I seldom (almost never) go to Facebook to read my feed. But I recently was notified by email of an exchange that took place on Facebook and was sorry I clicked on the link.

In the exchange, I found that two believers that I know crossed a line in disagreeing with a third believer over what has become a political issue. Rather than stating the reasons for their disagreement, they made comments about the third believer that were basically ad hominem attack. I was saddened by their lack of respect for their fellow believer and the damage that they caused to the body of Christ.

In response, I thought I would highlight some suggestions for Christians in their use of social media:

1. The truths of Scripture are timeless and authoritative. But care must be taken in applying those truths to political issues. When it comes to governmental policy, can we admit that problems are always more complex than the partisan rhetoric allows? We need to be open to hearing other opinions and if critique is necessary, it should be focused on the issue rather than on the person who disagrees.
2. We always need to keep in mind what we learn from Genesis 3 and Matthew 7. In the latter passage, Jesus warned us of our tendency to be critical of others while making excuses for our own sin. His illustration of a log and speck, while humorous, perfectly illustrates how we often act. We are ALL flawed in our character AND our thinking. We need to be open to hearing other opinions so that we can progress in wisdom and understanding.
3. We are called by Paul to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). If we need to address incorrect thinking on a subject, it must be done with love. In the exchange listed above, I wasn’t feeling a lot of love jumping off the screen. What I observed instead was an attitude of if you don’t agree with me, I will not have anything to do with you.
4. Guard against falling prey to our “sound bite”, “hot take” culture. We live in a society where competition for attention is fierce and people often say outrageous things to get noticed. Take a deep breath and analyze what is being said before rattling off an angry response. Analysis and reflection on the issue should be done before hitting the send button.
5. Be really, really careful in adopting a “well if you believe that you must not be a Christian” stance. While there are beliefs that would cause one to be outside the orthodox faith, how one applies Scripture to societal issues should be open to discussion.
6. Finally, James 1:19-20 should serve as a caution. He tells us to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. Why, because our anger does not achieve the righteousness that God wants us to display.

While the angry, “I guess I showed them” type of response may be gratifying in the moment, it doesn’t help in the long run.

Such a response brings division which grieves the Lord who died to bring unity.

For the record, I still have respect for all those involved in this fracas. My guess is that eventually there will be healing in the damaged relationships. But had the ideas above been followed, some wounds could have been avoided.

As I sit and reflect on the value of a day dedicated to giving thanks many thoughts come to mind. Here is a sampling in no particular order:

• I have many things for which I should be thankful. The very fact that I have the ability to write this post in the comfort of my home is just one of the many.
• I am thankful that I have someone to whom I can give the thanks.
• I find it interesting that on the day set aside for giving thanks, I will be bombarded with advertisements intended to increase my discontent. All this is an effort to get me to spend money on stuff I don’t really need.
• It seems that gratitude is an antidote to pride. I cannot be grateful for what has been given to me while at the same time thinking that I did it all myself. Paul asked the Corinthians, “what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:6)
• Being thankful for what I have should lessen my anxiety about the future.
• For Christians, being thankful should be our daily experience. Peter tells us that God has given us “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). For this we should be thankful.
• While it is certainly good to give thanks for material prosperity, giving thanks for spiritual prosperity should take precedence.
• Others may take away my material blessings, but no-one can take away my peace if it is grounded in my relationship with God.
• I am especially thankful for those who have encouraged me through the years to become the man that God intended me to be (a work in slow progress).

Perhaps Paul’s words from the end of Chapter 8 of his Letter to the Romans is the best reminder of our reason to be thankful today:

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39, ESV)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I had a reason to spend some time reading the Book of Church Order (BCO) for the Presbyterian Church in America. While it’s not exactly a page-turner, I found something very helpful in the section on church discipline. The BCO states that there are three objectives to be kept in mind when considering church discipline. They are:

1. The glory of God
2. The purity of His Church
3. The keeping and reclaiming of disobedient sinners.

The BCO goes on to state, “Discipline is for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7); therefore, it demands a self-examination under Scripture.”

In addition to applying these goals to church discipline, it would be beneficial for us, as Christians, to apply them in other areas of our lives.

It is so easy, in this hair-trigger, social media age, to fire off opinions and condemnations of others for all the world to see. Not that character assassination by social media is any worse than by one-on-one gossip. But it is too easy to grab a device and post unhelpful opinions to our favorite social media app(s).

Those of us who are Christians would do well to keep the three goals above in mind in all of our conversations, on-line or otherwise.

Does what I say reflect well on the God I claim to worship? Does what I say contribute to or demonstrate the purity of the church? Does what I say help toward steering those who are moving away from relationship with God on a better trajectory?

We are fallen people in a fallen world and there are bound to be disagreements along the way. There is nothing inherently wrong with dialog about issues, whether the dialog be public or private. But we would do well to keep these three goals in mind as the dialog progresses.

I sometimes wonder how Christians would be viewed if every interaction would be restrained by these three goals. I would think that fewer people would think the church to be a bunch of judgmental hypocrites if these were followed.

Also as the BCO encourages us, as we think about confronting others to apply correction, it would be good for us to examine our own behavior and be open about where we also need correction. Remember that beam and speck story that Jesus related (Matthew 7:3–5)?

As I re-read this post, I am reminded of some other areas of my life, besides my speech, that would be different if I kept these principles in mind. For example, I certainly could be more courteous behind the wheel during my morning commute.

Can you think of other areas where application of these three principles should affect our behavior? Please share your thoughts in the comment area below.

I realize that I am late to this conversation, but recently I was in conversation with some folks who are so angry about the National Anthem protests that they will not watch their favorite teams but will only follow the score via the internet. So I felt the need to speak out in response.

This post is primarily aimed at those of us who call ourselves Christians, but it may have wider application.

My concern is that with all the calls for boycotts, protests and other angry responses, we can lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with real people, not just concepts.

I have not lived in Colin Kaepernick’s shoes, I have no idea what it is like to be him. I also really can’t know what motivated him to take the stand that he took. I don’t fully agree with how he went about his protest but he felt it was important enough to take a stand. This post is not intended to condone or condemn Mr. Kaepernick’s actions.

My point is that Colin Kaepernick is a human being with what I assume to be a normal distribution of fears, aspirations, likes and dislikes. As a Christian, I know him to be in the imago dei and therefore is deserving of the same respect we should show to any member of the human race. Much of the rhetoric that I have heard about Colin’s protest shows neither respect or compassion for him.

To my knowledge, Colin has committed no crime, nor has he advocated anything that would cause social anarchy. A Google search on Colin’s name turned up a link to his web site which is intended to fight oppression. Sure, the devil is in the details, but oppression is worth fighting. Whether you agree with his methods or not, it seems as though the goal is a worthy one.

My plea is this: can we stop the shouting on social media long enough to listen? How different would the world be if we asked questions instead of making assumptions.

Does the perceived disrespect of the flag, warrant the disrespect of a human being? (Tweet This)

On the other hand, can we stop with applying the racist label to anyone who disagreed with the method of protest? Not everyone who disagreed with Colin are closet racists.

As Christians, we know that all of us are deeply flawed. We all carry the seeds of oppression inside of us. The root of pride, lust, violence and hatred is in each of us. That’s the bad news and is part of the gospel message.

Those of us who have this understanding of the human condition should be the most tolerant of it in others.

The good news is that Christ, the one whose name we bear when we call ourselves Christian, came to take the penalty for our flaws and provide the means for those flaws to get addressed.

Rather than fueling the divide between people, Christians should be at the forefront of those who are trying to bring peace and reconciliation. Listening before sharing opinions, would be a good start toward bringing this about.