Reasonableness Check
Among the many things that our COVID-19 experience brought to light and was exacerbated by was the sour spread of unreasonableness. It seemed like the seams broke apart and depravity spilled out everywhere.
Outrage was the order of the day about anything and everything, and it divided friends, neighbors, families, communities, and even churches.
Whatever happened to reasonableness? Being civil, humane, objective, understanding, sane, sensible?
God tells us this: “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone” (Philippians 4:5). Other translations say: “Let everyone see your gentleness” (NET), or “Let your graciousness be known to everyone” (HCSB), or “Let your considerate spirit be known to all men” (LSB).
You have most likely seen the viral videos of parents who had compelling arguments and data at school board meetings, but their presentations were harsh, angry, demeaning, and threatening.
Please watch the following 3 minute presentation by Rosaria Butterfield before the Durham Board of Education defending parental rights against the transing of children. Rosaria is a writer, speaker, homemaker, pastor’s wife, former lesbian activist, and retired tenured professor of English Women’s studies in Queer Theory at Syracuse University.
She is calm, persuasive, and shares some convincing facts and logic with forceful kindness. Rosaria described the reaction in the room as she spoke: “Amazing things happen when Christians take light into darkness. We need to learn how to speak with firm love to a hostile world. You can’t hear it in the video because only the mic is recorded, but as I was talking, people in the audience had audible responses. At first, they they thought I was on the rainbow team because of my past. But when I became a betrayer, the audience started booing and hissing. So Christians also need to prepare for the spiritual battle. But it’s well worth it.”
We can expect the unbelieving world around us not to understand or necessarily agree with our worldview, but let us not lose our distinctive witness of a sweet reasonableness for the name and glory of God.
Pastor Jeff