Light or Lion?

While working on my laptop from a chair in our bedroom, I noticed our family cat, Cookie, staring intently out of the window.  His feline predator instincts had kicked in due to a flock of tiny finches fluttering around outside, hopping between the Japanese maple tree and the ground.  As I watched his subtle movements, he reminded me of the verse from 1 Peter, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  Those adorable little birds were happily living their lives, getting their bellies full so they could move further south.  They had no idea, they were being hunted.   

As it often is with us.  We are busy living our lives, moving from job to school to home to church to keeping up with pandemics and politics to binge-watching Netflix and spending too much time on social media.  It is so easy to allow ourselves to become off-guard to Satan's desire to devour us and to discount the schemes and tactics he uses. I've noticed the latest trend seems to be his using the opinions and voices of even God's own people against each other. His devouring has become Christians devouring each other and the rest of the world with harsh and critical words.  There has been so much ugliness and bitterness coming through the fingertips of believers onto the screens of social media lately.  We tend to forget that the keyboards of our laptops, Chromebooks, and smartphones are tools that Satan can use through us to hurt each other and hinder the gospel before a lost world.

Galatians 5:15 says, "But if you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."  Did you get that? He said that we would be the ones destroying each other.  Paul was talking to Christians!  In the verses prior to this, he said, "...the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love." and "...do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh, but serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in this one command, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Our pastor once said that amid all this back and forth about all the issues in the world, we should focus on the gospel.  We are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14-16) But how can our light shine if our words and actions don't reflect The Light of Christ?  All of the criticism and sharp tongues reduce our effectiveness in sharing the gospel. 

James 3 teaches about how dangerous our tongues can be: a world of wickedness, restless, evil, deadly poison, setting your whole life on fire because it is set on fire by hell itself.  Verse 9 says, "Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. Surely, brothers and sisters, this is not right!"  When we praise God on Sunday and run down our fellow believers during the week, God is not pleased. 

There are times when we need to speak the truth in love, not our opinions, not our criticisms but God's truth and in love. The world does not need more opinions.  It needs the gospel (the good news).  It needs Jesus!  It needs the Truth of how we are to live and that is according to God's Word.  I am a passionate person when it comes to things I believe in, but I have learned that I have to temper that passion with self-control.  I also need to make sure the things I am passionate about are Biblical.  We, as Christians, should be Christians first. Jesus should be the core of who we are and everything we do and say should be filtered through Him.  We are to be peacemakers. (James 3:18, Matt 5:9, Romans 12:18) Let's get back to loving one another because "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." John 13:35.