“Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to every person” (Colossians 4:6)
I am purposefully not on Facebook, but while on vacation it was brought to my attention that this past Saturday, some very disparaging remarks were posted there by a disgruntled community parent about both our church and its recent Vacation Bible School (V.B.S.) program. While I believe people certainly have a right to think and say what they feel, this post was so wildly inaccurate, uncivil, and unChristian that I felt led to offer a few reflections about it here.
After being shown both the original post and its responses, let me first say how proud I was of the grace-filled way our church members and many friends responded online. Despite the vitriol of the author’s words, you did not sink to his level in your responses but instead responded with grace. Thank you - you truly reflected the character and dignity of Christ!
Next, to expand on some of the comments already made, let me remind us of the biblical focus of this year’s V.B.S. from Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (NRSV). To further illustrate this theme, each day our children learned a different Bible story of courage, hope and/or endurance (from Genesis 40, Esther 3, Matthew 26 and Acts 3). Yet, despite this biblical focus, the post’s author instead fixated on clothing that someone was wearing on stage during Friday’s closing worship -- clothing which, at least to him, resembled a rainbow. He then jumped to the presumption and the accusation that this represented the promotion of an LGBTQI “agenda” by the V.B.S. program and our church itself.
First, to reduce an entire weeks’ worth of Christian programming down to the colors of someone’s clothing is incredibly naïve, presumptuous and judgmental. But then to assume that the perceived wearing or display of a rainbow presumes the advocacy of an “agenda” reveals a perspective informed more by modern, secular culture than by the Bible of Christian faith -- the rainbow is, after all, originally a biblical reminder of the promise and presence of God (Genesis 9:13).
And while we as Christians are called to speak truth, we are also called to speak it in love (Ephesians 4:15). This means that what we say (or write, even on social media) should be shared with honor and respect even for those with whom we may disagree, just as scripture teaches: “Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to every person (Colossians 4:6); “Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say.” (Ephesians 4:29).
At the same time, when reading/hearing the words of others, let me encourage us all not to be deceived or misled by inflamed and eccentric rhetoric. Intentional or not, mean-spirited “scare tactics” like this one are commonly used today to spread misinformation and misunderstanding, beguiling often “innocent” readers/hearers into believing falsehoods and pressuring them to pass judgement without ever bothering to fact-check. Instead, remember the caution of 1 John 4;1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” For this discernment, Jesus himself explained that we will “know them [meaning true Christians] by their fruit” (Matthew 7:15-19), and scripture teaches that the greatest “fruit” of all is the love shown towards our fellow humankind (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
Finally, in response to incidents
like this, the greatest need is for us all to PRAY….
--Pray for our author-friend,
that he may truly discover the truth
about Gods love and grace which helps each of us to overcome our (often unconscious)
fears of people who may seem different from us in any way.
--Pray for ourselves,
that we would not be misled either by the misinformed words of others OR
by the selfish inclinations or self-righteous indignations of our own hearts
(and that we would accept God’s forgiveness when we do!).
--But we should also pray for others in our world, that the brokenness and divisions of our Christian witness would not be a stumbling block for them to be able to find the power and healing of Jesus Christ in and for their own lives.
As always, please remember that
God loves you and I do, too (despite any differences of opinion that we might
have!)
