Back in the spring, I read a biography of Martin Luther written by Eric Metaxas. In the process, I
discovered that Luther was quite blunt in his correspondence and conversation with others. In fact,
Metaxas makes reference to Luther as having a “tremendously direct and undiplomatic German
fashion”. Metaxas also quotes Luther at some points using some very crude language and calling people “dogs” and the like. There is much that I have admired about Luther over the years. Yet when I read these things about him, I am disappointed. The sinful side of this human being has been exposed. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because we are all human, and so we all have our sins.
I share this anecdote about Luther because I am noticing that some of the same thing is happening in the larger political discourse in our generation. In fact the pandemic we are facing has brought out the worst in some of us. As our leaders ask for cooperation in the effort to contain the virus, many are responding in protest. Protest is one thing, but sadly some have resorted to calling people names and using labels, not to mention using some very colorful and inappropriate language.
In some of the discussions, I am hearing accusations that our leaders are ‘dictators’. That the Prime
Minister, the Premiers, Governors etc, are simply out for power. Some people have even accused our leaders of being “fascist”. Now I have my own opinions about our Government leaders, but to be clear, there is a huge difference between accusing someone of making decisions that are unnecessary or overly burdensome versus accusing someone of being a dictator. Likewise to accuse someone of trying to “intentionally harm” or “shut down” any one or more industries is very unloving. Do we know that is what they are trying to do? We should never assume the negative about anyone. “Challies”, a relatively famous blogger, has written that “It is sinful to assume bad motives; it is sinful to not assume good motives.” So are the politicians trying to help people and contain the spread of the virus or are they really out to get people or acquire more power?
What I find most interesting is what is being revealed by peoples conduct. When a person accuses a political leader of being “a dictator”, it tells me a lot. I don’t learn anything about the political leader
through the accusation. But I do learn a lot about the person who made the accusation. First off, I learn that they do not know how to have a healthy debate. By abandoning the issue and making assumptions about motive, and calling people names, they show their lack of maturity. Secondly, I learn that this person is obviously hurt, or unhappy about something that has happened. In other words, the person making the accusation exposes their own disappointment, and by their behavior potentially embarrasses themselves in the process. In other words, the accuser has a problem. It has been said that “what Suzy says about Sally, says more about Suzy then about Sally.” What a true statement that is.
Each of us has the opportunity to raise the bar on the level of discourse taking place. If we don’t like a decision, then we should focus on that decision, and ask for clarification. If we don’t like the
clarification, then we should challenge the decision. In other words we should stick to the issue at hand and not resort to personal attacks. We should also never assume that someone has negative intentions. In 1 Corinthians 13 part of the definition of love is that “it believes all things”. What that means is that we should think of and assume the best of people. So to assume something negative about someone is to violate the principle of love and in so doing we sin. So let’s not characterize people, label people, assume motives, or call people names. The writer of the book of James helps us when in chapter four he writes “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.”
The challenge is to live this out. In the larger political discussion, we can argue the issues and in so
doing raise the bar for the standard of behavior in debates. We just have to keep from making it personal. In our personal relationships, we can apply these same lessons, and in so doing show love to others, each of whom are made in the image of God. Jesus called us to love our neighbors. How we conduct ourselves in debate reflects how well we have understood His challenge.