Outrage Closes our Ears…
When we love something as much as we love the church, our initial reaction will always be to fight when it is attacked, to defend not only the structure itself, but also its reputation. And, while I don’t always agree with everything the church does, even my own church, I am in the same boat. When I see an op-ed in the paper attacking the church, my defenses kick-in. When I hear a young person say that the church is irrelevant, I become incensed at their lack of respect. There’s nothing wrong with defending what you love.
However, one of the side-effects of that defense mechanism, of the outrage we feel, is our inability to hear the possible validity of the attack. Outrage tends to close our ears.
Below, you will find a youtube video that went viral. In less than 30 days it was watched over 18.5 million times on youtube. That is an incredible number usually reserved for only new releases of music videos. Those outside the church walls have embraced the video, while many within the church walls have condemned it.
I’m asking you to watch it twice. The first time, allow for the outrage. Allow your defense mechanism to kick-in and your righteous indignation to take over. Then, take a few deep breaths and watch it again. This time, try to detach from the emotional response of outrage, so that your ears might be open. So watch, rinse, repeat.
Do I agree with everything in it? No! Emphatically Not!
But, the lyrical words of this one man, might just represent the feelings of a generation, and we should seek to understand those feelings, ask ourselves two questions: Why, and What can we do about it?
Watch, Rinse, Repeat…then Respond:
The first time that I watched this video, I was not outraged, but thought that this young man is very insightful, and bold to stand up for his beliefs. If only more of us, not just his generation, would find our voice when it came to our relationship with Christ. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the institution of religion, but it cannot identify or restrict us.
Today I encountered an elderly gentleman on the elevator. He was there with 5 total strangers. He had one simple question which was “Do you know Jesus?” A couple of us acknowledged his question with a “yes”, and another woman, who you could tell by her actions was very uncomfortable, simply chose not to acknowledge this gentleman. Lucky for me, he was making his exit on the same floor as I, and as we went our separate ways, I gently gave him a pat on the back and let him know that God would bless him for his boldness.
When Jesus gave the command to “Go and make disciples of all nations”, I don’t think he really cared about religious affiliation!? Please don’t get me wrong, I have grown up in the church, have attended many different churches of varying denominations, but the one constant has been the fact that my relationship with Christ was not defined by the walls around me.
Whether you agree with everything that this young man is saying, be examples of zeal for this generation….”the world will be a better place…”
That was an interesting video with a view of religion that I have heard before but do not necessarily agree with-love and follow Jesus and forget the church. I agree with Lisa-this would make for a good discussion topic for any age group.
The kid raises many correct points that are deeply embedded in the bowels of Christianity. It is the fundamental Paradox of the Church-how to deal with sin and the sinful. We want to reject sin9frequently without knowing what that is) and the sinful as valid….Yet, we are them to differing degrees, and must accept the sinful with love and hope to turn them into productive members of the community while they are raging with sins and occasionally purest evil. Where is the tipping point where we should stand aside and let them rage and hopefully let their rage subside or do you ever stand aside. Can’t begin to answer that question.
Wow. This is powerful stuff. I would love to have a discussion about the content of this video with our Youth Group in which we could watch the video and then split into small groups to talk about it together. Our young people are the future of our churches. Do they agree or disagree and more importantly…what DOES it mean to be a Christian today?
If this is how the younger generation sees us, we have a lot of work to do.
I am not outraged only very saddened. It is time to wake up and break some rules!