A few months ago, after a months long self-imposed Twitter ban, I re-joined Twitter. This time, I was very particular about who I followed. Previously, I had gotten sucked into the equivalent of yelling at a wall...never-ending political and social/culture disagreements that resemble shouting into the void. In the end, that wasn't healthy and after taking a break, I knew that I didn't want to get back into that. I decided to follow mostly theologically-related people. I'm a MN Sports fan too so there is some of that, but most of the people I follow are somehow related to Christianity or the Church. Even this, however, has its pitfalls and today was illustrative of that.
It was an argument between two evangelicals about Rights, ostensibly American rights. The first one said something like, "Christianity should sound a lot less like "How can I protect my rights" and a lot more like, "How can I protect my neighbor?" The second one responded in disagreement saying something like, "Protecting my rights is the same as protecting my neighbors rights, that's why Jesus said 'love your neighbor as yourself'." The argument wasn't hostile, just a typical disagreement you see on Twitter hundreds of times every day. But it got me thinking...these people are both missing the point...and perhaps most of the intra-Christian arguments these days are missing the point.
As I tend to do, I was curious to see what else these two interlocutors had to say, so I dug into their Twitter profiles a little more. One of them is a pastor and one of them is a writer. Here is how the pastor describes himself on his own twitter profile: "passionate about equality, holistic justice, full inclusion, and the way of Jesus". The writer doesn't describe himself on his profile, but generally tweets from the point of view I would call 'the religious Right'. That might be unfair - maybe I would characterize him as 'anti-woke'. What is fairly clear from reading the other things they have tweeted about is that both are HIGHLY politicized. The pastor represents very Left views, politically, and the writer represents very Right views politically. There are no indications from either one as to whether they realize this or whether they see anything to be concerned about in that regard.
Here's the broader issue I see, encapsulated well by both the Twitter exchange I shared earlier as well as by these two individuals within the greater body of Believers: We are arguing about stuff that doesn't ultimately matter and representing positions that look no different than the World. Let's take the pastor first. Look at the way he describes himself - it sounds like a diversity, equity and inclusion statement from [insert corporation or organization here]. Even the argument that is made misses the point. One can both stand up for their own rights while also protecting their neighbor...it's not even a spectrum let alone binary. Both can be done simultaneously. "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, render unto God what is God's." My point is - this man is defending a point that is meaningless and representing a cause that looks no different than what the World is talking about right now.
As for the writer - he is no better. Though I personally think he gets it slightly more correct, again, its not a binary or a spectrum. We can do both. If you go to this writer's website and read some of the things he talks about constantly, it amounts to a political journal...it is the conservative side of the aisle combined with Christian talking points and language. It is mostly devoid of the Gospel and does not generally help in pointing would-be disciples at their target.
If you're a pastor and you're about "holistic justice and full inclusion", do you ever look in the mirror and ask what justice would look like for you? Or is 'justice' just for other people? Do you ever sit there and ponder that the Bible very clearly teaches that some will enter the Kingdom of God while others will suffer in Hell? I get that statements about inclusion are generally about human beings interacting with human beings, but the point still stands: the Bible is not about justice, its not about inclusion and its not about equity...at least not on this side of our Lord's return. Its about God (first), Jesus (second) and the fact that all of this, from the moment sin entered the World until now, is beneath the Glory of God. It feels like this, the world and our lives and everything we know and love, is important,...sometimes it even feels like we are important, but that is an illusion. One day when God's Kingdom is restored, the world and everything in it will once again be in its rightful place, in subservience to God and his glory.
If you're a Christian writer and everything you see and write about is through the lens of American politics - how woefully have you missed the point? Jesus says, "in this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33) Paul said that "all who want to live a Godly life will face persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12) This world and this nation are not going to get better - we aren't going to suddenly become so utopia one day because of a political breakthrough. We have a systemic and terminal illness, the same as every other nation of the world. The Father of Lies is the God of this age and his aim is death and destruction. He wouldn't be so foolish as to make people suffer all the time, so he allows just enough illusion that ultimate Joy and Peace can somehow be achieved in this World and then those who fall under his spell spend their entire lives chasing a phantom - ignoring God and living lives for their own pleasure. John Calvin is credited with saying, "the human mind is [...] a perpetual forge of idols" and American politics in the modern day is one of those idols, particularly for Evangelicals in this country.
I am guilty along with these gentlemen so I have to be careful when throwing stones. I can get caught up, and sometimes do, in thinking that this world has something to offer. It is excellent at distracting, at misleading, at deluding and deceiving. Of course it is. But that means we have to work oh so much harder at fixing our eyes on what is to come...
Lord, help me to focus and increasingly spend my time on things that matter and help me to represent positions that help others see the Hope we have in your return. Help me and help us to say 'no' to the meaningless distractions of this world and to orient our hearts towards you in prayer and in Scripture. Lord I pray for the church in America - help us to hold to the hope we share in common, help us to be encouraging to one another and help us to show the world around us how deeply you care for humanity.
Might have to take a permanent leave from Twitter - not sure yet.
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