These are confusing times. A profusion of voices clamor for our attention and our sanction. Experts, both authentic and of the armchair variety, pontificate. A myriad assortment of camps have established themselves, waging war against each other, all offering obtrusive, self-assured, and often benighted opinions on the handling of COVID-19. This against the backdrop of an election year here in America, in which the government, after an encouraging bi-partisan effort at the start of the crisis, seems to have settled back into their default modus operandi of political banter and vitriol. Wading through the din in search of a trustworthy voice of reason is an exercise in exhaustion. It’s like standing in the middle of a battle field straining to listen for a leader to follow, only to find the clamoring voices are as white noise in your aching ears.
Perhaps the most disappointing of all the clamoring voices are those of certain preachers who have been, from the outset of the quarantine, propagating messages that range from defying authorities “in the name of Jesus,” to conspiracy theories of the American government seeking to oppress and deny religious freedom. The media and, sadly, some Christians, use their platforms to amplify these voices, and the result is that an unbelieving world is receiving a very different message from the one sanctioned by the Word of God.
Pastor and author Costi Hinn said in a recent video, “A Christian is not called to nerd out on conspiracy theories.” Preachers who commandeer the pulpit to proclaim revolt or government subterfuge paint Jesus and his Church as vexed, irrational, paranoid, and foolish, and their message is anathema to the gospel. Christians are not called to conflate patriotism or conservatism with faith in Jesus Christ. We are not called to speculate on what God is doing in this pandemic, or in any circumstance. And we certainly are not called to defiant rebellion against our leaders (1 Peter 2:13-17). Christians are called to represent Jesus Christ as his ambassadors on earth. This is not to say that, as Americans, we should not exercise our rights under the law. But it is to say that we should engage in the battle in such a way that honors the “Shepherd and Overseer of (our) souls” (1 Peter 2:25), and does not in any way hinder the message of the gospel.
As we stand in the midst of the warring camps, there is only one Voice that should command our attention and our allegiance, and whose central message should be the primary subject of our tweeting, posting, and sharing. The focus of the Christian message must be to edify others and glorify God. It is not the business of a follower of Jesus Christ to enter into sorties with the world. We are children of the deity, and our business is to love, not to peddle messages of fear and suspicion. The Church of Jesus Christ must follow the heart of her Captain in its humility, compassion, love, kindness, and confidence. The camp of Christ is to march under a banner of charity that represents well our Captain and King. The wars we wage are not to be unduly inflammatory, but ones that will pierce hearts with the message of the gospel.
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. Ephesians 6:14-18
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Our combat in a world longing for peace is executed in engagements of love, of truth, and of the gospel of our Captain, Jesus Christ. In his book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund describes our Captain this way:
Meek. Humble. Gentle. Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms. (p. 19)
1 John 2:6 tells those who are under Christ to “walk in the same way in which he walked.” Ephesians 5:1 admonishes us to “be imitators of God, as beloved children.” 1 Corinthians 2:16 reminds believers that we “have the mind of Christ.”
Christian, instead of getting caught up in echo chamber skirmishes or being just another voice clamoring in the midst of the din, consider the call to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time” (Colossians 4:5). Let’s show the world our gentle and lowly Savior, who, as Dane Ortlund further explains, “…is accessible. For all his resplendent glory and dazzling holiness, his supreme uniqueness and otherness, no one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ” (p. 20). Let’s inundate our circle of influence with the soul-piercing, heart-mending, fear-squashing message of the gospel of our meek, mighty, and magnificent Captain.