Read THIS Before You Post THAT on Social Media
The following words are for my Christian brothers and sisters: people of faith. People who claim Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. People with a biblical worldview. If that’s not you, my words are not for you. You can move along. There’s nothing to see here.
For people whose lives are rooted in Jesus (and His “Great Commission” to his followers), I want to make a tempered and rational call for us all to calm down a bit.
These are polarizing times. Whether it be BLM, the Coronavirus epidemic, or all the political discussions of recent days, we can agree that lines have been drawn and we have been tempted to choose a side. Social media has given us all a platform to share our opinions and the result has been increased division. (The Social Dilemma on Netflix documents this perfectly.)
I want to remind us all that it is possible to disagree on the issues of our day and still be civil. We can debate. We can share ideas and opinions and try to move the needle in the direction that we see fit. But we must be kind as we do it, because other people’s lives (and souls) are important.
To this point, I have become increasingly concerned that people of faith are losing sight of what is most important regarding Jesus’ call on our lives.
I’m afraid (based on the rhetoric I have seen) that some believers have come to see their political adversaries as enemies in a spiritual war. It’s as if those on the other side of an issue are obstacles to God‘s Kingdom and need to be marginalized, silenced, or even eliminated. “Onward Christian Soldiers” has become the subliminal soundtrack of their lives. Anyone who disagrees with their perspectives is a socialist. Or a Nazi. Take your pick.
I want to remind my Christian brothers and sisters that while we may disagree with others who don’t share our perspectives, our disagreements must be rooted in love. If the typical results of our “spirited social media conversations on the issues of our day” are anger, loss of self-control, and emotional disconnect with the people in our lives, we are failing the gospel.
If we are committed to ushering in Christ’s Kingdom – NEWS FLASH: if you call yourself a Christian, then that’s a non-negotiable part of the deal – then we have to believe that relationships and connection to people are more important than winning arguments and getting our way.
I want to encourage all of us to see those we disagree with as individuals created in the image of God whose souls are more valuable than their opinion on a particular issue.
The people you disagree with may be your family members.
Too many family relationships have imploded in recent days because of political arguments. It’s just not worth it. Embrace your principles, but give those closest to you room to have theirs. Parents, give your adult kids some space. (It has been said that if you’re young and not liberal, then you have no heart. If you’re old and not conservative, you have no brain.) The lesson: as a parent, you need to handle your kids’ hearts with care. When it comes to political arguments, do you really want to lose the heart of your child? Is it THAT important for you to be right?
Those that you disagree with are your fellow citizens.
We live in an amazing country with a pretty solid Constitution that gives all of us freedom to think and believe as we see fit. The men and women who have died to give us that right did it for the perspectives of all people, even those we don’t agree with. We can disagree with others without the presumption that they are unAmerican.
Those you disagree with are your neighbors.
We should be able to do life with all those around us, not just those who think like us. The relationships in our communities are at the root of what makes America great. Representative Ben Sasse spoke eloquently on this on the floor of congress on Wednesday night. Jesus was quite clear in the Parable of the Good Samaritan on how we should treat our neighbors, even those who disagree with us. And there’s a reason we should. It’s because….
The people you disagree with politically and culturally are the harvest.
This is where I’m speaking exclusively to my Christian brothers and sisters. Christ-followers are called to be salt and light to a world who doesn’t know what we know of Jesus and his gospel. We must consider our thoughts, our words, and our actions (and our social media posts) to determine if they are effectively helping those around us to know more about Jesus and his love.
Specifically, we can ask: “Is saying this or posting that helping to draw this person to a saving knowledge of Jesus?” It doesn’t mean we have to lay down our values or principles, but it means we are called to love all people well…especially lost people. It means that our goal should be that they encounter Christ in us MORE than they encounter our arguments or our rhetoric.
Many years ago Louie Giglio said that when engaging the world on cultural issues that we have strong convictions about (whether it be abortion, homosexuality, or hot button political issues in general), we must cling to God’s Word uncompromisingly with one hand and then reach out in love to a lost and dying world with the other hand. We have to admit that these days many Christians are terrific at one of those, and really terrible at the other one.
The stakes of the gospel and the influence of Jesus on the world are just way too high for the bride of Christ to get this wrong. Or to burn bridges during these days that will be far too hard to rebuild once the dust settles.
During these days of political tumult and conflict, my plea is for my fellow believers to calm down and rest in Christ. Remember that we are not citizens of this earth; we are citizens of Heaven, living here temporarily. We need to exercise all the rights and privileges as responsible citizens in our great country, but we must trust God that He is on his throne, putting leaders where they need to be. (That’s a promise in the Bible.)
We have one King and his name is Jesus. Leaders will come and go, but Christ is our anchor. And as a reminder, the Bible clearly promises that things will get far worse in this world before his Kingdom is fully established. So when things don’t go our way on the planet or in our country, we shouldn’t be surprised. (When my “American hat” is on, things are quite troubling. When my “God’s Kingdom hat” is on, things seem pretty much in line with what the New Testament describes will happen.)
Before you start sending me hate mail, please don’t hear what I’m not saying. To be clear, here’s a summary of my thoughts:
1. Passionately care about the issues of our day.
2. Vote your conscience.
3. Be a good citizen.
4. Share your thoughts and perspectives with others.
5. But, most importantly, in your interpersonal relationships and in your engagements online, recommit yourself to the goal of drawing people to Jesus and not pushing them away from Him.
Because (NEWS FLASH) it’s likely that those you are arguing with don’t know what you know about our Savior. And you should feel heavily burdened by that. If you do not, then things are far worse than you could ever imagine.
While you’re here, know that when we’re not stirring the pot found at the intersection of faith and politics, we spend most of our time equipping families to have meaningful conversations about issues found at the intersection of faith, sexuality, and technology.
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