“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” – Ephesians 6:12-13. Today’s blog entry is titled “A Response to the Current Events Part 2”…
During times like this emotions can be very high, feelings of anger, hurt, resentment, and many others have been expressed in a number of ways. The shootings that took place last week in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas have once again put on display some serious issues that we face in this county. The primary focus of this blog entry isn’t for me to give my personal opinion of what happened in each shooting, but rather to focus on what our response as Christians should be.
The first thing I want to focus on is prayer. When shootings/violence happens, it can be tempting for a person to look at what everyone in their circle of friends is doing and follow suit; or to give a quick impulsive response based on how they feel at that moment. However when we spend time in prayer, we can receive guidance from God on how to handle the situation, and then move forward from there. It’s also important to remember to pray for the families/friends of all those who lost loved ones. In the midst of everything else that’s going on, the families/friends are dealing with the reality of continuing life on earth without that person.
“And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?” – Acts 22:25
The verse above comes from a passage of scripture in Acts 22 dealing with Paul’s Roman Citizenship (You can read Acts 22:22-29 for more detail). This leads me into my next point. There is definitely a place for asking certain questions and wanting justice when we witness things we feel aren’t being handled in a lawful way. There are some things to keep in mind when doing this though. For starters, we should have an understanding of the situation for ourselves and not just rely on what everyone else is saying. This is something that applies not only to things going on in the world, but also with Bible related things. For instance, there are a lot of people who will just believe that something is the Bible because a Pastor told them so, or because their church-going relative told them so, instead of taking the time to Study the Bible for themselves. However when a person Study’s the Bible for themselves they can give a genuine explanation of why they believe what they believe. So to go back to my point, if a person is going to speak out against something going on in the world, it’s important for them to have an understanding about what’s going on.
The other thing to keep in mind is that we should continue to represent Christ even if we encounter people who disagree with us regarding certain issues in the news. In other words if person A and person B disagree on an issue they’re both passionate about, they shouldn’t start hurling insults and making insensitive remarks to one another (That does not honor God, and it’s not a good look for the Body of Christ). There are ways to carry on a respectful and passionate conversation about the issue of racism in a way that still Honor’s God. And if two people are reaching a point where they feel they can no longer do that, it’s a good idea to take a break (even if it’s a temporary break to cool down and resume the conversation later).
During times like this it’s very important to be careful of who/what we align ourselves to. Different people have different agenda’s and their motives may not be the same as yours; which is why praying for God’s guidance is so important.
As I close this blog post, I want to point out the fact that we’re living in a fallen world that needs to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. And while there definitely is a place for taking legal action when we see unlawful things going on, we need to do more than that. We need to keep making Disciples. God is the only one who can change a person’s heart. Let us never lose focus of that.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17