Does God’s Word have anything to say to us in the midst
of the current upheaval in our country?
What I find amazing is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ--that Jesus by
his life, death and resurrection has gained victory for His people over sin,
death, and Satan--gives us direction in every circumstance. This good news does not just affect us in
church or in private; its effects are meant to spill over into every area of
our lives.
Listen as the apostle Paul tells us how to live as
followers of Jesus in our culture today:
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and
authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, (2) to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect
courtesy toward all people. Titus
3:1-2
Christians need this reminder again and again. This is your calling . . . today. In verse 1 Paul calls us to be good citizens. So we don’t withdraw as Christians from
politics and government. We are salt and
light for Jesus as Democrats or Republicans or Independents—seeking to do good
works for the glory of God.
But now look at verse 2 and, perhaps, let it soak in for
a while: “to speak evil of no one, to
avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all
people.”
Right now, there are all kinds of opinions and debate--yes
even rancor and hostility--in our country, and individual believers and
churches are being caught up in it. Some
of it has to do with the proper response to COVID-19; but most of it now has to
do with the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter; it has to do with how
much racism is still at work in our country and in our own hearts. It has to do with the looting and lawlessness
that has happened in many major cities.
It has to do with an upcoming election that is dividing our nation once
more.
And God’s Word says, “to speak evil of no one, to avoid
quarreling, to be gentle and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”
But we turn on the news to listen to what is happening, and
we listen to commentators on Fox or MSNBC or CNN, or various places online. I’ll simply state from my own experience, I
find that listening extensively to the media on the right or on the left
doesn’t help me to live for and love others for Jesus. What I usually find is the more I listen to
these media outlets, the more my heart hardens towards others; the more I start
thinking of other people as my opponents; the more I find anger, bitterness, and
contempt for those I differ from rising from within me. When God is saying clearly, “to speak evil of
no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy to all
people.”
My advice: listen
to the news to get the news, but it is dangerous for us as followers of Jesus
to let the media (right or left) tell us what we should be feeling and
doing. That is not the place of the
media for us as Christians, for we have something better-- Jesus and His
Word. It is good to ask right now, in
the midst of this time of turmoil and division in the country, how much am I
listening to the media, and how much am I listening to Jesus and His Word? How
much is Christ’s Word informing (and forming) my heart and mind compared to how
much MSNBC or Fox is? We need to be
reminded again and again. It is easy to
get caught up in the rhetoric and talking points of the culture . . . and
forget to abide in Christ and display the faith, hope, and love that He won on
the cross for us to receive and share with our broken and hurting world.
