Before You Tweet

Before you speak (or tweet or FB) in passion, speak with God in humility.

Today, a culture shaping decision was made.  The US Supreme Court, by a vote of five to four, declared that same-sex couples may now marry in all 50 states, striking down the bans of states who have attempted do so.  We’re not the first country to come to this conclusion.  In the past five years, Ireland, Finland, Scotland, Luxembourg, England, Brazil, France, New Zealand, Denmark, Uruguay, Portugal, and Argentina have made decision to allow gay marriage (and many others before 2010).  This is also not the first culturally controversial and divisive decision made in the past five years.  Any number of issues have polarized our communities in terms of views regarding politics, economics, healthcare, war, technology, racism, and sexuality.  Are you curious what people are passionate about?  Just check your FaceBook or Twitter feed.  These are the domains that allow people to say things without fear of a punch in the face and the ability to walk away and ignore the consequences of their actions.  I wonder, on a day like today, when a current event brings about such heated debate, how many relationships go sour.  How many friendships fail?  And how many will let the sun set on their anger?  

Friends, let’s remember that Christian maturity involves a lot of things, but surely it includes knowing how to process your deepest emotional feelings.  Today (and everyday) before you speak (or tweet or FB) with passion, pray to God with humility.  This is wise advice, taken from the example of our Lord, Jesus.

Before Jesus’ passion, He prayed with humility in the garden.

On the eve of His passion, Jesus went to the garden of gethsemane to pray.  It was there that Jesus prayed the greatest prayer in the world.  Among the most debated, heated, and divisive issues you’ve encountered, none could be as controversial as the one Jesus faced.  Here, people rejected and were to kill, God’s own eternal Son, through whom everything and everyone has been created (John 1:3-5).  Without doubt, there was more angst and confusion, more passion and fury than in today’s decision.  The world itself teetered on this moment.  What hung in the balance was the glory of God’s grace and the salvation of the world.

Before Jesus’ passion, He prayed with humility in the garden.  He prayed openly and honestly, in conversation with God in heaven, and He consecrated Himself to God’s divine and providential will over His feelings of anxiety and hurt.  The righteous Son of God set aside His rights; His prayer was for God’s will, not His own righteousness.  Jesus then went, not to crucify others, but to be crucified.

Today (and everyday) before you speak or act in passion, pray to God in humility.  Ask Him to help you understand your feelings.  Ask Him to give you the posture that most glorifies Him.  And if it is His will, be ready to set aside your rights (of free speech and of being justified in your position) that His passion may be seen. 

Yes, God has spoken definitively on sexuality, as He has on many ethical and moral issues that evoke heated discussion today.  Yes, God’s intents, purposes, and His Word should be the final word for all of His creation.  Yes, Christians should watch their life and doctrine closely (a la Paul to Timothy) that we might live in the salvation that Jesus died to provide.  But when it comes to how we confront the world and all those we disagree with, we should follow the example of Jesus, and be more concerned with our own submitting to God’s will and dying to self than striking out to crucify others.

So today (and every day) would you, before you speak (or tweet or FB) with passion, pray to God with humility?