In the wake of the Starbucks red cup controversy I’ve had several thoughts and emotions flood my brain. There is so much that could be said regarding the controversy, but overall I’m simply just frustrated to see so much anger and judgment from Christians being camouflaged as “taking a stand” and “drawing a line in the sand”.
I could spend the rest of this article stating my opinion on that situation, but I’m not. I’m simply going to continue to sip my Starbucks coffee in peace and explain what I think the real issue is.
I think the real issue is the fact that we love giving our opinions. We love the fight, the argument, the lines in the sand, the scrap, the showdown – I know this, because I’m guilty of it myself. In fact, as badly as I try to craft this article with truth rather than my opinion, it subtly pries it’s way into my words.
We love to show people they are wrong and we are right – that’s a tough statement, but it’s true.
Let me show you what I mean real fast:
True or False.. do you get satisfaction out of winning an argument?
If you’re a human than I bet you answered “true”.
I know I do. I think we all do. And that is part of the problem, because giving our opinions and boycotting isn’t exactly what we are primarily called to do as Christians. As Christians our primary responsibility is to love, serve, pray for and encourage others. (John 13:34/Galatians 5:13/Colossians 4:2/1 Thess 5:11)
As great as the internet and the Information Age is – it now allows for gasoline to be thrown on the fire of our opinions. Mob mentality and public executions haven’t disappeared in our society, they have just moved to a digital format.
With all that said I’m not saying that giving your opinion is wrong or uncalled for as Christians. We need Christian insights and opinions, but not out of anger, bitterness and in an attempt to “prove something”.
Think about it – how would it change the world if we, as the church, did the following…
Stopped boycotting every business that we disagreed with and started tipping the hardworking employees a little extra instead.
We stopped gossiping about everyone else’s sin and started confessing and working on our own sin.
Listened to the other side as much as we argued against it.
Expressed our love as much as we expressed our frustrations.
What if, we the Church, became a lighthouse and beacon of hope, rather than a searchlight of judgment and anger?
Thank you for sharing this blog. It really hit me hard. But needed to hear it to keep me humble as I serve our Lord and Savior!
Great post!! Of course you are opinionated, you write a blog, mate! Seriously, I have learnt over the last couple of years that I am ultra opinionated and though I don’t like to argue for the sake of it, if I felt I was right I would argue the toss no matter what. We are not called to be ‘right’, we are called to love and serve others, not just our little clique of Christian pals and church going buddies, but ALL people, regardless of faith or lack thereof. Some of the most harsh people and most judgemental can be those found in churches!!! I know, I was one of them.
I don’t know how Christianity has deteriorated in the US but in the UK it is often just church going, and a marker of respectability for many people and not much more. And Christianity is not surface respectability or just being ‘extra nice’ on Sunday, or putting on a pious face in the queue at the supermarket bakery, it is a journey and a walk with a living God.
In church, which I only started to attend a few years ago, God puts all kinds of different people together and different opinions, views, political persuasions and different income and educational levels and so on, and we learn through that to accept others and their different views and opinions even if we don’t agree with them. Christianity is not a holy clique of the self righteous and the self exalting, it is meant to be the place where those who are called by God serve and love others selflessly and it should reach out to the community, too.