Leadership Thought Are You a Contentious Christian?

Dear Friend,

Are you a contentious Christian?  In today’s politically polarized world, it is easy to become one. Each of us may possess strong feelings about our political positions and persuasions. I confess it is easy for me to draw a line in the sand and become emotional and even belligerent over the cause I might champion.  

Sadly, many of us have witnessed relationships severed because of unkind words that were spoken or positions that were defended because of the fervent feelings positions we held.  It is not wrong to feel strongly about a particular position, but let’s never forget that our witness for Christ is more important than the candidate we support or the cause we champion.

As Christians there are times to be both peaceable (Romans 12:18) and contentious (Jude 3).  We are to be “both kinds of people depending on the issue and concern we address.” For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time for war, and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8).

Yes, I watch Fox News, but I will often turn to MSNBC because I want to hear what is being said from another perspective.

Whatever our reaction and response to the issue being addressed, our ultimate concern must always be our witness for Christ.  All of us need to remember that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone” (2 Timothy 2:24).  Yes, there is a time to fight for our faith, but let’s be sure the underlying cause is motivated by our love for Jesus and our desire to see others come to know Him.

Philip Yancey in his book “The Jesus I Never Knew” offers thoughts that provide a much-needed boundary for our conversations and relationships with others.  Yancy writes “I feel convicted by this quality of Jesus every time I get involved in a cause I strongly believe in.  How easy it is to join the politics of polarization, to find myself shouting across the picket lines at the “enemy” on the other side.  How hard it is to remember that the kingdom of God calls me to love the woman who has just emerged from the abortion clinic (and yes, even her doctor), the promiscuous person who is dying of AIDS, the wealthy landowner who is exploiting God’s creation.  If I cannot show love to such people, then I must question whether I have truly understood Jesus’ gospel.”  

So maybe the best thing we can do is to turn off our television sets for a while and ask God to show us if our contention is “godly, loving and kind.”

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom