FREEDOM FILES
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
ISSUE #9
August 20, 2014
One of the fun (or annoying, depending on your perspective) trends created by social media is the posting of quotes or sayings from a particular site and blasting them out to all of one’s friends and acquaintances. Recently my daughter blasted out a quote from the Facebook page, “The Mind Unleashed”. Here is the post:
When did we, as members of the human race, decide that everyone must be like us? My atheist friends have the right to be atheists. I don’t agree with their conclusions, but I fully support their right to believe as they do and even dialogue and debate their point of view. When the apostle Paul encountered people who were of a different belief system he didn’t insult them, put them down, boycott them, and call them names. He reasonably challenged them to think about the alternative point of view. In Athens Paul was “distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16). This motivated him to share the message of Jesus. “He reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17). Notice that his method was to “reason”, not yell and scream and insult and condemn. Some of the “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him” (Acts 17:18). Paul didn’t shy away from debate, but neither did he use it to verbally assault those with a different perspective. When Paul was invited to speak he began his address with an observation. He didn’t condemn or insult. He simply began with a fact on which they could all agree. “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship – and this is what I am going to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23). Pointing out their ignorance, in this case, was not insulting. It was simply acknowledging their worship of something unknown to them. This they had already admitted with the inscription on the altar. When Paul’s audience “heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject’” (Acts 17:32). Paul didn’t respond to the sneers, he simply left at that point (Acts 17:33). Followers of Jesus will have a broader hearing when they don’t insist on having the last word.
When I encounter people who claim to follow Christ, but whose words or actions demonstrate that they are chauvinists, racists, homophobes, or haters of another brand, I choose to point them back to the life and ministry of Jesus. He taught against chauvinism in his personal treatment of women (Luke 10:38-42; John 4:1-26). He taught against racism in his familiar story that we call the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). He taught against homophobia and other forms of hating by the way he treated the disenfranchised of his culture and society (Luke 19:1-10; John 8:1-11). The final word from Jesus on this is: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He didn’t come to save this group of lost, or that group of lost. He came to save THE lost. That means everyone.
The first time I read the quote from “The Mind Unleashed” website that my daughter had posted, I thought the “Reindeer comment was just for humor. Then I realized that we, as disciples of Jesus, are probably as guilty of this one as either of the other two. If the other Reindeer are not just like us we insult them and call them names. If other followers of Christ are not just like us we insult them and call them names. Several years ago I heard of one of the most blatant forms of this. A well-known preacher who had been invited to speak at a conference was “un-invited” because it was learned by the organizers of the conference that he was a friend of a “known sinner” and therefore was a “brother in error”. If this wasn’t so sad I guess it would be funny because EVERYONE is a “known sinner” and EVERYONE is a “brother or sister in error”. If we weren’t we would not have needed the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins.
So, my thought for this week is this: We all have the freedom to be different. We may want to persuade people to our point of view, but we should do this with love and patience; not with hate and insults. After all, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me at [email protected] and I will immediately comply with your request. Previous issues can be read at www.freedomfiles.weebly.com. If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription. I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
ISSUE #9
August 20, 2014
One of the fun (or annoying, depending on your perspective) trends created by social media is the posting of quotes or sayings from a particular site and blasting them out to all of one’s friends and acquaintances. Recently my daughter blasted out a quote from the Facebook page, “The Mind Unleashed”. Here is the post:
When did we, as members of the human race, decide that everyone must be like us? My atheist friends have the right to be atheists. I don’t agree with their conclusions, but I fully support their right to believe as they do and even dialogue and debate their point of view. When the apostle Paul encountered people who were of a different belief system he didn’t insult them, put them down, boycott them, and call them names. He reasonably challenged them to think about the alternative point of view. In Athens Paul was “distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16). This motivated him to share the message of Jesus. “He reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17). Notice that his method was to “reason”, not yell and scream and insult and condemn. Some of the “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him” (Acts 17:18). Paul didn’t shy away from debate, but neither did he use it to verbally assault those with a different perspective. When Paul was invited to speak he began his address with an observation. He didn’t condemn or insult. He simply began with a fact on which they could all agree. “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship – and this is what I am going to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23). Pointing out their ignorance, in this case, was not insulting. It was simply acknowledging their worship of something unknown to them. This they had already admitted with the inscription on the altar. When Paul’s audience “heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject’” (Acts 17:32). Paul didn’t respond to the sneers, he simply left at that point (Acts 17:33). Followers of Jesus will have a broader hearing when they don’t insist on having the last word.
When I encounter people who claim to follow Christ, but whose words or actions demonstrate that they are chauvinists, racists, homophobes, or haters of another brand, I choose to point them back to the life and ministry of Jesus. He taught against chauvinism in his personal treatment of women (Luke 10:38-42; John 4:1-26). He taught against racism in his familiar story that we call the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). He taught against homophobia and other forms of hating by the way he treated the disenfranchised of his culture and society (Luke 19:1-10; John 8:1-11). The final word from Jesus on this is: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He didn’t come to save this group of lost, or that group of lost. He came to save THE lost. That means everyone.
The first time I read the quote from “The Mind Unleashed” website that my daughter had posted, I thought the “Reindeer comment was just for humor. Then I realized that we, as disciples of Jesus, are probably as guilty of this one as either of the other two. If the other Reindeer are not just like us we insult them and call them names. If other followers of Christ are not just like us we insult them and call them names. Several years ago I heard of one of the most blatant forms of this. A well-known preacher who had been invited to speak at a conference was “un-invited” because it was learned by the organizers of the conference that he was a friend of a “known sinner” and therefore was a “brother in error”. If this wasn’t so sad I guess it would be funny because EVERYONE is a “known sinner” and EVERYONE is a “brother or sister in error”. If we weren’t we would not have needed the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins.
So, my thought for this week is this: We all have the freedom to be different. We may want to persuade people to our point of view, but we should do this with love and patience; not with hate and insults. After all, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me at [email protected] and I will immediately comply with your request. Previous issues can be read at www.freedomfiles.weebly.com. If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription. I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.