Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. I often joke that I have the spiritual gift of sarcasm. A Florida teacher years ago. Did not find that funny at all.
Sarcasm is not a spiritual gift, she wrote to me. I read her comment and just thought to myself, well, no duh.
Now, not only does that story point clearly to my own sin nature, it reflects the struggle that Christians have in this cultural moment. George Orwell famously said that in an age of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. And I believe that Christians who understand that this is the moment to which they've been called, that truth-telling is a non-negotiable part of their calling. In other words, it is every Christian's calling in a moment that has abandoned the very idea of truth. to be truth tellers.
Now the struggle is how to do this. Father Robert Sirico, co-founder of the Acton Institute, offered this once as a guide. We must be ruthless with ideas, but gentle with people. It's helpful, but the struggle is still in the trying, especially when so many people identify with the ideas that they hold. And some of these ideas are especially damnable.
and also reinforced by those in positions of influence even political power. And yet, Scripture is perfectly clear that truth is always to be spoken in love. At the recent Great Lakes Symposium, which was entitled Truth, Love, and Humor, Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, talked about what that means. Here's Jim. I believe in the fruit of the Spirit.
I believe in the love of God. And so often I'll ask an audience, who came to Christ this way? Those Christians were so mean to me. They treated me so poorly, I decided to become one of them. Does anybody have that testimony?
That's why the love of God is so important. Because we have to allow the Holy Spirit has to use the way we engage people. To crack their hearts open. But let's look at 2 Timothy 2:24 through 26. I love this scripture, and it's kind of the scripture I meditate on before I go into a battle like that.
And it says: And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to most people. What version do you guys have? No. Kind to everyone. Able to teach patiently enduring evil.
correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil. after being captured by him to do his will. Isn't that an awesome this is our job description everybody Now joining Daly and myself on stage was Seth Dillon, the CEO of the Christian satire site Babylon Bee. whose tagline is, fake news you can trust.
The bee targets bad ideas both inside and outside of the church with humor, often biting humor. I asked Seth whether or not that approach conflicts with the biblical command to speak the truth in love. Here's how he responded. It's a misinterpretation of the purpose of what we're doing with the satire to suggest that what we're doing isn't gentle or respectful or loving. You know, it's speaking the truth in love and using humor to do it.
And I think that's necessary. I think it's very necessary because otherwise you allow it. This is like back to that Chesterton quote I said before, you know, humor can get in under the door. It's one of the most effective ways to push back on these bad ideas. And so if we don't use that, if we don't recognize the biblical precedent for that, you know, Elijah engaged in mockery.
He used that to great effect.
So there are examples in the Bible where, in even hyperbolic language, you know, Jesus used a lot of hyperbolic language in his rebukes. I think it can be extremely forceful and effective. And again, it's the purpose of it is not to put people down and make them feel bad about themselves. It's not about bullying, you know. And in fact, the bee has been forceful and effective.
And their story is featured in the upcoming documentary Truth Rising. Like many others within the last several years, the B was pressured to accommodate the terrible idea that a male can become a a woman.
However, they refused and as a result were banned from Twitter. In the end, God used their decision as an important impetus for the cultural pushback against transgender ideology.
Now, certainly, the line between sharp wit and cruelty can be quite thin, especially when it comes to fallen people like you and me. A surging can both harm or heal. Our sinful nature makes the former just as likely as the latter.
However, our call to love should never be confused with being nice, but it's a common confusion and it's led many Christians to capitulate to ideas that actually victimize people. Paul told Timothy that the goal of Christian truth-telling should be to set free the victims of bad ideas. To do that is an act of love, though it won't always be seen that way. Still, we should do it anyway, even if we're perceived as being not very nice. Don't miss the global streaming premiere of Truth Rising.
Friday, September the 5th. Visit truthrising.com slash Colson. That's Truthrising.com/slash Colson. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, leave us a review wherever you download your podcast.
And for more resources to live like a Christian today, go to breakpoint.org.
