Every Knee will Bow, Every Tongue will Confess

 

This is a story about me serving God. By telling such a story, one cannot help bragging about himself. How can he not, for serving God feels so honorable and glorious, yet utterly humbling knowing that the honor and the glory are all His.

9gag is an Internet forum where I occasionally visit for funny memes and short videos. There was a video where Mohamed Ali, Mike Tyson, and two other black men (who are probably also accomplished boxers) are having a friendly chat on stage. The highlight of the video is when asked if Ali and Tyson would have a match when both are in their prime, who would win, Tyson responds:

- Hey, I know that I am vain, but even I know this: every head must bow, every tongue must confess: this is the greatest of all time! (gesturing at Ali).

Then someone nicknamed Yeahy posts a comment:

Did Mike Tyson really come up with those lines? “Every head must bow, everything must confess. This is the greatest of all time”

I hardly ever write comments. The Internet is filled with terrible people, and engaging in random conversations only invite needless conflicts and ill feelings. But this time I decide to respond to Yeahy’s question:

“Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” is an expression in the Bible, specifically Roman 14:11 and Philippians 2:11. Over time it becomes a known expression and here Tyson added that Ali is GOAT. Regardless, it shows Tyson’s humility and respect toward Ali which is quite commendable of him. I hope that helps.

To my surprise, Yeahy responds:

Thanks Cap. I should start reading the bible. They got some fire one liners in there

“Cap” is “captain”, someone who provides good answers, but that isn’t the reason why I am surprised. In the least expected situation, I have just made someone feel intrigued about the Bible and consider reading it. What?! This is incredible! Who would have thought that “fire one liners” can be a reason for someone to want to read the Bible? Not me in a million years. But hey, if wonderful quotes that have become common expressions is what it takes, then I may be of service for a bit more. So I say:

Glad to help! Since we are at it, another fun fact is “an eye for an eye.” The way to do things in many cultures back then was: if you wrong me, I’ll destroy your entire village.” Then the Torah came out (aka the first 6 books of the Old Testaments. OT is the part of the Bible before Jesus). The OT sets a limit to that norm: “an eye for an eye” (Leviticus 24:17-22) i.e. if someone hurts you, you can at most do the same damage to him (and not more). So the Jews start doing that. Then Jesus arrives and teaches: let’s up the ante: if someone wrongs you, just let it go (“turn the other cheek”. (Matthew 5:38)) If you pick just one book in the Bible to read for fun, I recommend Matthew.

What I have done here are sharing with Yeahy that two other common expressions are also from the Bible. More importantly, by doing that, I explain to him how the Mosaic laws and Jesus’ teachings both have radical changed the moral standards of their times, and more implicitly, how what we consider common sense now mostly comes from such teaching and was once extremely counter-cultural.

Yeahy “likes” my responses so far and continues asking:

Does all the chapter connects to each other or some of them are just filler stories before revelation?

What an unintentionally challenging question. How can I answer “yes” or “no” without providing an elaborate clarification? What should I say and what to omit for the sake of brevity? How should I say it? Am I good enough to answer such question? I feel like Ransom in C. S. Lewis’ Perelandra who is put in such a high-stake situation whose outcomes seem to depend on his hopelessly limited capability. So I try my best and say:

By chapters you probably mean books. The Bible is very longg book although they print it like it’s small. It takes a year of dedication to go through the Bible (whereas I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in an afternoon). There are 66 books in the Bible, and each book is broken down to chapters and verses (individual sentences) so that any detail can be easily referenced (like I did) so when someone says that the Bible says something, you can verify it yourself. So, do the books connect or are there fillers? The answer is, sorry, both. The reason is that the Bible is supposed to be the word of God Himself to humankind so that we could know about Him. That’s the main purpose, not “a series of moral teachings so if we follow we’ll reach enlightenment”, nor “an intriguing epic story”, nor “a historical record”, although it can very well serve all that. So if you start with the very first book, Genesis, and just keep going to the end, what you will get is: a series of events, then God gave Moses the laws, then a bunch of laws, then the events continue, then some spin-off stories, then all seems hopeless, and a series of prophecies about a savior that will come, then the first part (the Old Testaments) ends. Then Jesus arrives (the New Testaments start). You will see the story about Jesus told by four different perspectives (“the Gospels” i.e. “good news”) then the events continue in the next book of Acts. Then a bunch of letters from church leaders to different churches, then Revelation that tells the ultimate end.

This is where this story ends. What happens next to Yeahy I know not. I pray that I did good and according to God’s will. I pray that Yeahy would indeed pick up the Bible, maybe for the very first time, and truly learn about God while discovering more fire one liners. I pray that Yeahy will be saved. If that is the case, then Mike Tyson and I got to be part of his salvation. I need to let Tyson know.