable when dealing with sinful humanity. This implies those assuming to know, even when conducting themselves foolishly. God seeks to strategically save those people from their self-destruction.

Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.

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