Month: January 2021 (Page 2 of 3)
In a recent Breakpoint article, John Stonestreet noted, “Our politics is cracking under the weight of a thinning civil society… For decades, sociologists have warned just how thin American civil society has become, replaced by a growing individualism that isolates Americans from the relationships and loyalties that once nurtured a thick social fabric.” Stonestreet maintains as a result of this thinning, “The cultural weight lands on politics.”
The concept of thinning could well be applied to a thinning of the spiritual life of our churches. The cultural weight of civil unrest, coronavirus ethics, and contentious politics have divisively affected our churches. In a time when church should be a place of refuge for the weary, it has too often become a victim of the culture wars. Disagreements and factions have weakened church life, thus thinning its impact on the culture.
It seems that darkness has invaded the fabric of life together as followers of Jesus, who is the true light. Remember Jesus words, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). What the world needs to see is a thickening of the Church through love. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). It is a perpetual debt we owe to one another. “Keep out of debt altogether, except that perpetual debt of love which we owe one another” (Rom 13:8 – Phillips).
A lack of love has produced a spiritual thinning evidenced in people living in darkness and spiritually stumbling. “If anyone claims, ‘I am living in the light,’ but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person still lives in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause other to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness” (I John 2:9-11 NLT).
Here’s how I apply this as a member of my church. First and most important, I remember the enemy wants to sow seeds of discord in the body of Christ. He lives in darkness but comes as an “angel of light.” A negative “person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by darkness” (v 11 above cf. John 8:44).
Secondly, I keep a check on my spirit. “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (I John 1:6). Negativity drowns out sensitivity to the Spirit’s direction. Am I being honest in my responses or am I faking it? Do I have an open or a closed spirit? Am I praying continually, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth” (Ps. 26:2-3).
Thirdly, I ask others to help me monitor a “negative” or “critical” spirit toward others. If I get stuck in negativity, I walk in darkness, and I can cause others in my church to stumble. There is no room for grace and mercy in the darkness. Do I ask trusted believers to point out behaviors that seem unworthy of the gospel of Christ? (Philippians 1:27) And do I take their feedback to heart?
When my spirit is open and loving I am walking in the light. Men, we can know the difference. Negativity brings a heavy spirit, while love brings lightness and freedom.
I watch Super Bowl ads to better understand the mood of our nation. Some of the best minds in advertising have been hired to analyze the national mindset – with the intent to manipulate our purchasing behavior. This year the consensus seems to favor the need for relief. If the ads have their intended effect, you will come away with a happy, positive attitude. It’s “let the good times roll” and “cast your cares away.”
Ad agency executives sense the country is looking for a reprieve from its problems, including the surging coronavirus, an uncertain economy, and political divisiveness. Susan Credle, FCB’s Chief Creative Officer, notes, “People want to laugh and they want to feel normal again.” Sarah Long of Mars Wrigley believes people “want to smile, they want to be positive.”
In recent years ads have tackled heavy issues like cyberbullying, domestic violence, and gender stereotyping. This year the ads will pay little attention to the pandemic because people have been bombarded with “stay safe” or “we’ll all in this together.” “Every marketer is being very careful right now because of all the tumultuous events around the world,” observed John Patroulis of WPP PLC’s Grey. “You don’t want your ad to be misconstrued or be controversial,” he added.
I must admit the ads in these last few years have been much easier on the male ego, since culture seems to have accepted the idea of “toxic masculinity.” As you watch the ads and enjoy the game, however, my suggestion would be: think the opposite. The ads tell us to avoid our pain; I say, “Stand in the pain.” See yourself as “a wounded healer.”
First, Super Bowl ads can tell us something about life but they cannot deliver the “Good News.” It’s all make-believe. Ads only touch the surface of our lives; they are like bandages trying to hide the wounds of broken hearts and wounded souls. Our nation needs deep soul care. We desperately need Jesus the gentle healer. “… It was our pains he carried – our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us… it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him – our sins! (Is. 53:4-5 MSG). There is a place to go with pain. Bring it to Jesus. Only he can truly heal the hurting heart.
Secondly, the ad industry might discern the state of our nation better than the Church. But it only covers up the pain. If we are to bring healing to our fractured nation, we need to address the wounds of the heart. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
Thirdly, don’t use ads as an excuse to escape from reality. We are to stand in the pain as men in our ordained places as husbands and fathers. The enemy wants to take us out. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). But we are called to stand in the gap. “I looked for a man… [to] stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none” (Ez. 22:30).
Fourthly, deliberately make fun of the ads, knowing they are in conflict with your spirit. They accentuate our struggles, warring against our spirit. “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other…” (Gal. 5:16-17).
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