What an interesting time to be alive. I've caught myself using this phrase quite often over the past few years. Things never really seem to 'settle down', so it continues to apply to each successive season. My job today as a pastor is to comment on what I see happening in the news headlines, the American family, and the general public. And what I am noticing often represents something akin to hate speech. Unfortunately, it has seeped into every aspect of American life. I listen to a podcast regularly by a pastor named R. Loren Sandford out of New Song Church Ministries. He often mentions what he calls 'the rising tsunami wave of hate' that has built up slowly over time, and has now come to fruition - sweeping over the land like the hurricanes and derecho storms we saw earlier this year. 
Here is what I see when I look around today. People rioting and protesting in the streets in various places and at different times. Confusion about what to do if you contract COVID-19, and what it really means for the rest of the community. I see political discord all around us, on both sides of the aisle. Self-righteous pride is flowing freely from people who are absolutely certain that they are correct in their own worldview, while everyone else is wrong. Patience is at a minimum, and the loudest voice is often the one that gets heard (regardless of whether or not that voice speaks to love or violence). The tsunami wave of frustration and hate speech follows after all of these things, and social media only makes it easier to insult someone without personal accountability.
So what are we to make of this situation? Is it a lost cause … must we simply survive as best we can for as long as we can? I believe that many people have taken their eyes off of Jesus, and re-routed their faith to the political arena - at least for the time being. We have placed our hope in a human leader or group of leaders, and taken God off of the top shelf and placed Him somewhere down at the bottom. This is of course a mode of idolatry, it happens any time we put something or someone in the top slot of our lives instead of God. If you wish to see the consequences of this action, simply look around at the world we live in.
I remember a time years ago, when I placed all of my admiration and trust in a single person. It was one of my old martial arts teachers. I was maybe fifteen years old at the time, and to me, he was the embodiement of strength and leadership. I had ascribed these lofty attributes to him for so long, that I was stunned when that trust was finally broken. One day during class, he decided to teach an unruly student 'a lesson' by essentially beating him up in front of the rest of the class. Granted, the arrogant student was being inappropriate and rude, but he was just a teenager (maybe eighteen or nineteen at the time). Though not seriously injured, the victim was deeply humiliated, and left class that night in tears. We never saw him again. Retribution and shame was the order of the day at that moment, and it definitely left an impact. From that time on, I was in search of a new champion to idolize. It wouldn't be until years later that I would come to meet Jesus through the church, and begin to properly place my adoration in the son of God.
Ephesians 2:14 says this, "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility." Our country definitely needs to put hostility to death. Although Paul was talking about the Jews and the Gentiles in this passage of Scripture, the resulting concept still applies. It is the idea that two warring factions can be brought together and made one through God. Doubtless Paul had to say this out loud and in his letters many times before it resonated. For some, it probably still never took hold. But it is enough for our purposes here today, to understand that it is no small thing for God to bring together these two groups of people and blend them into one church that worships and adores His son. It's a spiritual solution to the problem of sin. Staying separate and self-righteious breeds hatred and discord, while unity creates an atmosphere of peace and love. One God, one people, one purpose.
Let's spend a moment unpacking the following Scripture as well. Jeremiah 10:21 says, "The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered." In context, this passage was addressing the various leaders of the time, telling them that things weren't working out because they were listening to their own desires, and not God's voice. I believe we can translate this into today's dialect as such: we think we are right all of the time, so we don't look any further than what is right in front of us. Surrounding ourselves only with people who agree or are too afraid to suggest constructive criticism can lead to an atmosphere where the 'flock is scattered.' Sooner or later, people will begin to catch on if a leader doesn't have their best interest at heart. They will begin to see if this person they are following cannot be flexible and does not seek after Godly counsel. The well will eventually run dry; the spell will be broken.
It is very easy nowadays to get caught up in what I like to call sloganeering. In other words, there are catchphrases for just about every viewpoint under the sun. What a slogan tends to do, however, is to exhaust it's shelf life quickly. After a few weeks or months of repeating a phrase, the content will often become muddled and it's original meaning lost. The issue which the slogan represents may be alive and well, but the phraseology itself doesn't do it justice anymore. It allows people to glom onto something they may not truly understand, start repeating it, and then before long a prideful attitude of exclusion or hate speech can develop. Large crowds chant a catchphrase, leaders may use it to manipulate groups of people, and in the end … no one wins. Sloganeering doesn't allow space for people to search after what God is saying with His still, small voice. The flock will eventually scatter. Entire groups of people get categorized by a slogan, and sometimes even seen as less than human. The shepherds have indeed become senseless when this happens. We then need God to both correct and redirect us. This can be a painful process sometimes.
How do we find our way back to a happier place, and is that even possible? Jesus describes himself in the Bible as the light of the world. If we are to switch gears and begin turning back to this light, I think we can follow four pieces of quick advice. First, we will want to return to reading the Bible regularly. I don't mean pop it open every once in a while in an attempt to win an argument or make someone feel bad about themselves, but rather, to actually invest some time in the Word. Let God's voice lift slowly but surely off the page and into your heart.
Second, stay in prayer. It is really difficult to be angry and hateful with someone if you are also praying for them once or twice a day. Prayer also helps bring your own mindset alongside the Holy Spirit, and together you can walk in faith and begin to gravitate toward the light of Christ. Prayerful people typically aren't angry people.
Finally, forgive yourself when you fail to do either of these things well - and forgive others when they hurt you. When verbal insults or physical violence rules the day, then forgiveness cannot flourish (remember my martial arts teacher). Take a step back from the television set or the computer for a while, and go for a walk. Let your mind float over the status of the personal relationships in your life. Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone that needs to forgive you perhaps? It can start with interrupting the constant assault of media and all of the talking heads out there, in order to begin focusing your efforts on those in your immediate circle of influence. Who cares what a given politician or leader is doing from day to day, instead think about what your neighbor or relative is up to. Do they need your help?
Some people have said that it is too late for our country to turn around and repent from hateful rhetoric. Maybe they are right, but as Christians we are required to keep fighting for God's voice. We are instructed to love as we want to be loved, and to treat other people as valuable children of God. Just these two things can have a monumental impact on what we choose to say and do. And when you feel that little inner voice of contempt or rage welling up inside of you, recognize that it isn't the Holy Spirit trying to speak. It is something entirely different. May God forgive us as a nation, have mercy on us as members of His corporate flock, and help us to repent from the way things are currently going. How nice it would be to tell an entirely different national narrative to our children and grandchildren someday. One that includes love and reverence for humankind, and a willingness to increase God's reach, regardless of the circumstances.
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