Enough is enough

Like most of you, I found the events in Washington D.C. yesterday disturbing. But equally unsettling as the sight of protesters disregarding the rule of law and taking over the Capitol Building has been the response by many Christians.

I posted this screenshot on Facebook yesterday but took it down soon after, not because I was sorry but because sometimes I forget that what I say on social media reflects on my husband as a pastor and, by extension, on my church, and I’m unwilling to argue on Facebook. Let me be clear – I’ve been sharing opinions and saying things neither Roy nor the churches we’ve been part of have agreed with since the eighties. These are my views, so don’t come for my husband or paint my church with the broad strokes of “you people.” This isn’t Bridgerton – I have my own voice.

My issue isn’t with the unrest, nor is it with any of the protests we’ve seen over the past year. It’s not even the riots. It’s the sanctification and vilification of the men elected to this country’s highest office from both sides of the aisle. It’s the attitude that one candidate’s election has broken open the gates of hell and condemned us all to damnation while electing the other would have led us through the wilderness and into Narnia if not heaven itself.

Shame on us. For those who name the name of Jesus and claim to be His disciples, to afford that much authority and put our faith in a man is sin. You heard me. It’s sin. Our hope is not in a president – our hope is found in nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump is capable of redeeming the people or the problems of this nation.

Am I suggesting that all politicians are created equal and who you vote for doesn’t matter? Far from it. Your voice and your vote matter, not only to us but to our children and grandchildren as well. But too many of us have allowed ourselves to be distracted by the loudest, not the wisest voices. Some have allowed themselves to be consumed by emotion, throwing reason out the door for the sake of virtue signaling or being seen as “woke.” Some refuse to accept that the pain and frustration of others is real because it’s not been their experience.

Culture has turned disagreement into hate speech, and civil discourse has been replaced with vitriol and condescension. Nowhere is that more rampant than online. (I appreciate what Carey Nieuwhof has written about the damaging impact of the tribalization, polarization, and hate we see on social media. I highly recommend you take the time to read what he has to say). Mind you, I don’t expect anything else from those outside the church, especially in such trying times. But for us, we who are not without the hope that comes with faith in Jesus, to allow our conversations to devolve into an argument is troubling.

We are in this world, not of it, (1 John 2), and our character and our speech should reflect that. Last year I wrote the post Sticks and Stones about the impact our words have on those around us. Friend, your words matter. They have the power of life and death. Yes, you may be speaking the truth, but are you speaking it in love (Ephesians 4:15)? When has anyone ever convinced you of anything by screaming at you and calling you an idiot?

Our enemy is not the man in the oval office, though 243 years of American history has taught us that they are capable of evils both great and small. Our enemy is Satan himself. Ephesians 6:12. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” The problems that are dividing us aren’t policy or political-platform based – these are heart issues. Matthew 15:18-19 tells us, “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t speak up for what’s right – silence isn’t neutral. Not taking a side is taking aside. But taking a side doesn’t have to include generalizations, vilification, character assassination, and abuse. Not every Republican is a racist-death-penalty-lovin’-conspiracy-theorist, and not every Democrat is a baby-murderin’-cop-hating-socialist.

I’ll close with this quote from Russell Moore. “But enough is enough—and indeed was enough a long time ago. It will take decades to rebuild from the wreckage in this country. But, as Christians, we can start now—just by not being afraid to say what is objectively the truth. Joe Biden has been elected president. Millions of babies are being aborted. The pandemic is real. So is racial injustice—both personal and systemic. So is the sexual abuse of women and children. If Christians are people of truth, we ought to be the first to acknowledge reality.”

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

1 John 4:4