ir Winston Churchill led England as prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and then again from 1951 to 1955. So much has happened: conflicts causing and concluding World War II, the world reviving itself after World War II, and England’s growth to become the nation that it is today.
On October 13, 1943 while with Parliament, Churchill was quoted as stating the following: “So we must beware of a tyranny of opinion which tries to make only one side of a question the one which may be heard. Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”
Wow! His wisdom transcends time, as I believe it speaks to our current society’s battles. We as followers of Christ should be aware and listen to others discuss what is happening in our nation (whether we agree or disagree), but we should not be caught in the battle of defending our viewpoints. We need to remember that our battles are not verbal and definitely not physical against our brothers and sisters of this land. We must recognize that our battles are spiritual against the defeated enemy of Satan. Looking past our current situations and fast-forwarding to our story’s end, remembering that Satan is already defeated should be reason to celebrate even today!
So no matter what the newspaper states, what your preferred network television station reports, or what your family members share, we are called to represent God well with what Scripture says: to love people with Christ’s expression of love. Being guarded with our words is a great tool to use, because impulse social media responses prevent the Holy Spirit to guide us into having the helpful conversations we should be having instead of going for the attacks against people that we should avoid altogether.
The familiar encouragement found in Jeremiah 29:11 ensures us that God has a plan for each of us. Have you also noticed that if God has a plan for each of us, He remains in control? With this encouragement showing that God is working out His perfect will in our lives and in our nation, we know that a major theme of His redemptive story is love. John 3:16 poetically proclaims this truth, and the hymn “The Love of God” shares how much. The final verse holds such power:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
When you are discouraged, angered, or depressed by what you see happening in our beloved nation, open your Bible, ask God to speak, and see how God will transform your reactions to what you see today. The more time we spend with God, the more of His wisdom will spill over in us and for others to see and acknowledge Him too!
