I’m not one to make comments on major events taking place in our world or the latest headlines. I’ve learned over the years that when you publicly respond to a current event, what you say will always be attacked and misconstrued. People don’t applaud you for trying, but rather villainize you for saying too little or too much. Or they interpret expressions of compassion and empathy as a political statement. And often, I feel entirely out of my depth speaking about issues and events that I don’t feel all that well-informed about. There’s a fair share of misinformation being circulated, and I don’t want to in any way add to that.
So, I don’t talk about headlines publicly. I stick to talking about Jesus. He’s controversial enough.
Maybe that makes me a bit of a social media coward. Maybe if I had tougher skin I would say more, make more statements about really important stuff going on in the world. (I have a lot of respect and admiration for those who do.) That’s valid. Or maybe it keeps me from useless and meaningless arguments more often than not. All I know is that I made the decision to stop letting people I’ve never met whose opinion of me doesn’t really matter all that much stop holding power over my peace and distract me from the much more important work of loving my family, loving my neighbor, and serving my community.
That’s not to say that I don’t talk about headlines and national and global news ever. Of course I do! I just talk about them with people in real time that I can have a healthy discourse with. Sometimes, we agree on things. Sometimes, we don’t. But we value one another, and refuse to let our differences stop us from loving each other.
This week though, feels eerily heavy in the news. It’s not one tragic event; it’s too many to list, let alone process. A husband and father was assassinated at a college campus. A refugee murdered on public transportation. Yet another school shooting. The horrific crisis in Sudan. The starvation and deaths of innocent children in Gaza. The anti-semitic hate crimes taking place around the world.
I know that even mentioning some of these sparks political debate… which is ridiculous and shows us just how far we have veered from Christlike compassion in our society.
How do we make sense of this.. when there is no sense to it? How do we process such devastating news that feels unbearably heavy?
I’m going to wear my pastoral hat here and offer us some biblical direction— not as an easy answer to the questions of our heartache, but rather as a way to invite God into the heaviness, the mess, the struggle, and the lament. Please know I am praying for our world, yes, and I’m also praying for you. It’s a lot, and friends, we need Jesus in this hour.
1. Pray.
Pray for those affected by the devastating news. Pray for those grieving and experiencing loss. Pray for governments and leaders. Pray for justice and righteousness to prevail. Also, pray to God and express how you are feeling. Invite the Holy Spirit to bring you comfort and peace. Cry out to God. Get personal with Him. He is near to the broken-hearted and He can bring peace and security when the world seems unsafe and broken.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
-Psalm 34:17 NIV
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
-Isaiah 41:10 NIV
2. Limit your consumption of information online.
There is nothing wrong with being online and staying up-to-date on the latest developments to stories. In fact, it’s part of being a responsible citizen who cares about the state of the world and how it impacts their neighbors and their families. There is a tipping point though, where we are over-exposed to comments and commentaries that evoke within us all types of emotions from anger to fear to sadness to panic. When we over-consume without giving ourselves the space to pray, process, and grieve, these emotions become overwhelming. There needs to be an ebb and flow to our content consumption… a blend of staying informed but also stepping away to breathe, to hug our kids, to meditate on Scripture, to go for a walk, to eat a good meal. We need real time living to remind us of what is good and that there is still so much joy and hope to be experienced in our daily lives.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
-Philippians 4:8 NIV
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
-Proverbs 4:23 NIV
3. Talk with people you love and trust.
You may be reading comments online that are shocking to you– and they may even be coming from people you know. Instead of grieving human loss, people are debating, accusing, and even celebrating evil. Oh friend, please resist the urge to argue with or block someone from your feed or life right now. When conversations are emotionally charged, conflicts are rarely if ever productive. Find people in your life who love you, people you trust, and confide in them. Share how you are feeling and invite them to do the same. Listen to each other, express love for one another, and pray together. You don’t need to fight with anyone right now. You need to grieve with those who are grieving, and through community, find comfort.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
-Romans 12:12-18 NIV
4. Commit to acts of compassion over words of blame.
Not one individual person or one political party or one particular group of people are what’s wrong with the world. Sin is what’s wrong with this world. Without Jesus, without His death and resurrection, without the grace of God, we are all hopeless.
We can disagree. We can protest. We can advocate. We can rally based on our particular ideology, but if our action includes villainizing or dehumanizing others, we aren’t part of the solution… we are part of the problem.
Avoid pointing accusing fingers as a reaction to the pain and fear you may be experiencing. Instead, figure out how to help your neighbor, serve those who are hurting, give to those without, and help those in need… whether they are in your own backyard or neighborhood or on the other side of town or the other side of the world.
Please, remember the story of the Good Samaritan that Jesus told us. Please, resist the easy road of posting your outrage online while walking right past the ones hurting that are in your direct path. Don’t just preach compassion; be moved by compassion. In a world of debaters and antagonizers and accusers and radicalizers, be a helper. Humble yourself and do good where you can with what you have.
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
-Luke 10:25-37 NIV