Monday, April 22, 2013

Monday Methinks...

The archaic-sounding verb methinks, meaning it seems to me...seemed a cute way to share some serious stuff I've been pondering.  A little levity with the gravity!


So, completely out of the blue an issue confronted me the other night.  Boycotting...should Christians do it?  I gotta say...the Holy Spirit in me gave a definite... NOPE.

So, methinks they doth protest too much...
  • My purpose for being on earth is not political...it is personal.  Specifically, I'm here to share the gospel.  My aim is to be changed into His (Jesus') image.  Jesus was nonresistant...and that's different from nonviolent resistance.  Nonviolent christian resistance that I see is often full of it's own sinful pride.
  • Boycotting is in no way winsome.  Boycotting assumes that human evil (SIN) could be overcome by a grand display of moral courage.  Jesus said that the only thing that could transform human evil was his death and resurrection on a cross.
  • We have to be willing to be weak, relying on his power to redeem and give eternal hope.  That kind of hope isn't found in getting the economic majority (which is unlikely) but in Jesus Christ alone.
  • Talk about burning our bridges.  Christians may have legitimate reason for not using certain products or buying from certain businesses...but banding together to destroy commerce for an otherwise harmless venture is without biblical warrant.  In fact, it's often a real detriment to the gospel.
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.  “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."  Matthew 5:13-16 NLT

So maybe, instead of boycotting and losing our "voice" entirely....methinks we should take a chill pill and order a Grande Mochachino with Sprinkles and sweetly, winsomely chat with our barrister about the great hope that we have...and how we can be so calm amid life's problems.  Care about him or her...let them share their burdens with us.  Then tell them where we go for answers...the only place with answers that truly work.

The Bible is relevant for today's problems.  Rather than boycott them...especially the ones dealing with sin that makes us uncomfortable...let's let it be POWERFUL...not in a hateful way but in the way God intended...with LOVE.

If we'd rather boycott than share the truth in hard places then...well, methinks we don't really love the lost as much as we say we do!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good points here. This is yet another way that Christians could appear to think they are better than others because of something they DO. Keep thinking, my sweetie. I love you. Mom D.

Pastor D said...

I think it is a very interesting question... should we ever band together for any political or economic purpose?

You are right that we cannot let such things stand in the way of our main purposes in life.