Wednesday Word: Speech

But I say to you that listen, 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.' – Jesus, Luke 6:27-28

There is no shortage of distressing news making the rounds. Not only distressing news, but news that elevates tension and anxiety. And it is not only the news that elevates tension and anxiety, but any number of responses to any number of stories regarding any number of positions.

Whether it's the debate over whether or not football players should stand for the national anthem, or whether the focus is on the president's numerous twitter posts, or whether the focus is on national healthcare, or whether the focus is on any number of other issues, comments, opinions, and replies have been . . . well . . . less than charitable.

What has been particularly distressing for me has been to hear or read any number of comments from Christians formed with invective, spiteful, derogatory, or simply hateful speech.

We live in a political world. Living together as a community – whether as a nation, municipality, parish, or family – is political. At its core, politics is nothing more than how we live together. To paraphrase Jesus, “When two or three are gathered together, you will have politics.”

And when you have two or three or more gathered together, there will be a variety of opinions. Some of which you will agree and some of which you will disagree.

We don't always have to agree with each other. I still love my wife and remain in a relationship with her despite our many disagreements over the years.

But as Christians we must do better in our disagreements. We must not allow ourselves to devolve into spewing forth the rage and hatred toward those with whom we disagree. As Christians we must continually strive to follow not only in the steps of Christ, but in how he spoke to his enemies and those who hated him. We must work to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who abuse us.

In your comments, in your tweets, in your Facebook posts, are you emulating Christ, or are you allowing rage to rule your tongue?

Blessings,

Todd+