Let’s Do Better
I recently heard someone describe non-Christians as their enemies. It didn’t sit well with me for a lot of reasons, one of which is it doesn’t resonate with Scripture. Sure, if you take the military posture of some Old Testament passages and apply it to today you could justify that attitude. But that perspective doesn’t fit the whole of the Old Testament, nor does it square with Jesus’s approach to life.
Jesus’s most clear enemies in the Gospels are of course the devil and demons, but then, perhaps surprisingly, religious folks. In the Gospels, you find Jesus again and again showing compassion on those who far from God. In fact, he often reminded his disciples that he didn’t come for the “well” but for the “sick.”
Such comments were often contrasted with his frustration with religious leaders. It’s not that they were not themselves sick while others were. It’s that those far from God didn’t have to be convinced in the same kind of way of their need for grace. The spiritual leaders, so called, hid their true need beneath a heavy veil of self-importance.
Paul’s metaphors for those who are far from God fit in the same vein. Paul describes them as captives (2 Timothy 2:26), blind (2 Cor. 4:3), without God, without Christ, without hope (Ephesians 2:12). I don’t know of any sensible and caring person who would make fun of someone for being a prisoner of war. Is it okay to make fun of blind persons? Of course not. Neither should we talk flippantly about those who are spiritually captive and blind.
If you make fun of secular persons or places, you are not only showing a lack of compassion but demonstrating a lack of desire and ability to have a meaningful relationships with those who differ with you on significant perspectives. Over the years, I’ve had college students express to me their concern about hearing leaders caricature a nearby town because of how progressive it is. Again, that only demonstrates a lack of willingness or an inability to engage with the people there, or likely both. Such an attitude shouldn’t be the standard for how Christians relate to those outside the faith.
Even if “they” are your enemy, I believe Jesus said something about how you should love your enemies. We’re not given other options. We’re not left with acceptable excuses.
How will you ever be able to be the light you so love to speak of if you’re never willing to step into darkness? It’s far easier to hunker down in subculture and preach inside of echo chambers, isn’t it? But it’s the equivalent of the Coast Guard making fun of sinking boats and drowning people all while refusing to ever to touch the water. What good is that? Far from a city on a hill, it’s a light that’s buried beneath a bushel filled with self-righteousness. Let’s do better.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” —Jesus