Shame and Grace

He whose throne is in heaven is laughing . . . 

 - From Psalm 2

This tactic of shame, so in use today.

If you can't win an argument, shame the other person.

If you are wrong, shame the other person.

If you are tired of these Christians and their morals, shame them.

The Internet, the Modern Tree of Knowledge, has made it easy to shame a person. Your innuendo and gossip doesn't have to be true, but it can circumvent the globe, and reach tens of thousands, in under a half hour. 

We had all better be very careful what we say. 

A thin minority, even one or two percent of the population, can sway the mainstream, simply by banding together and keeping each other's backs. 

Imagine if the Church held together so tightly . . . 

You see, the people that oppose the Lord, and all that is right and good, have always done so with ardor. The message of purity, selfless love, self-discipline, service to others . . . for whatever reason . . . is despicable to them. Even though eternal life (life is love) is in the bargain, they resist. 

Why?

It's so tempting, so delicious, to use the Web to advance your objective. And Social Media has addictive qualities. The rush you get, by posting something inflammatory or scandalous and receiving a couple dozen "likes" begets more posts. Before you know it, you're in so deep that, right or wrong, you had better see it to the end, just to save face. 

And it breeds strange bedfellows. People that should not . . . should not . . . be on the same side (because their core values are in opposition to one another) do so, all the time. Examples:

• A large Christian family leaves their church only because of a temporary disagreement over immigration, or sexual morality, with some other members in their local church. They end up aligned with people that oppose the Church's very existence. 
• A Christian professional (A) goes public in opposition to a Christian local elected official (B), over a personal matter. A and B share the same core values of morality and faith. But now citizens that hate the values of B gladly join with A, to bring down B. 

We've got to be smart. 

The opponents of the Church make the charge that they are in "bondage," to the Church. But this is classic projection. 

Perhaps this is what God is laughing at: the idea that He, the author of freedom, would subjugate anybody against their will. God sees us fighting, and shaming each other, and he laughs derisively at how wasteful and unproductive it all is.

The problem is shame. And the answer is grace. And I will explore these concepts in the weeks ahead.