I was watching the news this morning and noticed how heated some of the conversations have become between the two sides of almost every political issue being discussed. Each side thinks they are doing what’s best and it’s hard for me, no, make that impossible, to not take one of the sides (obviously, the “right” side) and dig my heels in and yell at the TV every time someone from the wrong side says something that’s either intentionally deceptive or an outright lie. My blood pressure is going up just thinking about it.
So, I asked myself, “Shouldn’t we have that same kind of passion when it comes to our faith?” After all, when it comes to right vs. wrong, we don’t have to just think we’re right when we profess the Gospel; we are right. Shouldn’t we profess our religious beliefs with the same intensity as we do our political beliefs?
So, I went to the Bible to see what Jesus did. I saw that, for the most part, Jesus remained calm in His discussions, using the right words (frequently quoting from scripture–now, there’s a good tip) to make His point which usually resulted in leaving His adversaries speechless. However, I did see when He drove the money changers out of the temple (John 2:15) that when He came face to face with something that was blatantly wrong He responded with a fervor that made it clear just how strongly He felt. But then, I also realized that He’s Jesus and there are things He can do that we shouldn’t do. In other words, the example He set most of the time is the one we should follow, which would be quiet, reasonable discourse. I think His example in the temple is best used to show us how strongly we should hold to our convictions.
Listen, in all of His examples, Jesus makes it clear we should not back down from our beliefs. And these beliefs are clearly spelled out and defensible using the Bible. We should do as He did by not compromising just to get along. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Truth is true and lies are not. But, by the same token, we should be prepared to suffer consequences as the result of being outspoken. In Matthew 5:11-12a, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” From this statement, I read that Jesus knew that if we really stand up for the truth, we will be unpopular and we will be attacked. I guess that says if we’re never unpopular, we probably aren’t being outspoken enough in our defense of what’s right.
So, my birthday present to Jesus this year is the gift of my unwavering defense of the truth. I will do it with love, of course, and will do it with scripture, but this year I vow to be just a little unpopular and will be prepared for the consequences that follow. After all, Jesus gave His life for me. Making my life count for Him is the least I can do. Happy Birthday, Jesus.
Thom Fishow
December 19, 2010