Here’s a test. Read
this article. If you’ve already read it, read it
again. What was your reaction?
Do you side with the church?
Do you side with those who find it controversial?
Who’s correct in this situation? The church has a right to free speech just like the rest of us. It’s too bad they chose to use it in this manner, but the freedom is there. What if the situation were different? What if the sign had something nasty to say about McCain? Would the press be all in a fit about it then?
I propose something radical. I propose that regardless of who is right and who is wrong in this situation, regardless of who did what and what the reaction is when asked to retract the action, the response should be the same. Love. Love I say.
Here’s the thing. Regardless if you worship God on Sunday or if you sacrifice to Satan on Wednesday night, you’re going to do something wrong at some point in your life and you are going to have a hard time admitting it. The problem is that the reaction of, “Oh the Church, up to their old tricks again,” or, “Oh the liberal media, up to their old tricks again,” gets us to the exact spot we are at right now; separated and hating each other.
If you are fed up with people hating each other, if you are sick of seeing the Church butt heads with everyone else in the media, perhaps it’s time we have a new reaction to controversy. Perhaps, instead of, “Oh you just don’t understand,” we react with love for those who cause controversy. We react with love for those who stir it up. Perhaps then, we might not get the constant butting of heads we are so used to.
Perhaps it’s time we start taking the initiative on this. Instead of condemning the church who posted a crappy billboard, pray for that church that they might see where they went wrong. Instead of condemning the media for focusing on its own liberal agenda, pray that the media will see the harm in only covering one side of the story. It’s time to take initiative.
Now, this is not to say we will see immediate results from this radical change of reaction, but rather the opposite will likely be true. We may never see results in your lifetime. However, we can sleep well at night knowing that your reaction was the correct one; one that was exemplified by a man who was no stranger to controversy. Jesus died for the Pharisees along with the Tax collectors; the extremely religious and the extremely sinful. What greater love has a man for his brother than to lay down his life for him? What greater love has a man for his enemy than to lay down his life for his enemy?
So, I had an idea. I drive by a church near my house every day that is a bit on the charismatic side. In fact, according to a big, blue banner, they hold a healing service every month on the first Sunday of the month. I’ve never driven by on that particular Sunday to see how packed out the house would be, but I imagine someone’s got to show up. I thought I’d show up.
