Christian Conduct in an Age of Division

Photo by Andras Kovacs on Unsplash

Dear reader,

I originally wrote this in 2020 in the middle of horrid Covid rhetoric and controversies. I felt like it was worth repeating given the times we find ourselves in. It’s easy to get caught up in outrage culture and for our outrage to feel justified… our outrage always has a justification or it wouldn’t be there.

As the heat of political rhetoric keeps getting turned up, policy is always to be contested, that’s how democracy works, but let’s watch how we go about it.

If you, like me, are a person of faith, there’s a theme in scripture around how we should be conducting ourselves. It’s worth being reminded.

I’ve edited this to make it suitable for the context we’re now in…. though I suspect I’ll just be able to copy and paste this in another 5 years and, sadly, it will probably still be valid.

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As you read these bits of scripture, remember, the context was the Roman empire and all that entailed. It wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtuous community.

I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone. But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Titus 3:8-9 (NRSV)

‘…it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles…. But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person…’ Matthew 15:11, 18-20a (NRSV)