Are you one of those counter-cultural Christian fanatics?

No one in her right mind wants to be canceled, especially under the marginalizing name of “Christian fanatic.” However, chances are if you are not singing the cultural tune of the day, you may be on the chopping block. A few weeks ago, it may have been mainly Facebook friends who have pushed you off of their feed. Perhaps they made a comment that showed their disdain for something you posted. Out of curiosity, you check their status and what do you know? You are officially not friends anymore. Today it may be Big Tech who has their sights set on you, restricting your reach without even giving you a head’s up as to why. Tomorrow it may be your employer that decides your convictions are not OK for you to embrace.

What in the world is going on?

Navigating cancel culture

To be fair, I’m certain that canceling goes both ways in the world of social media. The thing is, I’ve noticed that the canceling seems to be heavily weighted in one direction rather than the other. Understandably, recent events have caused many people to have pause over all that has happened (to be clear, the actions of those that attacked police and broke into the Capital should be condemned and those persons should be prosecuted). On January 6, one could see not only American flags covering the sea of people converging at the Capital in D.C., but also flags with crosses on them and quite a few “Jesus 2020” flags. Have conservatives conflated support of Trump with being a Christian?

It seems to me as if a few things have been lost in the confusing shuffle of the last few days. Really, the last few months have similarly been an emotional time loaded with accusations, some well-founded, some not. As Believers, how are we to navigate these times?

Discernment

I’ve referred to this quote a couple of times recently, and it couldn’t be more appropriate right now. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It’s knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

With emotions running high, many people, both in and out of the church, are criticizing all who have supported the President, including the rioters and pretty much anyone who voted for him. Many are accusing Trump supporters of being power-hungry, bigoted, racist, and generally unloving. Therefore, they all must be canceled.

What this is about – Truth

However, this is not about power. This is not about political affiliation. This is certainly not about the color of anyone’s skin. For the Believer, this is about Truth. That word has been tossed around with little attention paid to what it actually means. For those who follow Christ, His Truth is what defines that word. For starters, the truth of when life begins. The truth of what marriage is. The truth of what gender is.

All of these Biblical truths are under assault by mainstream culture because many say Jesus loves everyone. According to the cultural narrative, if Jesus loves everyone, we’re perfect the way we are and we have no need of being corrected or given discernment of any kind. We already know all that we need to because we each have our own truth. In other words, Jesus came to give us the best life now, to make us happy and comfortable, and we get to define what that looks like.

Newsflash – Jesus cares a lot more about our holiness than He does about our happiness. He loves us so much, He corrects us and sanctifies us according to His Word. He knows what’s best since He’s the one Who created us in the first place.

Unfortunately, instead of using Scripture to correct these assumptions, the church has decided in large part to sit out of these cultural conversations. So much so, that our voices are not only irrelevant, but they are considered hateful and bigoted.

Calling all Christian fanatics

The church is to be salt and light in the depraved world we live in. Jesus undeniably loves the world (John 3:16), but He calls us to be holy above anything and everything else. We are all called to be counter-cultural, and yes, even Christian fanatics (i.e. extremely enthusiastic and devoted) about our Savior and His Word. This is never to mean we are to be a fanatic for any specific man or woman. That would be foolishness. However, we are to support those in power who’s ideologies best support biblical Truth.

Again, this is not about a person or political affiliation or cultural identity. This is about so much more. This is about the eternal Truths of Scripture.

Jesus is love – yes, absolutely, and AMEN. However, Jesus is also holy and righteous. Because the Church has been called to be salt and light, we must choose to be a counter-cultural force for the glory of God and for the good of mankind. And that includes telling people the sometimes uncomfortable Truth (Prov. 27:6) covered in love and with a humble spirit.

So yes, it stinks to be canceled and misunderstood. Like most, if not all of you, I hate it. But my hope is that if anyone accuses the Church of being full of counter-cultural Christian fanatics, there’s enough evidence in each of our lives to really convict us of that. Amen?