Christian Friends, Sit Down. We Need to Talk.

We live in interesting days. For several centuries Christians enjoyed a privileged place in American society. In large part our symbols, traditions, and way of life were not merely tolerated, but set the direction for American society. This reality began slowly eroding during the 1960’s and now no longer exists in most regions of the United States. Open hostility towards Christians is growing in our society as evidenced by the derecognition of InterVarsity Fellowship by the California State University system last week. In addition, if you are a Christian who is politically conservative you are seeing things deteriorate on two fronts. Not only are you watching the beginnings of a systematic marginalizing of Christians, you observe helplessly as our government refuses to do anything about our porous borders, enact laws without congressional approval, bungle our nation’s security, and spend our nation into insurmountable debt. You are witness to a new American government that doesn’t protect first basic Amendment freedoms, act in the economic best interest of hard-working Americans, or value the security of Americans at home and around the world.

How are Christians, particularly those who are theologically and politically conservative, to respond to these new realities?

1) Conservative Christians must adjust to the loss of our privileged place in our society and see it as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. Think about the earliest Christians. They had no representation in government. There were no protections for them and they lived on the absolute margins of their society. Some were killed, some were run out of their homes, and others saw their homes ransacked. They did not respond by lashing out at the society around them. The writer of Hebrews reminds them that they, “joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” Early Christians responded humbly, remembering they had a lasting possession in heaven, and that the hostility of the world around them was a reminder of their ultimate hostility towards the God who made them.

The times when Christianity enjoyed a privileged place in society have been a glaring exception in world history. We should learn from our forefathers in the faith and imitate their faith in the face of difficulty. Don’t get angry in the face of hostility towards Jesus, the Gospel, and Christian morality. Instead let the presence of this hostility remind you that we live in a broken world where people desperately need the grace of God available in Christ alone. They just don’t know it.

2) Conservative Christian must reassess the way we disagree with our neighbors, fellow citizens, and leaders. It is not uncommon for me to scroll through my social media timelines and see multiple Christians referring to the President and other leaders as “evil,” “stupid,” or a number of other insults. Christian, reflect on the grace you have been shown by God. You were dead in sin and a rebel who had broken God’s law. Left to yourself you were worthy of divine judgement. God in his grace sent his Son from heaven to give his life in your place. He died on the cross bearing the weight of your sins and died on the cross to give you new life. You became a Christian, not by getting your act together, but by the grace of God in Jesus Christ alone. You are now forgiven by God, adopted by God, and filled with the Spirit of God. You are a fellow heir with Jesus Christ and will reign with him for all of eternity. None of this was earned. Every drop of it is grace. Is there any scenario where insulting the President of the United States, any elected official, or any other person made in God’s image is consistent with the grace you have been shown in Christ? May I humbly submit that the answer is a resounding “no?”

Paul’s instruction in Colossians 4:5-6 speaks to the way Christians speak to and about others. “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”  Notice several things in these two verses. First, Paul calls Christians to demonstrate wisdom in our relationships with those who are outside of the faith and immediately turns his attention to the way we speak. Read the book of Proverbs and you will quickly realize that our spiritual maturity is measured by the way we speak. Paul says our speech should “always by gracious.” Always means always. No exception clause exists that allows us to use ungracious speech when we believe the time is right or when we want to vent. Gracious speech always marks God’s people and we must pursue growth in this area.  Using gracious speech does not mean that we never critique things or offer contrary opinions, but it means we do so remembering the grace we have been shown and hoping others experience it. Eternity hangs in the balance in the way we speak to and about other people. Our gracious speech may become the means God uses to draw a person to faith in Christ, but our rough, unkind speech may continue to drive people away from the faith we claim to be contending for.

Related Posts:
“Learning to Watch Our Words”
“How Enemies Become Friends”

For Further Reading:
Resisting Gossip by Matthew Mitchell