Brian Lucas
Wow! There is a lot of outrage in the world, right now. I see it online, on TV, from friends and family, even just at the grocery store. We are living in an outrage culture. But I don’t think we are meant to be this way.
In the book of James, a portion of the Bible written by Jesus’ brother, it says this: “[19] My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, [20] for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” (James 1:19-20 CSB) This is extremely counter-cultural these days. In a world of quick outrage and leaping at the chance to attack those we disagree with, the Bible calls us to be quick to listen. Everyone should be slow to speak. We should all be slow to anger. Doesn’t mean we can’t be upset. This doesn’t even mean we don’t get angry. But in a world where the media and internet is full of false information and incomplete accounts of events, where there is an agenda and bias to every story, it would help to take it slow.
What if we were to hear something that makes us angry and instead of responding, take a few deep breaths and process the information? What if we took a moment to remind ourselves that the people that are spiking our anger are also human? What if we sought to understand their heart and understand where they are coming from? We may very well end up still disagreeing. We might come to the conclusion that there is something very wrong that needs to be corrected. But having taken the time to process and understand, we might have a better solution moving forward.
If we are quicker to listen and understand than we are to become outraged and shout our opinion, we might be able to recognize fake news before looking foolish and responding to it. We might learn all of the facts and see that once we look at the entire scenario, it calls for a different response. There are many important events happening in our world, and very important issues and cultural topics to discuss and work through. And more than anything, our world needs people who, with a level head, can bring the righteousness of God into the equation. According to James, we cannot do that through human anger.
In fact, all the needs, wants, and desires that fuel our outrage at its core must first be pursued by seeking the Lord and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Then all else gets added in.
Let us seek direction and encouragement first in God’s word and presence, then respond according to the Spirit, rather than the anger of man. And in doing this, perhaps we show the glory of Christ to a broken and watching world.
Brian Lucas is co-lead pastor of Pax Christian Church.
