Jenny For Jesus

As I was scrolling through my social media accounts yesterday, I came across a post about small business owners/community leaders publishing negative content on their personal pages. As November grows nearer, these types of posts are going to continue to multiply. And it got me thinking about how many of us, though we are Christians, put out into the world words that are in opposition to our faith. We are, as a result, revealing an ugliness in our hearts that should not be there. As followers of Jesus, we have got to do better.

Ugliness isn’t about physical appearance. It is exposed through our words. James reminds us in chapter 3 that the tongue “is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” He goes on to point out that “with the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness.” Our profiles and our posts need to match. We cannot call ourselves Christians and then curse those who don’t share our views. Instead we are instructed to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.” (Matthew 5:44)

I’m seeing a lot of ugliness during this election season. Democrats and Republicans, alike, name calling, bashing, tearing down. People, we are more than members of a political party. We belong to Christ! Because of this we shouldn’t be name calling. We shouldn’t be attacking one another. We should be “loving our neighbors as ourselves.” (Romans 13:9) Timothy summed it up quite well when he said, “But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, because you know that they breed quarrels. The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, instructing his opponents with gentleness.” (2 Timothy 23-25)

Words hurt. Whoever coined the phrase “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” clearly never had a run in with the ugliness of this world. Because words can be painful. Proverbs reminds us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” What gets put out there on social media is a direct reflection of our character. How can we claim to be Christians and then let our words attack? “For his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.” (Luke 6:45) We will not be successful witnesses for our Lord while we are using words that expose ugliness.

At the end of the day, God’s plans will prevail. No matter who wins or loses an election, my God is in control. Let’s remember this as we click that “publish” button on our social media feeds. Ugliness has no place in our walk with Christ. We would do well to remember the words of Romans 15:5-6, “Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.”