Did your mother used to tell you “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”? I think our U.S. Senators, Congressmen, and politicians must not have been listening to their mothers.
As stirring as the emotions sometimes are when involved in the "rightness" of a political cause, those passions need to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. In Titus 3:2, Paul commands us "to malign no one," and refers to cursing, slandering, and treating with contempt. The Greek term rendered "malign" is the one from which we derive the English word blasphemy. If you watch CNN or Fox, or MSNBC; if you listen to Rush or Shawn, Mark Levine, Michael Savage or Michael Reagan, you will hear lots of maligning and scorning of politicians and other public figures. Believers are warned not to enter in to such things. Not only does it show contempt for God’s authority, but is inconsistent with our new nature in Christ.
We are already well into a season of grave electoral choices. And you may already have entered into some heated political discussions. And it’s difficult in the midst of the fray to maintain a spirit of holiness. But whether you are a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or somewhere in between, let us remember we are to “malign no one, to be un-contentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”
No comments:
Post a Comment