Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. | Romans 12:14–21
After the service Sunday, I had someone ask me why my sermons were not more practical. I assumed they were, so I asked what that meant. It came down to the fact that I don’t give easily applied application. I intentionally do not tell people exactly what to do (where the Bible is not clear).
The reason for this is not because I am afraid to step on toes or that I don’t have my own opinion (I’m not, and I do); it is because I don’t think that it is my job to do all of the work of applying the Word of God to life. It is my job to declare, help clarify, walk beside, and correct. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts, directs, and give the strength necessary to accomplish God’s plans. Part of my hesitance is that I don’t believe I know how to fix the complicated problems of this world.
Problems are not simple. When you try to make problems simple it easily turns into an US vs. THEM scenario where the world would be a better place if THEM would just be more like US. This is at the root of most revivals and revolutions: a simple, achievable change that make the world a better place if we can just force it to happen. The problem with this mentality is not only that it won’t solve the problems, but it builds in us an anger toward those who stand against us. We begin to hate those who fight the simple solution we have placed all of our hope in. There is a thin line between passion for a cause and hatred for everyone who doesn’t join you in that passion. This is what caused the Beatles to sing:
You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world…But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
The thing about revolutions is that they tend to create as many problems as they solve (read Animal Farm). The reason for this isn’t because the idea at the center of the revolution is wrong, but because the heart of the revolutionist is. The hatred that is aimed at those who must be overthrown does not know how to settle once the battle is over. That hatred does not just go away because goals are met. It tends to just find new ways of being unsatisfied and new people who represent THEM.
This is why Martin Luther King Jr. was so focused on non-violent protest. It wasn’t just because he wanted his message to be received well, but because he wanted to preserve the hearts of the people he led. He knew that hatred and anger could not solve anything, it would only shift the focus, which led him to say his famous:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
It isn’t easy to push back evil and injustice without developing a hard heart. Anger is the natural byproduct of watching some people hurt others. Along with the imperative to bless those who persecute you, God has also given us the gift of imprecation. We are able to come to Him and to download all of our anger and frustration. We are able to request His wrath on those who do harm. This allows us to trust Him to punish and judge. This puts the responsibility of justice on Him, and frees us from the burden of feeling like not hating is doing nothing. This is the problem with movement based justice (be it the Christian Coalition or #keepfamiliestogether): it makes you feel guilty for not being angry all of the time. It tells you that if you don’t show up to a rally or give a contribution that you are part of the problem. It creates a false dichotomy: you either hate what we hate or you are complicit.
As Christians, we are called to stand for good, to love and live peaceably; we can do this because we trust that God will take care of the punishing. We can lovingly bring light into the dark corners of the world; we can stand in the face of injustice and not be angry because we know the ability to overcome evil is not on us. This is not an invitation to be apathetic, but an encouragement to be humbly courageous. To act peaceably toward all with the belief that God can use good to overcome evil.
Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God. Do what you can; rest in His justice.
*to be clear, this post is not meant to say that you SHOULD NOT be involved in any movements or protests, it is only meant to point out that the outcome of these things is at best severely limited and at worst creating more strife between people of differing views. Use your time and energy wisely and don’t set aside being a Christian when you choose to be an activist.