How the Church should Respond

I don't claim to be a theologian or an expert in Christianity, the Bible, or God, but I am a faithful follower of Jesus, a member of one of His churches, and a student of His Word and Teachings.  And I'm angry.  And disappointed.  And concerned.

So much has been happening in our world lately.  I don't need to name it.  I'm sure most are aware; it's hard not to be aware.  I had to take a large break from social media for a few days just to try to keep myself sane.  I have so much on my heart and I didn't want to become part of the problem that is so upsetting.

I have seen so much conversation in the last few weeks, but I'm not exactly sure what all is actually being said.  I have friends on both sides of any given event.  I see those who are trying to turn certain events into a call to arms, a political agenda, or a direct hit to their religion, or advocating those who do.  It is easy to see why social media makes a great platform for such things.

Now, I'm not dissing social media because I love social media.  Facebook makes keeping connected to friends all over the world a reality and gives me a chance to keep in touch with family now that I live far away.  Twitter is just fun and funny.  Instagram allows me to post as many pics of food as I please with little to no guilt!  I think social media is fabulous and all about how you use it and using it responsibly.

With all that being said, I also think that social media is a great place for discussion on relevant and timely topics.  It's a great way to weigh in on what's happening around us and to occasionally vent our frustrations over such things.  However, it is also a great way to incite a cyber riot.  With access to so many and so little repercussions, it is easy to gain a mob mentality.  With the ease of merely 'liking' a status or 'favoriting' a tweet, it is easy to click or type before you think.

THIS is what is dangerous.  When you have someone type something out that sounds good and your fingers move before you can really think about it, you are in danger of just following along.  I have read some really great things from a lot of people lately that sound like they are in line with what Jesus has taught.  However, we need to make sure that we aren't depending on just what sounds good.  We have to think and discern what is Truth.

There is also an issue with many spouting how awful things are today, and I guess they are.  But really are they any worse than in previous times?  Things will never be perfect here, not until Jesus comes.  However, we have to look at history and no matter how far back you look, you will see evil and how God's people dealt with that evil.  

The things that are happening in our generation are not new in the grand scheme of things; they are just new to us.  And I have to admit, our pride, our hubris, has caused us to believe that this is special for us and that we, as the church, especially in America, are under a special charge today.  We believe that we are the first to deal with sin (because when you boil it all down, that's what it is) and sin on this scale.  We aren't and these sins aren't even new!

I fear that we are letting ourselves be distracted and have been for a long time.  We are worried about fighting on so many fronts and letting ourselves believe that it is our job to fight these wrongs in the first place that we are missing the places where we are truly called to fight.  When we expend all our time, effort, and energy to speak about political issues and forget the widows and orphans, then we are directly working against the commands set for in the Bible!  When we spend more time typing furiously and debating strangers and friends on Facebook, we are forgetting that there are those that are hungry, thirsty, and naked standing in our presence and we can't even see them.

We are also missing out on teaching the future generations of the church, some more than others.  We may make sure that they know the stories of Noah and Jonah and all the other "Sunday School" stories and we make sure that they are getting taught proper doctrinal salvation, but what then?  After our children have become believers of Jesus, what do we do?  What do we model?  If we continually repeat the same "children's Bible stories" throughout their childhood and never expound upon them, where do we end up?  A 10-year old can be taught the same story as a 5-year old, but if it is at the same level of depth, then we are doing a great disservice.  

We must make sure that our children, as well as ourselves, are growing in holiness, sanctification, and God's Word.  We have to seek this depth; we have to work at it.  We have to help our children see this depth and see us model it in our own lives.  This is how the church combats these evils.  We live out Truth and teach it to those in our charge, whether children or students or people in our life that we have influence over.  This is the call of God's church.