How To Think Through All The Mess

As we move from one tragedy to another it can be hard to keep up. From drought, to fire, to a pandemic, to economic crisis, to riots, protesting, and uprising. It is sad and it is wearying and it’s a constant reminder that we aren’t home yet. May all this disruption, devastation, and disaster, lead us to be men and women on our knees, pleading desperately for our King to return. May we sing all the more:

“Lord haste the day

when our faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound,

and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.”

As we see sad and terrible things it is right to be moved, grieved, and to weep. In fact, when it comes close to home in our churches, we are called to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15b).

But we also need to be reminded that our world is not neutral. Our media is not neutral. Our facebook feeds are not neutral. There is NO neutrality. No one is without bias. No one has the whole truth. No one is free from an agenda. No one is without selfish ambition or vain conceit. Whether they be Christian, communist, or a card carrying atheist. Including me, and including you.

This is why the Psalmist wrote Psalm 119, 176 verses of worshipful praise in response to the truth of God’s unchanging and true word. The Word of God is truth. It is the only source of uncontaminated truth we can have in this world. May his prayer be our prayer:

9    How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

10 With my whole heart I seek you;

let me not wander from your commandments!

11 I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you.

12 Blessed are you, O LORD;

teach me your statutes!

So as we think all these issues, we are pressed in every direction by people who claim to have the truth. They want you to jump on their truth bandwagon, and do it now. They say things like “silence is agreement” or “silence is abuse”. They demand instant action, with no room for dialogue, critique, or questioning. They use tactics of fear, shame, and abuse, to ensure their views are pushed to the front. Sometimes silence is wrong but sometimes silence is called for. Wisdom and courage dictates our speaking not the mob.

Brothers and sisters, be not swayed by fear of man, or more to the point, fear of the mob. Because that is how our culture dialogues now. It is mob tactics and tribalism. You are either with ‘us’ or ‘them’. There can be no middle ground in the mob.

But as Christians, we cannot be partisan to one side or the other. We have bent our knees to the King Jesus, we have sworn allegiance to Him. And thus there are times when the mob will be on the side of Jesus, and times when they won’t be. There will be times when a political party does what is right, just, and true, and times when they won’t. There are times when a cause looks and sounds as if it is in alignment with Jesus, and it is on the surface, but once you go underground and observe the roots, you realise it is fundamentally poisoned and toxic.

A good example of this is the #blacklivesmatters movement. Black lives really do matter, we know this from Genesis 1, and so it can be tempting to jump on board and use the phrase and the hashtag…but the movement underneath this phrase is one that diametrically opposes God’s revealed truth in Genesis 1 and 2 when it comes to sexuality, the role of men and women, the plan of God for the world etc. (read about it here: https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-we-believe/)

Protestors’ placards and instagram posts are catchy soundbites but they rarely offer more than that. Dig deeper behind the slogans and headlines and investigate the facts of the matter before you jump on board. Beware of the danger of virtue signalling, the desire to appear one thing, without actually being that thing. Jesus had a lot to say about that in Matthew 6:1-18!

So may I encourage you, keep searching the scriptures, and let the truth of God be your guide and foundation. There are many schemes of the evil one, he loves to twist the truth and make poison apples look delicious.

Don’t take the bait.

Fight the half truths with whole ones!

What could be more relevant for us today than this passage in James 1?

19   Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

And though we have many opponents in this world, our chief opponent is the evil one, not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). We are called to love our enemy, even when they are in our face. But love does not mean agreeing with their demands, and hoping they will leave us alone. No, there are times, once we have listened humbly to the implanted word and learned, where we must speak up and stand up, and bear the wrath of the mob, praying fervently “thy kingdom come, thy will be done” and “come soon”! Amen.