Hey Brother,
I woke up today and checked my social media feed. Judging by the headlines of the articles being shared, you’d think the U.S. was in another civil war. There is so much division in our country, and I’m sad to say that I see just as many Christians as non-Christians posting things laced with hate towards those with opposing views. We should be known for our love for others, not by what we hate!
I have been blessed with the opportunities to live in very different parts of the country, work in very different jobs, and get a taste of a variety of world perspectives. Because of that, I don’t often fit neatly into any political or social category. When I visit my family in Texas, they often joke that I am a “dirty liberal.” However, when I worked in Hollywood, my co-workers considered me a “crazy conservative.”
We live in a hashtag world where everything and everyone is categorized and compartmentalized. We don’t like things that don’t fit neatly into one of our categories. Well, I hate to break it to you, but thanks to sin, the world is a messy place!
Many people often define one political group or one movement as “Christian” and everyone in the opposing group as worldly or even anti-Christian. A lot of our modern culture has an “Us vs. Them” mentality.
Now, as Christians, we know the world will hate us and our views. Jesus warned us in Matthew 10:22, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
However, I feel that some of us use the world’s hatred towards Christians as a badge of honor and even go out of our way to provoke that hatred. Is that how Christians are supposed to present themselves? No!
Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
How many of the political posts that you share on Facebook abide by that verse? If you post something that is against someone else’s views, do you do it respectfully? Do you do it in a way to edify and educate? Is your post out of love for fellow Christians and hope in the redemption of others? Or is it out of hate for someone else’s views?
Romans 12:18 tells us, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
Now you may think, It’s different now. The world is divided. Liberals are evil. Conservatives are evil. Anyone that thinks differently than me is evil, the enemy, and needs to be stopped! Galatians 3:28 tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” I can’t think of two groups that had more opposing world views than the Jews and Greeks (AKA Gentiles) of the first century. Yet, they were told that those differences didn’t define them any longer. Their identity and their bond was in Christ.
Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). As children of God, we should be known for our love, and this includes what we write and share with the world on the Internet. Social media should not be a vehicle of anonymity that drives hatred but another tool that allows us to spread the love and good news of Christ.
Kristopher Galuska
Family Radio Staff