Hello, and welcome to Enbolden, living a bold Christian life. I'm Chris Shutter, an ordinary Christian living with and learning about an extraordinary God. Now more than ever, we need to be resolute in Christ. Please join me over the next few weeks as we look at ways to lead an uncompromising Christian life.
Today's Resolute in Christ's verse starts with 2 Timothy 2, 24 to 26. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will. There's certainly been a lot of quarrelling the last 20 years in the United States and the world in general.
These last few years have seen a steady rise in conflicts, but conflicts used to be pretty much among countries. And the most troublesome trend seems to be that now more than ever they are among neighbors. We live in a world where all bets are off when it comes to social niceties. One article I read reminds us of some of the following old-fashioned etiquette rules.
One, don't point. Two, don't curse. Three, dress to oppress. Four, stick to tasteful topics.
Five, cover your mouth when you cough. And six, avoid private conversations in public. All of those, plus there was a number of other ones that I didn't list, are to allow for a calm and peaceful and respectful social environment. But a cell phone video I saw the other day is just one example of how we've thrown so many of these out the window.
You may have seen the video. It was taken by a woman shopping at Target and shows an older man following her and pointing at her. He has a mask on and a sticker stating, I'm vaccinated. His issue with her?
She isn't wearing a mask. Now this is not about the pros and cons of mask wearing. I just want to make sure we understand that right now. It's that in this instance, especially because in this instance, there wasn't a mandate at that store about wearing a mask.
It's about his approach and her response. This man had many choices prior to harassing her. If he was really worried about getting sick, he could have stayed home and ordered online or avoided just being near the woman. And interestingly enough, he didn't even seem to be doing any of his own shopping.
It appeared that he was there to catch people without a mask. But what does this have to do with being a Christian? What does it have to do with being resolute in Christ? Our choices, each and every minute of the day, define what type of Christian we have chosen to be.
In a verse today, we were reminded to be kind to everyone to teach gently without resentment. We're all probably familiar with the term being a Karen. That's someone who was a tattle-tale, a modern day Pharisee. Well, the man in the video, he was being a Karen.
And he certainly wasn't succeeding in teaching anyone anything positive. Yet the new social norms say, this is okay. We were to vilify those with whom we disagree. Now, we may not all be Westboro Baptist Church members standing outside the funerals of homosexuals with messages of hatred about how many of us, but how many of us in the last year, have made disparaging remarks about people who, I don't know, don't wear a mask, do wear a mask, aren't vaccinated, voted for a different candidate, don't like shutdowns, do like shutdowns and on and on and on.
I'm not talking about private conversations with friends or family members. I'm talking about in public and on social media. Listen, I've clicked on people's profiles who have written horrible things, and they proudly state they are Christians. And the woman in the video?
Well, she wasn't successful either. She just kept arguing with the man. She could have one, smiled and moved on because he wasn't physically threatening her. Two, she could have, if she wanted, you know, put a mask on, make him feel better.
Or left the store and come back later. She could have called security. She could have also invited him over to talk and share his feelings. So many choices were both, but they chose the least peaceful route.
Now, I myself have gotten wrapped up in issues, and yes, I've deleted comments I realize were not in keeping with my desire to walk well in my faith. And so I watched that video and I asked myself, which person in that video am I? The harasser, the victim, the bystanders? Well, in fact, I've been all three.
But as a follower of Christ, I'm learning he wants something completely different of us. He wants us to be the peacemaker. He wants us to do things so different that it shocks people. Are Jesus directed actions in this quarrelsome world need to set us apart?
When we get annoyed, outraged, hurt, abused, Jesus tells us to respond differently. He first wants us to be responsible for our own words and actions, as it says in James 3.6. He then wants us to be gentle, not angry, resentful. Truth, doled out, without love, will never be received how we intended it to.
I picture myself with a subtle karen, rolling my eyes at people wearing two masks as they walk outside alone at a park. And I need to stop and have compassion for their fears. I imagine myself in a store being spoken harshly to by a customer, say for not wearing a mask. And instead of responding in kind, I need to draw on the Holy Spirit asking for peace.
This isn't just about these current, big issues. It's how we respond in all life situations. Do we lash out with uncontrolled emotions seeking to justify how we feel? Or do we use wisdom and compassion to guide us?
You've probably all heard the famous James 1 verse, James 1, 19-20. It goes, my dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
Friends, the temptation is so great to join this quarrelsome social environment. It's easy to blast a comet at someone. The devil loves an angry believer. But if we remember that Jesus stands by our side, we can be resolute in living the Christian life he expects of us.
Have an awesome week.