A Responsible Response

When you are studying or analyzing any kind of information, there are some important things to consider. I teach this to my fifth graders, and I apply the same critical thinking when I read or consume anything. The first is to figure out who is writing or sending the message. This matters as to whether or not what the person says holds any weight. For example, is this person trying to sell me something? Is it a reputable source? You know not to believe everything you read on the internet. Literally anyone with any crazy idea can edit a Wikipedia page, so you must consider the author of information. Secondly, consider the audience. Who is the target? For example, I don’t get angry at a children’s cartoon that seems lame to me because I’m not the intended audience. I’m sure parents out there are tired of watching or listening to certain shows or songs because the message or entertainment is not meant for them. So why am I bringing this up? Well, I want this to be applied to my writing as well. First, if you know me personally, I am confident my life provides evidence that I am studying God’s Word and walking with Jesus. I hope you will then consider what I have to say and think about it, pray about it, and search it out for yourself. Secondly, I want to be clear that my intended audience is other professing Christians. While I welcome anyone to read my work, I am specifically writing to draw Christians into a deeper understanding of God’s Word and inviting them to know Him better and surrender to Him daily. That being said, let’s dive in!

Over the last couple of years, but especially the last couple of months, I have been thinking about our response to the world around us. It is no secret that Western society gladly embraces sin, believing that lies are truth and criticizing anyone who holds a different belief. It is frustrating to live in a culture that is contrary to God’s Word. There is a natural tension that grows when rebellion of God’s ways is prevalent. Now, I’m not writing to discuss any particular sin or stance in the world, but I do want you to think for a moment about what sins or issues in the world (or in your piece of it) get you angry or fired up. I want you to consider what I have to say in that head and heart space. I want you to reflect on your own responses to those around you. I’m going to pose some questions and then dig into some scriptures to help guide our hearts as we reflect on our responses.

First, is your belief Biblical? I ask this because there are a lot of Christians that hold opinions that do not line up with God’s Word. Maybe you have been influenced by society or what is culturally acceptable. Maybe you’ve just adopted what leaders in your church have told you without checking it out yourself. I invite you to stop and think. Is your view of what is “right” the correct Biblical view? Do not assume it is. Go find out. Dig into the scripture. The Bible doesn’t talk directly about certain culturally significant things, but you can find the principles and the heart of God that will either confirm your belief or will change it. If you can’t find it, go to a trusted believer to help you find what the Bible says. Be willing to exchange a wrong opinion or belief for God’s right one. Do not just take someone else’s word for it or go off of your feelings. Find out what God says and agree to surrender to it even if it leaves you with lingering questions. He is wiser than you, so it’s okay to not fully understand, but I would say reluctant obedience is better than blatant disobedience.

What is your typical response? When you see unrighteousness or sin being celebrated, what do you do? Do you get angry and feel the need to defend truth? Do you post something on social media to make your opinion known? Do you leave a comment to refute someone’s view? Do you tell someone they aren’t welcome in your home or life? Do you pretend to agree with them but secretly get mad? Do you keep quiet to them but then rile others up around you? Whatever the trigger, what is your response? Maybe there are several for you to evaluate.

Now, is your response Biblical? If you checked that your belief is Biblical, it can sometimes be easy to think that your response is also Biblical, but that is not necessarily true. If I’m honest, this is where I think we as Christians fail most of the time. I think our responses often increase the tension between Christians and non-Christians. Our responses are often ineffective in changing hearts or minds and may even result in a deeper resistance to Jesus. Think for a moment, has your response to someone or something made any impact on someone knowing Jesus? Hopefully it has, but if you are like me, chances are that there are many responses that have not.

So what is a Biblical response? I’m going to offer up to you some things to really consider. I’m not perfect, nor do I always respond well or effectively in the world around me, but I do believe we must change our hearts and actions before we can effectively impact those around us.

Turn with me to Psalm 103 and Psalm 145. Read both psalms and be encouraged. Take a few minutes to just praise and thank the Lord for all He has done. Now I want to focus in on just a few verses that are repeated in both:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.

Psalm 103:8-10 NIV

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.

Psalm 145:8-9

This is such good news, and we receive compassion and grace gladly when we are on the receiving end. However, it is my belief that if we are Christians and walking with Jesus, we should be growing more like Him. It happens over time, but as we obey Him, spend time with Him, pray, and study the Bible, we ought to be changed. We shouldn’t remain the same. Looking at this passage, the Lord’s qualities are compassion and grace. He does not get angry quickly, nor does he dwell in anger. He does not respond to us according to our sin or give us what we deserve. What if we responded the same way to others? What if we had compassion on the unbeliever instead of contempt? What if we gave grace instead of correction? What if we were pointing them to Jesus instead of pointing out their sins? Remember, the world does not subscribe to the same beliefs or standards or even morals that we do, so why would we even expect them to abide by them? (Let me be clear that I am referring to unbelievers here. Perhaps I will delve into how Christians should respond to one another in a separate post.)

Unbelievers act like unbelievers. That shouldn’t surprise us. However, Christians don’t always act like Christians. We send mixed messages. We claim God’s grace when we don’t always give it. We read that He does not give us what we deserve, yet we feel like we are justified to treat people according to their choices and what they deserve. We put the blame on them for how we respond.

What would happen if we slowed our anger and gave some thought to how we could better love our neighbors? What does love even look like? I can tell you this: love is not affirming sin. Christ’s love for us compelled Him to die to conquer our sin, not to affirm it. Love is also not criticizing people for their sin. Jesus was moved with compassion for the crowds and fed them without criticizing that they didn’t bring their own lunch. He loves better than we do. And we can learn from Him.

I Corinthians 13 is a well-known passage among Christians, but we can sometimes forget to slow down and examine it. Let’s look at the following verses:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NIV

Again, we see that love isn’t easily angered. Think about your responses and ask yourself these questions: Do I get upset quickly over the choices of others? Have I been patient with unbelievers who are blind to their own sin? Have I chosen kind words and sincere actions toward others? Have I boasted in my own belief or opinion and acted with prideful self-righteousness in being on the “right” side or have I acted humbly toward others? Do I keep a record of wrongs done and use it to win an argument or justify my choices? Have I delighted and celebrated sin with the world or my friends because it is easier than disagreeing and I don’t want them to think I am judging them? Have I enabled the sin of others by ignoring the truth in my own life? Is my instinct to protect hearts? Do I hope for the unbeliever to know Jesus? Am I willing to persevere with them in the waiting? Is my love unfailing or have I failed to love?

These are tough questions. It is not fun or easy to examine our own hearts, but it is necessary. It is necessary because a right response to those around us could lead others to salvation through Jesus, and a wrong response may send them running in the opposite direction. Remember, God, Himself, is both TRUTH (John 14:6) and LOVE (1 John 4:8), so it is possible to live out of both places. Truth and love are not opposites or in war. They are two sides of the same coin, and we must check our actions and responses against both.

Now some of you may be thinking, “We have to fight for what we believe! The world will just keep getting worse.” By no means am I saying we should always be silent. However, who is fighting the battles and what do we have to fear? God does not need us to defend Him. It’s the other way around. He defends us. He is not shaken or moved by any person, nation, or power that opposes Him. Why, then, are we so easily baited into arguments over the truth when we know who wins?

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31 ESV

People aren’t our enemy.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

The Lord fights for us. We saw it over an over again in the Old Testament, but I believe the same principle still stands.

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Exodus 14:14 ESV

You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.

Deuteronomy 3:22 ESV

We will not accomplish anything for the advancement of the gospel if we are fighting the world with the same weapons they use.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The author of this passage, Paul, knows we fight in prayer. We fight by living in obedience. We walk in truth and take our thoughts captive. And living in truth demolishes the influence the world has on us. Our prayers can destroy strongholds and can change our culture, but it starts in our own surrendered hearts and minds who obey what God says.

I encourage you to hold tightly to truth. Live it out. Live it out in a way that shows you humbly received much-needed grace and want others to experience that same invitation of grace. Maybe some of you need to realize that honoring God’s Word and obeying truth does not put you at opposition with others. You don’t have to change them. In fact, you can’t. Only the grace of Jesus can change anyone. You can disagree with others without condemning them. You can love those who frustrate you. If we want to see the kingdom of heaven expanded on this earth, we have to handle the gospel responsibly. We must give a responsible response to the world, a response that doesn’t just point them to Jesus but invites them to Him, to the cross. Many sinners have been told which way is right, but the way isn’t inviting because the messengers have been unloving, impatient, condemning, and arrogant. Friends, may that not be us. I pray that you and I will handle other human hearts with compassion and love and respond to a broken world with the soothing salve of grace given by Christ Jesus through us. Amen.

Check out this song that comes straight from one of the psalms we read earlier: