United Church of God

Update from the President: Feb. 14, 2019

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Update from the President

Feb. 14, 2019

This week I visited a number of our elders and families in the Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, areas. First, on Tuesday evening, Jim and Joan Tuck and I shared a dinner with Joy Zimmerman. Her husband and our dear friend, Chuck, died on Nov. 7. We reminisced about a lifetime of common faith and work. She expressed appreciation to the many people who have expressed kind and comforting words to her.

On Wednesday morning I met with the ministry in Phoenix where, among several matters, we discussed the reestablishing of a second weekly congregation in the northwest part of the metro area. Present were Scott McKeon, Jim Tuck, Mike Miller, Monte Knudson and Randy Schreiber.

Then I drove to Tucson and spent part of Wednesday afternoon with Ellis and Gwen La Ravia where we recounted an interesting history of service. Finally, I spent the last evening with Steve and Terri Buchanan, we have been friends for decades. I thoroughly appreciate the faithfulness of our elders to God and to one another. Meetings like this validate and reinforce the value of what God has been doing through his servants.

Today we fly eastwards towards Springfield, Missouri, to participate in a Women's Enrichment Weekend. The theme this year is "Run with Horses—Becoming Spiritually Fit."

Podcast this week—"Sex, Solomon and the Song of Solomon"

ABC instructor Randy Urwiller and I talk about the Song of Solomon. He has been teaching Wisdom Literature classes and had just covered this beautiful song about love in marriage and so we took the opportunity to discuss it in the latest podcast.

Put off outrage, pursue peace

Do you feel troubled, even outraged by what appears to be political chaos in the world? A few weeks back I mentioned that I would write more about what our mindset as Christians ought to be in response to the emotional and increasingly divisive political pandemonium in the world. A flood of demeaning insults, shallow slogans and posturing nationalism has reared up in the place of virtue, moral values and godly reason.

It is so tempting to decry, applaud, sneer or cheer at the various behaviors that the media exposes. Divisive forces are becoming increasingly strident with protests, rallies and possible violence.

What is your response to that disturbing turmoil?

Recently, one of our international ministers came to me with concern and requested that we address not so much of the politics, but the mindset we have as disciples of Jesus Christ.

What does that mean for us in the United Church of God who live in this world? Jesus Himself prayed, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world" (John 17:15). Why? We humbly hold the critical role of being lights in this darkened world, demonstrating and holding high God's way of life (Matthew 5:14-16, emphasis added throughout).

But here's the challenge for us. As we live in the world and are battered by the swirling events around us, we also can unwittingly fall prey to its influence. This was the concern expressed to me by this minister.

So let me ask you a question: what happens when blind outrage and quasi-patriotic resentment consumes a society? I'd like to share a few sobering incidents from history.

In the mid-1800s, like today in similar dark emotional scope, the United States was deeply divided. Then it was the issue of slavery. Unremitting hatred boiled over into the U.S. Congress.

In the late spring of 1856, U.S. Senator Charles Sumner was working at his public desk on the floor of the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. Earlier in May, Senator Sumner had publicly attacked a fellow senator from South Carolina, viciously accusing Senator Andrew Butler of committing political adultery over the issue of slavery. The cruel attack was a response to Butler's earlier false allegations that Sumner was having affairs with female slaves.

Butler's cousin, Congressman Preston Brooks, believed Senator Sumner's accusations to be grievous slander. Brooks, crippled from wounds from a long-ago duel, hobbled into the Senate chamber and confronted Sumner. Without warning, Brooks then proceeded to savagely beat Senator Sumner with his heavy gold-tipped cane, severely injuring the Senator. Other senators tried to intervene but were restrained by Butler's armed friends. The ferocious beating continued, even after Butler had shattered his cane on the Senator's unconscious form.

Butler then walked off the U.S. Senate floor unimpeded. No charges were ever filed. Pieces of his shattered cane were collected and fashioned into rings and keepsakes by southerners. The unchecked swelling outrage continued, leading a few years later to the U.S. Civil War, where almost an entire generation of young men died.

Shocking? That's what happens when outrage blindly engulfs a society.

Here's another lesson from American history. We often read of the wonderful cooperation and magnificent acts of the founding fathers of the United States. But did you know that during President George Washington's first term that violent and destructive outrage erupted between Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Congressman James Madison (the recognized principal author of the Constitution) against Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury? Jefferson and Madison went so far as to start up an opposition dissent newspaper, the National Gazette, which featured several anonymous articles written by Madison. These articles openly attacked Hamilton, possibly representing the first official "fake news" in the fledgling nation.

The political outage and feud got so violent that President Washington himself wrote a formal letter of correction to Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton, warning them that they were tearing the young country apart. He sternly instructed them to put an end to "wounding suspicions and irritable charges."

And so it goes, right down to today. You can easily conduct a Google search and see many videos of fights breaking out in legislatures across the world.

As the apostle Paul wrote to the disciples of Jesus living in the capital of the then-dominant Empire, "the way of peace they have not known" (Romans 3:17, citing Isaiah 59:7).

Today it has gotten so bad that many are starting to claim that our society—in America, Europe, South America and elsewhere—has fallen into an outright addiction to outrage. This addiction has been super-fueled by the proliferation of unchecked social media and quasi-journalism. People post harsh memes of outrage, many of them superficial, shallow and even outright false. We can read these, accept them as "fact" and fall prey to outrage ourselves. The same is true of unrestrained opinions on television, where commentators of every stripe conduct unreasonable political "food fights" and stir up self-righteous resentment and fiery anger.

How do we in the spiritual Church of God combat this potential addiction?

Jesus teaches us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:10). Being a maker of peace is often far more of a challenge—it takes the help of God's Holy Spirit, one of its fruits being peace.

Being a peacemaker in this age where thousands (if not millions) are becoming addicted to outrage makes us stand out. We glorify our Father in heaven when we are a peacemaker. As Paul states, peacemaking is our personal responsibility! "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18).

The 13th chapter of Romans tells us what attitude and focus we are to have toward the human governments we live under, whether in America, Europe, Asia or elsewhere. Echoing the words of Jesus, Paul instructs us in Romans and elsewhere that we are to pray for those in power and be subject to them, that we are to pay taxes honestly, and that we are to render honor to whom God puts (or allows to be) in power!

Consider the fact that the Roman Emperor Nero sat on the throne when Paul wrote Romans, an emperor who would burn disciples alive as human candles and cast them into the Circus Maximus for brutal (and lethal) entertainment! What do you think the Roman disciples thought of that direction?

The point? The politics of the leader doesn't matter; our role is clear!

We can certainly have our own point of view on current events, and (as we do in the proclamation of the gospel) we can surely be counted among those who openly "sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done" (Ezekiel 9:4). But as ones who count their true citizenship as of another future realm (Philippians 3:20), do our words (especially our social media posts) reflect positive encouragement and an effort toward peacemaking?

Let us "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13, New International Version). That means to take appropriate opportunities to be encouraging and to be a peacemaker, whether in person, online or in any form of communication.

Being of a liberal or conservative bent is irrelevant for a disciple of Jesus Christ. During His earthly ministry, depending on His audience, Jesus was regarded at both ends of the spectrum. He was, as we should be, focused on the truth of God. He did not endorse or promote the political leaders of His day.

As we continue to stand out in a darkened world, consider the words of Paul: "It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders... God will judge those on the outside" (I Corinthians 5:12-13, New Living Translation).

Moving forward, let us put off any possibility of an addiction to political outrage. Instead, "set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:2-4).

Can we truly be a light in this darkened world? The answer is yes! Let us put off addictive outrage and be a maker of peace!

Finally, as I'm writing these words, a lady is telling me how upset she gets with what politicians say and do and with all that's happening in the world. But, in spite of that, she still thanks God every night in her prayers for living here. Her point? Thankfulness trumps turmoil.