The Hypocrisy of Cancel Culture Part 1

Last time I talked about the difference between condemnation and the conviction if the Holy Spirit. I wanted to define and contrast these ideas before jumping into the practical implications. The practical implications are very important today because the United States of America is consumed with condemnation and hatred. It doesn’t matter the type of lifestyle you lead, the political party you belong to or the religion you claim to follow, simple kindness is very rare. It is so rare that what should be common courtesy, now makes headlines on national news stations. We are so surrounded by people yelling at us from every side and then condemning us if we don’t participate in the yelling back. To my horror, Jesus has even been used as an excuse or justification for the yelling and condemnation. This has lead so many people to associate the Church with condemnation. It breaks my heart that when people have asked the Church to be Jesus to them, they have been met with rejection.

Sadly, even if the name of Jesus isn’t explicitly used to justify an action, most of the hatred comes from a claim of trying to be “loving”. The condemning of one thing is often considered right because of a conviction too an idea or concept. Other times it destroys one people group under the belief of helping another. The injustice that surrounds us has embolden us in our fight against it to turn around and deny justice to those we disagree with.

The first question we must answer is, are these concepts of: loving people, having convictions, speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves, seeking to right wrongs and fighting for justice wrong? Of course not. Before I go on, let me say that again. These things aren’t just “not wrong” but they are very right. We must love people, have convictions, stand up for the marginalized and fight for justice. Still, if we don’t stay close to Jesus, the devil can trick us into using any means necessary to fight. We think that if we are fighting the battles that Jesus would have fought we are following him. However, if we lose sight of HOW Jesus would have fought these battles, we add flame to the fire and cause more damage. Jesus said it himself in John 3:17, he did not come to condemn the world. So if we are lashing out and condemning anything that doesn’t agree with us, how can we claim to be following Jesus?

I must reiterate, the bible is clear that we are to love people. Just a few examples include John 13, John 15, Romans 13, Romans 16, Galatians 6, Ephesians 4, and the list goes on and on. Love isn’t just an idea in the bible or something that is only wrapped up in words but is lived out in helping and serving others. One of the best known parables is the parable of the good Samaritan. This man is “famous” for helping someone who should have been his enemy when other people wouldn’t. More on this next time but clearly, following Jesus means loving people you have disagreements with.

At the end of his letter to the Church in Corinth, Paul closes it like this, “keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping.” (message translation) Hold tight to your convictions AND love without stopping.

There are certain things like murder, idol worship, theft that are black and white in the bible. There’s not a lot of room for disagreement when the bible says do not murder. There are other things though that are not as clear. What we should be eating or drinking, what kinds of clothes we should wear, lots of details surrounding raising our children, etc. You might think the bible is pretty clear on those things but in reality, the Holy Spirit has given you certain convictions that are between you and Him. They matter, you should hold tight to them. But you can’t force them on other people and you can’t cut off all contact or association with someone just because they disagree. Hold tight to your convictions but love others while you are doing this!

What about fighting for justice and taking the cause of the oppressed? The bible is full of verses that talk about God’s love for the orphan, widow, oppressed and rejected. I recently ran across these verses in Psalm 82. Verse 3 starts, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” This is just one example of where the bible calls us to action on behalf of a people that the culture has deemed as “less than.” These are defining characteristics of Christianity, to stand up for and step into the mess of someone else’s life, to move in the direction of the hurting, to live a life of love that does something.

The second question we must answer though is how we do this. Everywhere we turn right now, we are met with a disagreement. Most of the time, it doesn’t involve us but instead, it is thrown in our faces and we are forced to take a side before we even have the chance to collect all the information. It doesn’t stop there though. If we do take a side, we are then supposed to completely reject everyone and everything associated with the other side. You are not allowed to think that Trump had some good ideas to help our country without thinking that he was America’s savior. You can’t think that his attitude toward women was vulgar without being told you hate America. You can’t fight against illegal immigration without being told that you hate refugees. You can’t call into question what is praised in our history without being accused of violence and destruction to national monuments. You can’t think that the election results were possibly tampered with without being blamed for the attack on the capital. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I don’t really stay up to date on what is happening in the celebrity world but every once in awhile a story catches my attention. I remember a few years ago I guess (time flies so fast when you aren’t paying attention) people were all up in arms because Ellen DeGenerous had shared a box seat or something with George W. Bush at some sporting event. People just could not believe that either one of them would talk to or even sit next to the other one. I happened to see Ellen’s response and was so pleasantly surprised. She stood in front of her audience and basically said, “hey, when I say be kind to one another, I mean everyone.” They both were living out how to be kind to someone that you don’t agree with. I don’t think that should have made such national news, but unfortunately, that is so rare these days and so contrary to how we live that it really stood out.

Just because you like something that someone said once or you go grab a meal with a certain friend, it doesn’t mean that you must 100% agree with everything they think, say or stand for. You don’t have to pick a side and stay there no matter the issue. You can’t assume that just because two people are friends, or are even just seen together, that they are the same person.

Jesus was constantly in the “wrong” places associating with the “wrong” people. At least, that’s how the Pharisees saw it. They considered those places wrong because of the associations they made between the people involved. They didn’t see a broken person who needed help, they only saw a sinner. Jesus could separate the person from the affects the fallen world had had on them. His convictions, if you will, about the value these people had stood in direct contrast to the Pharisees. Jesus didn’t water down his frustration with the Pharisees or sugar coat the problem, but He still offered them forgiveness and grace if they would accept it. He didn’t just cancel them, refusing to have anything to do with them, never speak to them again and cause His followers to do the same. If that was the case, Nicodemus would never have been allowed a private audience with Jesus late one night, and probably never repented and followed Him. John 19 tells us that Nicodemus was there when Jesus’ body was buried, suggesting that he had come to terms with and believed Jesus as Messiah. This only happens because Jesus treated him with love, even while Nicodemus thought He was crazy.

We must learn to do the same. When we cancel those we disagree with, we subject a new group of people to the oppression that we are fighting against. We can’t treat a certain group of people as less than as we try to elevate a different group.

We must stop treating a person differently than any other person just because they can be classified into a certain group based on a specific criteria.

We will look at how this applies to our culture and where I believe Jesus is leading even beyond that next time.

Your Fellow Traveler

Lacey