Gospel-Centered Joy

Who Has the Final Say?

Have you ever watched an episode of Seinfield? The cast of characters were so ridiculous. One of the most memorable episodes involved Jerry (the main character) struggling to date a woman whose only flaw was that she had “man hands.” This super unimportant detail became all consuming and ultimately resulted in him breaking up with her. Every episode was similar, with each character making a big deal over something trivial. I didn’t watch the show faithfully. But, whenever I tuned in, I admit I found the episodes hilarious.

For over a decade, I had the pleasure of working with some of the most humble, lovable, Christ-centered humans on the planet. After several years of serving together, we each became devoted to the Lord, driven by a desire to see His kingdom come, committed to excellence, unwavering in our Biblical principles and convictions, relentlessly diligent, intentional, hard-working and goal-oriented. From hearing all of that, you might think we were a painfully serious and inflexible bunch. Would you be surprised to learn that we ran a summer camp? Like all camp people, we were goofy, fun-loving and silly. Our lunch hours regularly evolved into Seinfield-esque tom-foolery (ask me later whether or not someone can truly “eat” pudding).

Those lunch hours were also filled with challenging discussions about cultural, social and political issues, especially during the Trump administration. Again, we were all devoted to the Lord, unwavering in our Biblical principles and convictions, driven by a desire to see His kingdom come and His will be done. Yet, we rarely opened our Bibles before launching into our debates, we only occasionally pulled them out in the middle, and we almost never concluded our arguments by giving the Bible the last word.

One of my final assignments on the team was to teach on that very tendency. “Go to the Word first, most, and last.” That was the main takeaway of my presentation. We all felt convicted that we needed to do just that. That’s why what I hear and see all around me is so troubling.

People are arguing and debating about all sorts of things these day. Vaccines. Social justice. Abortion. Gender Identity. Political Candidates. Gas Prices. Everyone has something to say. That is not shocking or even concerning. I think it’s to be expected. What’s highly troubling to me is the behavior of professing Christians. I’m noticing an unfortunate amount of professing believers engaging with others rudely.

When it comes to social media, I really struggled with kindness, myself. The Holy Spirit convicted me and I decided it was healthier for me to limit my time online significantly. But in addition to that, I realized that I needed to keep the Word in the conversation as I engaged with people face to face. In the heat of an argument or debate, I found it challenging to do that. But whenever I did get in the Word while debating, the conversations were a lot more productive and healthy.

Beyond attitude, I’m troubled by the points I see professing believers trying to prove and the rhetoric they are using to do so. For a Christian, called to be in the world but distinct from it (also see this verse), sounding too much like your favorite politician or pundit is a red flag. I think, similar to my former co-workers and I, there a lot of sincere, Christ-centered believers engaging in debates and conversations with closed Bibles. I believe that if we repent for imitating the world and commit to keeping the Word central in our debates and discussions, we might actually start experiencing more progress and peace in our discussions. We’d probably also have churches full of productive and effective evangelists instead of disillusioned and disheartened activists.

Now, just in case there’s someone saying, ‘I don’t need to have my Bible open, I memorize Scripture and have the Word hidden in my heart!’ To you I say, that’s great! Keep it up! But if you’re discussing Scripture with another person, pull your Bible out anyway to make sure you both rightly divide the Word of truth.

Gospel First, Most, and Last

I’d like to make one final appeal. In my last post I argued that it’s quite possible and common for believers to be proficient in doctrine and weak in the Gospel. I fear it’s all too easy to fall into a similar trap when it comes to current events. For example, when it comes to abortion, police shootings, and the economy, believers are quick to quote every part of the Bible while forgetting about spiritual deadness and the Cross.

It isn’t enough to just read or quote Scripture in our discussions. We need to remain consistent in our beliefs. Chiefly, we need to stay humbly reliant on the finished work of Christ so that we don’t become self-righteous and legalistic while trying to prove our points. Then we also need to make sure our points don’t contradict the message of the Cross. So many of our debates wouldn’t even be worth having if we remembered that all our righteousness is like filthy rags apart from Christ. I truly believe if we kept Gospel-rich passages like Ephesians 2:1-7 central, we would spend less time arguing and debating and more time evangelizing and praying.

This is true for me as well. The world is in danger and it has nothing to do with our politics or the pandemic. The world is in danger because of God’s wrath. God is going to have the final say, whether we include Him in our conversations or not. I forget that too often. I take for granted what’s coming. If I kept it central, I’d be be way too busy sharing the Gospel to get huffy over the news or Twitter.

Pray for me to keep the Gospel and God’s Word central in all my interactions. I’ll pray the same for you!

Thanks for reading.