Though multi-unit semi-detached row houses were typical where I grew up, my family lived in the Fiorentino Plaza Projects, a predominantly African American, low-income, residential neighborhood located in a part of eastern Brooklyn, a borough and commuter town of New York City, known as East New York.
Like most New Yorkers, I will never claim being from any other city. Brooklyn runs through my heart and I will never deny my Brooklynight roots. Though I can candidly say that East New York, Brooklyn was an exciting place to grow up, I wouldn’t recommend it as a tourist attraction because to this day it is still one of New York's most dangerous neighborhoods. Though crime has declined in recent years you are very unlikely to do anything in this neighborhood except traverse it on the way from Kennedy Airport (JFK) to points west.
My beloved ENY was surrounded by other neighborhoods such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Heights, Brownsville, Bushwick, Coney Island, Crown Heights, Cypress Hills, Flatbush, Flatlands, Fort Greene, Fort Hamilton, Park Slope, Red Hook, Sheepshead Bay, and Starrett City, which is now known as Spring Creek Towers, the only city in the entire world located in the borough of another city. Starrett City is considered by many to be one of the safest communities in the United States because it maintains its own Special Police Force. Excluding Starrett City, Brooklyn was infested with countless of deadly congregations known by some as thugs, hoodlums, criminals or gangsters but to most, they were recognized as gangs.
Yes, I wholeheartedly dare call them congregations because congregations are those who gather for worship on a particular occasion, or those who habitually attend a place of worship. But unlike the congregations we know in churches or synagogues, this one gathered for worship on deadly, bloody occasions and their habitually attended place of worship was in the streets. Such congregations then known as The Crazy Homicides, The Sex Boys, The Hardy Boys, The Savage Skulls, The Dukes, The Majestic’s, The Latin Kings, The Jolly Stompers, The Lords, The Eagles, The Tomahawks, The Satan Souls, The Black Spades, The Ghetto Brothers, The Universal Zulu Nation, The Young Lords, The Chaplains, The Horsemen, The Bishops, The Phantom Lords, The Outlaws, The Nomads, The Henchmen, The Bachelors and many, many more but I’m surprised I remembered the ones I’ve already mentioned.
Back in those days I had a wide reputation as a decent fighter due to the outcome of fights I was involved in. Thank God for the instructions I received from a man who actually caught me shop lifting fruits from a Chinese fruit stand in the Chinatown section of Manhattan. He was impressed with the way I defended myself as he attempted and succeeded to detain me with ease. He then told me that he was slightly impressed and asked me where I did learned the moves I displayed. I told him that I use what I've learned from boxing taught to me by both the Saint Johns Recreation Center in Flatbush and Bronxville Boxing Team then combined them with the Kung Fu taught to me by the East New York Police Athletic League. He then promised me he would not turn me over to the owners of the fruit stand nor the police if I promised to apologize to them, help clean their fruit stand for a week and commit to learning lessons from an art he called Hung Ga Kung fu. In less then a year of those lessons combined with the ones I’ve learn from my mother and the Word of God, I learn so much about high moral character, commitment, respect and dedication than I have in my entire life at that time. And yes, the bag of fruits after each and every lesson wasn’t too bad either.
My mother used to say, “Andy, tell me who you’re walking with and I’ll tell you who you are”. In other words, if you hang out with thugs, hoodlums, criminals and gangsters, you became a mirror image of those notorious, disgraceful, dishonorable, thugs, hoodlums, criminals and gangsters.
Was I actually notorious? To some, not likely, then again, to others, I was every bit a notorious Brooklynight and more. I wasn’t such a terrible youngster, I was a church boy. Or so I thought I was simply because the only people I enjoyed beating down were the ones I thought needed a good old fashion beat down. The ones we called bullies. I know that sounds like a great thing to do but the closer I got to God over the years the more I regret handling bullies the way I did. In reality, I thought it was the noble thing to do, that’s until the moment the news of my actions got to my mothers ears.
I can remember how disappointed she was because she’d always remind me that two wrongs don’t make a right. She yelled at me in Spanish, “MATÓN NOTORIO”, translated in English “NOTORIOUS BULLY”. She made me realize that my actions towards bullies transformed me into the mirror image not just a bully but of a notorious one at that. So if a bully is known as an individual who tends to intimidate and harass others, always imposing their approach by force and I intimidated and harass bullies, always imposing my approach by force, then in Gods eyes, I was no different then they were… oppressors.
"Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways." Proverbs 3:31
We must never choose the way of the oppressor. Bullies as children are not to be looked up to. We must not even fellowship with those who choose to oppress others. The worldly wealth that some acquire with their oppression of others should never be envied or desired. Evil and good are like oil and water. They cannot mix.
Bullies and the devil have three things in common. A bully is a boisterous person who walks around the neighborhood seeking those he can demean and the devil constantly walks about earth, like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The only difference is the bully does it in the physical or carnal realm and the devil does it in the spiritual but in the long run, both are accountable to the LORD for all that they do.
Now there’s a difference in which we must handle our battles against bullies and the devil.
When dealing with any human being, whether their bullies or not, God wants us to love them as we love ourselves. We would not figure up evil against ourselves, so we must not against anyone else as well.
"Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm."Proverbs 3:29, 30“
We should not live in strife and fussing, but should learn to live peaceably with all men. If we live for the Lord, we are promised that even our enemies will be at peace with us. This does not say that there is never a time for strife. If your enemy attacks you, you may defend yourself; but you must not start strife nor keep it going. God said be meek, He didn’t say be weak.
Now as for our battles with the devil, we as children of the Lord are soldiers in the army of the Lord, therefore go get your bayonets, knives, swords, handguns, shotguns, submachine guns, Rifles, assault weapon, grenades, lasers, detonators, Iron Bar, rough stick, wooden club, Billy-club, lead pipe, axe handle, or even if you’re a black belt in martial arts and can think of many more weapons made by the hands of man and throw them away because they are not going to work at all.
First of all we must,
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7
It is within our willpower to resist the devil and the temptations that he puts before us. We have been given the power of attorney to use the wonderful, mighty and matchless name of Jesus to defeat the devil. The temptations that the devil brings our way are really temptations of the flesh. These temptations will leave, if we say no to it. God will not over-rule our will. He gives us the power to choose. We must decide right, or wrong, for ourselves. The minute you emphatically say no to the devil and his temptations, he will go on to someone else and leave you alone. Flee means leave in a hurry. A heart and will controlled by God will have no difficulty in saying no to the devil and his temptations.
Secondly, we must,
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]." Ephesians 6:11, 12
To fight against our enemy we must learn who he is and what he’s all about. The enemy that you cannot see with your physical eye is the most dangerous, because you do not know when he is on the attack, or just which way he is coming from. Realize that this is a spiritual battle. The devil, old Lucifer himself, and his angels who are actually demons, or devil spirits, are the enemy. His tactics are to tempt the flesh of man. The flesh of man is earthy. These battles are more real as real can be.
I was never involved with the gangs, but because of my ability to easily win fights against other teens and men older and bigger than me, I was constantly scouted, asked, and threatened to join various gangs. Yet, each and every time I turn them down. Their actions against me, due to their displeasure with my decisions, are another story, for another time. At one point, rival gangs united together to do me in. I will never forget the countless hours I spent hiding inside a dumpster to avoid the bloodthirsty gang bangers who were looking for me. I came to the realization that I had to flee from my beloved Brooklyn immediately.
Throughout my teen years I was feared as a fighter, but God got a hold of me and took away the fear I had by reminding me that He did not give me the spirit of fear; but of power, love and a sound mind.
"Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." Proverbs 3:25, 26
Yes I left Brooklyn and the only weapon I took with me was my Sword, which is the Word of God, which is my Bible. And since the Lord changed the way I saw my world, and since then He's used me to fight, not against flesh, but against spiritual evil through the power of the Holy Spirit. No matter how notorious I may have been I learned that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Without God on my side, I was no match for spiritual battles. Therefore I cast down my imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and I bring into captivity every thought I have to the obedience of Christ.
I serve the Lord with humility of my mind. I put on therefore, as the elect of God, meekness, loving-kindness, and longsuffering. God keeps me in perfect peace because my mind is stayed on Him. I trust in Him with all my heart and I do not lean to my own understanding or reasoning. I acknowledge Him in all my ways and He keeps all my paths straight. I am careful for nothing, but in everything by prayers and supplications I let my requests be known to Him. Now I can say that I more powerful than I could ever have been at any stage in my entire life because I have the mind of CHRIST. For God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind; and he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to His will.
No longer known as a notorious or a great conqueror in the flesh in my own efforts,
But more than a conqueror in the spirit through Christ Jesus,
I am now forever free.
Amen!
Because you are women
