I try to stay out of a lot of debates about various political issues that are going on in the country – things like gun control, political protests, issues related to the president’s personal life, and the like. My reason for doing that is because in the grand scheme of things, these issues are not relevant to the purpose I believe God has called me to. It is not that these issues are unimportant, but as it relates to my personal calling, they are a distraction that takes me away from dealing with what I consider more important matters.
In saying this, there are, no doubt, some who would jump on me because they think I ought to do it. I’m sorry, but if your calling is to do it, I say go for it. It is just not what God has put before me. On the other hand, there will be some who might jump on me and say that I actually do engage in these kinds of debates. They would be wrong, but I can see how they might think that.
The truth is, I do enter into debates where these kinds of topics are being discussed. But when I do, I do not advocate for those kinds of surface issues – even though I probably do have strong feelings on the subject. Rather, my advocacy is for honesty, consistency, and sincerity based on Christian principles.
For instance, because of certain recent school shootings, there is now a huge push on the political left to promote gun control. Ostensibly, the goal is to protect life. Now that is a cause I can get behind. But when you get into the nuts and bolts of the debate, the goal is not to protect life at all. It is to promote a political point of view that views getting rid of guns as the right thing to do.
My point is, if you are going to promote a particular point of view about guns, then be honest and make arguments that actually relate to your point. If your point is truly to save lives, then life is the issue, not guns. And if that is true, you have to be willing deal with things that actually save lives – ban abortion, develop protection around soft targets, implement programs that get illegal weapons out of the hands of criminals and gang members, and the like. The problem is, if you make arguments about actually working to save life and don’t completely get behind the gun control agenda, you get hammered because those things do not advance the political agenda. That is dishonest and I will call it out.
But it is not just guns, we see the same thing happening regarding sexual immorality, sexual harassment, almost anything related to the Trump presidency, economic policy, healthcare, and the list goes on and on. People who want to promote a particular political agenda will argue their side by making arguments that don’t actually solve the problem they are using as a prop.
Where does this come from? It comes from a society that is immersed in a naturalistic worldview. It is atheistic, and its moral foundation is relativistic. With that as a starting point, right morals become nothing more than what people want them to be – and that kind of morality leads not only to hypocrisy and dishonesty, but also the oppression of people who disagree with them.
Some of the debates I have entered have become rather “energetic.” I have been called names and been accused of ignorance and hatred. In the process of countering that, I always try to remain respectful, but never give an inch when it comes to the principle of honesty. And usually, at some point, I even get to throw in a witness for Christ to justify why I will not let them get away with their hatred.
This is the world we live in. These people simply do not know any better. They honestly believe that their beliefs are so right that anyone who opposes them is evil and deserving of contempt and retribution. The only counter to that is the truth – and we have to be persistent to the point of finally making them back down by forcing them to confront their own hypocrisy in a way that does not stoop to their level.
The Christian faith does not allow us to do evil in our attempt to promote a good outcome. We must be utterly faithful to promote God’s purposes God’s way – and that means standing strong against hypocrisy and dishonesty.