“I’m so outraged at the biased media!”
“I’m so angry at Trump!”
“I can’t believe Disney would put THAT in a kids’ movie!”
“I’m so fed up with Dr. Fauci and the medical community! They are keeping us locked up for no reason!”
“People who refuse to wear masks are selfish jerks and THEY are the problem!”
Just a quick glance at your Facebook, Twitter, or even Instagram feed, and you’re sure to find outrage in generous supply. Whether it’s anger over what the media does or doesn’t cover; anger at Trump, Biden, or you state’s governor; outrage over what the movie industry puts in films; the COVID-19 pandemic; or any other number of issues (even college football!), there is no shortage of rage flying around today.
Especially from…Christians.
I can’t tell you how many times over the last few months I have seen people who claim to love Jesus give full vent to their anger over what’s happening in our world. Angry speech, thesis-length rants on Facebook, and biting snark and sarcasm have become the norm…even from people who say they love Jesus. Too often we’re out there spoiling for a fight and locking horns with any issue that comes our way like two buffaloes fighting for dominance.
This is not a good thing.
BUT…there are some things we SHOULD be angry about
Here’s where it gets a little hairy: there ARE things in a world that should upset us as followers of Jesus. Sin SHOULD bother us. We SHOULD feel a sense of righteous anger over injustice, racism, the complete devaluing of human life from the womb to the tomb, the growing acceptance of sexual practices that destroy a person’s mental health…these are things that should grieve our Spirit as we recognize “This is not right!”
Those things should upset us because they grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
It’s where we go from there that is often the problem.
Anger attracts allies…
The temptation when we get to the point of anger over what we see is to do what all humans do: express it. Vent it. Rage against whatever it is that we see because of the wrongness of it.
And it typically feels good. Because, regardless of what you are angry over, the funny thing about anger is that it’s pretty attractive.
At least to your allies.
Think about the typical cable-network news talk show. Regardless of the political slant of the host, they typically talk in over-dramatic fashion with a little bit (or a lot) of edge to their voice, indignation in their tone, and a simmering rage against the opposite side for their obviously immoral stances on whatever it happens to be (there might be a touch of sarcasm thrown in that statement!).
And people tune in by the droves. There’s just one problem: Generally speaking, the only people tuning in to watch the rage show are people who are already outraged about what the host is outraged about to.
And the same dynamic works in our day-to-day lives.
Sure, we can rage against all the evil we see in the world. And it’ll attract a following…of people who already think exactly like us. It might even attract a large following…which makes expressing our anger incredibly deceptive. Because, while we can grow a crowd of allies through our outrage, expressing our anger also has another devastating affect…
Anger alienates all others.
The problem with expressing our outrage is that, while we may be growing a crowd of followers, it’s just people who already think like us anyway. We aren’t really changing any minds or hearts because our rage is repelling people who disagree with us.
That shouldn’t be surprising. Think about someone you know who has a terrible temper. You don’t even really want to be around that person!
Why should we think people who disagree with us would want to listen to us when our anger makes us about as approachable as a wasp that’s just had it’s nest poked with a broom?
Anger from Christians could be killing the church in America
There’s a really serious undercurrent here we need to pay attention to when it comes to the mission of the church- because it has huge implications for whether or not we are effective in reaching people and leading them to become followers of Jesus. In a nutshell, it can be described like this:
Too often we as Christians become outraged at non-Christians for behaving like…non-Christians.
Frankly, this puzzles me. Sure, we should be bothered by sin…but we should not be surprised by it. Especially not to the level that we rage about it all the time.
I don’t rage when my dogs bark at the UPS guy. They are dogs. It’s what they do.
I don’t rage when kale tastes disgusting. It’s…kale.
I don’t rage when my 5-month old (how is it that he’s 5 months already???) poops in his diaper. He’s 5 months old!
Are these ideal situation? No. Might I occasionally get annoyed? Sure- especially when the dog barks at the UPS guy when Cayson is ASLEEP! But they should be expected because of the nature of who or what I’m dealing with.
In the same way, we should EXPECT non-Christians to act like non-Christians. That should bother us because it bothers God. But it should not surprise us- and we certainly shouldn’t give vent to our anger over it because when we do that, we end up repelling the very people Jesus calls us to reach.
I don’t think it’s an accident that Paul writes in Romans 2:4 (NIV) that “God’s kindness is intended to lead (us) to repentance…”
Not His wrath. Not His anger. His KINDNESS.
Think about how Jesus lived while He was on this earth. He did not go around screaming at sinners to “Stop it!” Instead, He loved them. He cared for them. He forgave them.
Now, He certainly called them to repent of their sin and change. But He didn’t lead with hell, fire, and brimstone. He didn’t lead with rage. He led with kindness.
If the church is going to once again become the unstoppable movement God has called her to be- particularly here in America- we, as Christians, need to get off the rage machine. We need to stop venting our anger over everything. And we certainly need to stop being shocked and outraged over non-Christians acting like non-Christians, because that anger is never going to attract them to the Kingdom of Jesus.
People far from God don’t need our rage. They need our compassion and our kindness- just like Jesus showed and shows to us.
And by the way: that’s how we will actually see true change in our nation. Not by screaming in rage over things, but by loving people as Jesus loved them- because that kind of love is irresistible. We know that because, over and over in Scripture, the people we see mostly hanging around Jesus were those whose lives looked nothing like His. They were drawn to Jesus, not because He vented anger at the Romans or the religious elites, but because He simply loved them and was kind to them.
When people are exposed to that, they tend to want more of it. And as they step into a genuine relationship with the Savior who loved them to Himself, THAT is what changes them.
Not anger- but kindness. Not rage- but love.
Let’s not sacrifice the advancement of God’s Kingdom on the alter of our anger. Our anger may attract allies- but it will certainly alienate those who aren’t believers. And that’s a tragedy, because those are the very people we need to reach.
Let’s keep the mission in mind and- even when we see things that disturb us and stir up in us a righteous anger- let’s refuse to vent our anger. Let’s reject outrage. And instead, let’s show the kindness of Jesus that was shown to us and led us to repentance, believing that through our kindness and love Jesus will do the very same thing in the lives of others.