Every day it’s a new scandal, a new divisive issue.
- Race issues.
- Gender issues.
- Abuse issues.
- Political issues.
You know the names. The places. We see and hear them all day, every day. Our newsfeeds overflow with opposing points of view. We share the ones we agree with, furthering the furor. We discount the opinions of others without attempting to understand them.
And I have to ask the question, cliche as it is. What would Jesus do?
Would He raise His fist condemning those sinners? Did He stone the woman caught in the obvious sin of adultery? Or did He say, after writing in the sand, “Where are your accusers? … Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:9-11)
Would He shout about the moral decay in government? Did He encourage boycott of the corrupt Roman government? Or did He say, “Render under Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”? (Mark :12;17)
People are broken in all kinds of ways. Including us. We must first remove the log in our own eye before the speck in another’s. And what if we think they have more than a speck? Well, that’s really not for US to judge, is it? When we are sin-free, then maybe we can have something to say about someone else. Until then, we are all sinners, saved by grace alone. Sinners created to do good works that He planned in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:8-10).
Can we stop eviscerating people whose politics, morals, and lifestyles we disagree with? Remember – Jesus saved His harshest criticisms for the Pharisees, those self-righteous religious people He called “hypocrites, white-washed tombs,” looking good on the outside, but dead on the inside.
Yes, as Jesus-followers, we must live and stand for righteousness in our society. We must be salt and light. But please – let’s do it with love in our hearts, not stones in our hands. Our job is not to judge. It is to be restorers, to be instruments of healing, ambassadors of the good news.
We are to love every person, including those on the magazine covers, in each political party, in viral videos.
Who will listen to us if all they hear from us are voices of condemnation?
I made a decision to try to understand all points of view. I don’t have to agree with each one. But I want to understand each one, and then form my opinion with the knowledge of how someone else feels. I want them to feel that they have been heard.
Won’t you join me in spreading the real news – the good news of His love, grace, peace?
- Race issues. #Ferguson #TexasPoolParty #blacklivesmatter
- Gender issues. #caitlynjenner #samesexmarriage
- Abuse issues. #duggars
- Political issues. #Obama #Christie