News Health: What if we got it right?

Happy Sunday,

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40

What if we got it right?

I want to call out an elephant in the room: when it comes to talking about current events, Christians have a bad reputation. 

Now, the issue isn’t that we have a bad reputation—the world hated Jesus too, after all (John 15:18)—the issue is that our reputation for being judgmental and angry is generally well-founded. Christians often are not patient, kind, gentle, and self-controlled, radiating the love, joy, peace, and goodness of Christ.

I’m definitely part of the problem. I think this is because I act as though my primary calling as a Christian is to loudly condemn evil. But Jesus didn’t say the greatest commandment was to yell at sin; He said it was to love God and love others.

What if we viewed every conversation about current events as a challenge to do just that?

What if, instead of reflecting the anger and divisiveness we see in the media, we reflected God’s grace and compassion? What if we were known as a calming, stable, and hopeful presence when everything seemed chaotic and scary? What if we deeply cared for and spoke with gentleness about people in the news, leaving everyone with no doubt of our love for others?

People around us are drowning in headlines. They’re anxious, overwhelmed, and scared. And we, as followers of Christ, have the cure. 

Your homework: make one person you discuss the news with this week feel better than when the conversation started, not by glossing over evil or trivializing concerns, but by refusing to feed the anger and anxiety because you know that God loves us and is in control.

What do you think?
Jason 

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Recommended
There are a few books that I try to reread every year, and one of them is Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. I specifically love the chapter on Sabbath, which finally made a day of rest deeply desirable and compelling. If your life is “good but busy,” I highly recommend you read this book.

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