How are we supposed to act in this messed up world?

Our attempts at tolerance seem to have made us more intolerant.

Americans are more deeply divided than ever over everything we can think of--politics, healthcare, travel ban, immigration, climate change, international relations, abortion, military, worldview, lifestyle, morality, race, religion, culture, taxes, sports, etc

We are constantly bombarded with strong expressions of public opinion through the news, social media, politics, riots, rallies, talk shows.

Take President Donald Trump for example. A recent POLITICO/Morning Consult Poll shows 43 percent of Americans want Trump impeached. But the same poll shows that 45 percent of Americans don't want him impeached.

America is divided.

Republicans and Democrats. From what I read and hear, the tension and unwillingness to work together outside of party lines has never been thicker. But the political division does not end there. Divisions also exist within political parties.

Kathy Griffin. Griffin posted a video on social media holding a mask that resembled President Trump's decapitated head. Once again, American opinion was divided. Many were outraged while others did not see anything wrong with this.

"Julius Caesar." This production in New York's Central Park has Caesar wearing a blond wig and appearing to look like President Trump. There is a scene where Caesar is stabbed, beaten and assassinated. Support and opposition for this is very strong on both sides.

FBI's Russia investigation. Who do you believe? Based on your political party affiliation, your worldview, your values, your passions and convictions, you will develop an opinion that may be counter to what others believe to be true. 

Abortion. Is this right or wrong? When does life begin? Is it about a woman's body or a baby's right to live? 

As a nation, we wrestle with other hot button and polarizing issues such as same-sex marriage, transgender rights, immigration, the travel ban, health care, legalizing marijuana, etc.

Most react with rage, anger, feelings of retaliation, hate, fear, worry, isolationism, etc. We easily revert to bitterness, hopelessness, apathy, and pessimism.

We can either isolate ourselves, run away or seize the opportunity to let Jesus' light shine through us in the midst of all this darkness. 

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:14-16

But how?

With Grace
Without Jesus, all humanity is doomed for death, suffering, and eternal separation from God. But through Jesus, those who believe in Him have a relationship with God and eternal life. Jesus paid for our sins and all consequences tied in with our sins.

God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to suffer God's wrath for us and pay the penalty for our sins so that through Jesus we can have eternal life with Him.

The Gospel helps us understand grace. As we grow in Christ and live in the undeserved love God has for us, we experience the reality of God's grace. When we walk with Jesus, we see what we do not deserve and we see what God has given us in Christ--that should cause us to shudder.  

Because God's grace is central to the Gospel, the life of a believer should reflect God's grace.

But instead of showing others grace and love, we often see people who are not like us as enemies and consider them to be less than human. We label them--right wing, liberal, homophobe, gay, transgender, Muslim, xenophobe, Democrat, Republican, atheist, millennial, old, poor, rich. We think of those who do not agree with us as clueless, wrong, and not worthy of our friendship. We try very hard to prove that they are wrong and, over time, we build walls between us and them. 

As a result, we yell at each other, battle our ideas on social media, don't listen, become angry, build hatred and animosity, and pick sides.

When we truly understand the Gospel, what it means, what it cost God, and what we have been saved from, that changes the way we see others. We see people through God's heart--with compassion, love and with redemption in mind. God showed us how much He loves us by sending Jesus to die, become sin and suffer God's wrath in our place to save those who truly believe in Him.  

The Gospel leads us to see those who do not agree with us beyond the label. Our understanding of grace should lead us to listen, reach out, and point people to Jesus, not your viewpoint. 

Romans 12:17-21 
¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We are able to do this as the Gospel works its way in and through us.

With knowledge
Many Christians are ill-equipped to live powerfully in the world for Jesus because we lack knowledge in God's word. We also lack a working knowledge of issues that impact our world and we fail to see the connection between God's word and everyday life.

In college, I wrote a paper in my freshman English class from a Christian perspective and received a "B" when I thought I deserved an "A." My immediate reaction was anger toward the professor. I immediately felt I was being persecuted for my faith because I thought I wrote a very well-written paper.

The reality was that my paper was poorly written. 

I asked the professor why I received a "B" and not an "A." He patiently explained and told me that if I had put in a little more detail and cited a few more sources, I would have had an "A." The grade he gave me had nothing to do with his dislike for Christians or his agenda to persecute Christians. It had everything to do with the quality of my work.

At that moment, a light bulb went on. Although I wrote the paper with passion, my use of information was weak. No depth. I pulled information from the top of my head and made shallow connections both with Biblical knowledge and with current events.

As Christians, we often lack knowledge and depth in what we truly believe about Jesus, the Bible, and the Gospel. We also lack knowledge about what takes place in the world. 

Christianity can be defended and supported from all angles because it is true and is centered on Truth. However, many of us ignore the hard work of digging deep in scripture and, at the same time, grow in our knowledge of current events, history, politics, science, culture, philosophy, economy, education, etc.

In all this, rest assured that we have what we need to be strong in Christ--God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. We also have God's Word. Start with God first--His word, prayer, and focus on Jesus. Know Him. Secondly, be aware and pray for what is happening in our nation and world. This will give you greater knowledge of God, a deeper love for God, and a deeper heart for the nations. 

Proverbs 19:2-3

² Desire without knowledge is not good—
    how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

³ A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
    yet their heart rages against the Lord.

With love
Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40 that the greatest command is to love God and love others. He said that the entire "Law and Prophets" are built on these. 1 John 4:8 says that God is love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 defines what love looks like: 

"⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails." 

We are able to love others like we should when that love comes from God. Even when we walk with Jesus, loving others is challenging. But as we walk with Jesus and as the Holy Spirit molds and shapes our hearts more into the image of Christ, love abounds because God is love. We will be able to love others because of God's love in us and that love is reflected in our relationship with others. 

Because love comes from God, our ability to love others (even our enemies) is a reflection of our relationship with God. Jesus leads us to love even the most unlovable person. In Christ, we will love in ways we normally would not. But love must not only be within us, we must show our love in action. 1 John 3:18 says, "... let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

Love is an action and when we continue to act in love toward someone, it becomes very difficult to hate that person. 

Take time to pray and seek God to grow this area of your life and to also show you tangible ways you can show love to others with your actions.

With hope
We continue to hear over and over again about how bad the world is becoming. Many believe that things are only going to become worse as time goes on. With that, it is easy to lose hope. If our hope was placed only in this world, everything would be hopelessness. However, this world is not the prize.

"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."  1 Corinthians 15:19

Our hope is found in Jesus. It is through Jesus we have eternal life with God. Why not share Jesus with people instead of fighting with them. Instead of looking to one up someone, humble yourself and share hope found in Jesus. 

This world is dying, breaking, and falling apart. Things of this world are temporary and will fade away. As we live daily with this hope in Christ and as we grow in it, we will give it away. We will grow into seeing people (even our enemies) as those who God loves, who Jesus died for and we will share hope found in Christ.

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..."  1 Peter 3:15

Get involved
Yes, our nation is divided. However, this is not a time for Christians to hide. Christians need to confront injustice, endure hardship for doing what is right, get involved in politics and government, and be strong when living for Jesus is hard.

Christians should vote, run for office and engage politically in ways that honor Jesus--with grace, strength, knowledge, love, and hope. Above our own agenda or views on what needs to be made right, our involvement in politics, public life, and government should come from a Gospel-centered calling. 

Followers of Jesus can also find areas of great need in our towns, communities, and cities and serve in ways that focus on Jesus, bringing light into the darkness. Christians must live every moment of our lives at school, work, among family and friends, with the intent to bear witness, share the Gospel and make disciples.

We must get involved in places that are hard. We must get involved with people, in communities, and in places that may hate us, disagree with us, and are hostile to the Gospel. But in all of this, we must love people more than the world loves them. Let us "outlove" others.

It is easy to criticize anonymously from behind the computer. It is easy to write theoretically how things are supposed to make a difference. It is hard to follow Jesus in the midst of human struggle, brokenness, depravity, evil, rejection, pain and suffering. Why not get involved by taking the Gospel into a world that needs Jesus and share one person at a time.

Daily, we must ask God, "How do you want to use me today?" We must pray, "God please lead me to share the Gospel today."

When we step out, we see Jesus making a difference in people's lives one person at a time. We also see Jesus making a difference in our lives.

In Christ
Again, the goal is not to make this world a better place. The goal is to lead people to Jesus. In addition, we are not to do this on our own strength. As we pursue Jesus, as He changes us, He gives us the strength and the power to do what we have to do.

Paul describes the battle in the flesh Romans 7:7-25. Paul acknowledges in Romans 7:25  that it is only through Jesus that we are able to overcome our own battles in the flesh.

The divide in our nation is ugly, nasty, and overwhelming. The world needs believers to stop acting like everyone else, to stop hiding, and to stop criticizing. The world needs Christians to live it out and to share the Gospel one person at a time.

Let us show the world around us what hope in Jesus looks like. As we do, let us share the Gospel.

We do all this because we love Jesus, He is real, and the overflow reflects what God is doing in our lives through Jesus.