What a year 2020 has been so far! There have been significant Christian and celebrity passings: Ravi Zacharias, J.I. Packer, Kobe Bryant, Little Richard, John Lewis, and Regis Philbin to name a few. More than that, we’ve been facing a worldwide pandemic with COVID-19 and its associated ramifications. Finally, we’ve experienced social/political/racial unrest surrounding the 2020 “unarmed-and-high-profile-killings” of Ahmad Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. All of these current events have led to more than a fair share of heated discussions and media takes (from both social media and mainstream news outlets). While I acknowledge these are real areas of concern, I also believe, as Christians, we need a reprieve, a recalibration of sorts in order to navigate the complicated terrain of our sometimes-depressing and polarizing society.
In the midst of these times, people are clamoring for Christians to “pick a side.” We’re being called to be Democrat or Republican, pro or anti-masking, pro or anti-lockdown, pro or anti-BLM, pro or anti-Trump, pro or anti-vaccine, pro or anti-homeschool, pro or anti-COVID-is-a-hoax-and-no-big-deal. Unfortunately, life isn’t that simple and it doesn’t get more simple because a person is under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Therefore, I don’t have a perfect, single-sentence answer. I do, however—since I’m one who loves lists—have five important considerations as you and your family seek to navigate these turbulent times.
1. Obtain/Maintain a sound, biblical hermeneutic.
This may sound obvious to those who are aware of methods of biblical interpretation, but it’s not as prominent as it should be when compared to the number of churches and professing Christians in America. Many Christians don’t have a biblical hermeneutic, a method of soundly and consistently interpreting the Bible. This was needed before 2020 arrived, and it’ll certainly be needed afterwards. Ironically, people usually fall into one of three categories of hermeneutical error. They have either (a) an inconsistent approach to interpreting Scripture, (b) a flawed and unsound approach to interpreting Scripture (e.g. prosperity-esque view, replacement theological view, or a white/black supremacy view), or (c) have been taught a sound, consistent way of interpreting Scripture but don’t use it.
The hermeneutic that most orthodox churches and seminaries espouse (and so does this author) is the historical-grammatical exegesis. This takes into account the historical and cultural context of a given passage of Scripture while also reviewing its plain meaning in light of the original audience. It also follows the standard grammatical rules for understanding the given genre (e.g. poetry, narrative, apocalyptic, etc.).
If you don’t have a sound, biblical hermeneutic, I implore you to discover it immediately. Check out this article as an overview, or if you have time, take this free online class from Bill Mounce’s Biblical Training website. If you already have a solid hermeneutic, that’s great! Just be sure to maintain it as many false teachers are present, and we need to safeguard the truths we’ve received in Christ especially as the days grow darker
2. Keep personal humility at the forefront.
Humility is sorely missing in Western culture. With our Instagram, look-at-me, selfie-laden, success-oriented culture, it can be hard to remain humble. Yet, it’s a requirement for the believer, and the Bible reminds us of this truth—often. When we see Scriptures like Psalm 8:3-4 or Acts. 17:24-25 that highlight the transcendence and greatness of our God, it’s also a reminder of our smallness. Moreover, the Bible calls us to esteem our Christian family more than we esteem ourselves (rf. Phil. 2:3), which is another way of humbling us.
Humility is critical in our interactions, especially in 2020. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who undoubtedly love the Lord but arrive at different conclusions on myriad topics. Humility of heart will allow us to recognize sin issues that warrant some correction versus issues on which we can disagree and still maintain brotherhood. Humility will also allow us to release non-Christian ideas that have been blended with Christian faith (such as political conservatism) so much so that we think the idea itself is explicitly Christian.1
3. Be sure your positions flow from the Bible and not vice versa.
Though closely associated with our hermeneutics reminder, it bears its own category. Too often we start with a just cause and then force that cause into biblical texts. In truth, even if such an idea reflects an accurate interpretation, it’s still reading into the text (eisegesis) rather than reading out from the text (exegesis). For example, suppose a Christian is deeply and understandably angered at yet another high-profile, unarmed killing of a Black person that was met with no response or slow responses to arrest the killers. That Christian’s personal experiences and biblical sense of justice may move them to activism. This can be a good, noble, appropriate, and biblically-supported undertaking. However, if in that activism, the person begins supporting all ancillary ideas associated with that activism, without regard for the Bible, then it could be a recipe for disaster.2
Making the Bible the foundation of all things aids believers in countering this pitfall. When the Bible is the starting point, then everything, by necessity, must be filtered through that lens. Emotional responses are submitted to Scripture. Activism–political or social–only becomes appropriate to the extent that it is honorable and biblically-supported.
4. Know that it’s okay to be unsure or await more information before decision-making.
It’s astounding how often we need reminders of this concept, but such is the state of our culture. Rapid-fire news and social media can cause many to feel like they must provide opinion on topics, even before sufficient information is present. Sadly, many make leaping judgments before it’s appropriate. If they are later found to be wrong in such judgments, these same people rarely–if they repent of their error at all–make amends as loudly as they made judgments (many just dig in more to their original stance to avoid humiliation).
Believers shouldn’t feel pressured to react quickly when they’re not in position to do so, and it can be a great testimony to the world when Christians avoid premature opinions and judgments. After all, the Scripture calls believers to be slow to speak and quick to listen (rf. Jms.1:19). Additionally, the Proverbs speak of obtaining wise counsel (rf. Prov. 11:14), which has an implicit degree of waiting/patience involved since it takes time to communicate with others.
5. Keep Christ supreme.
This is an idea that’s often communicated idea in Christian circles, but what does it mean? How is this lived out? Personally ensuring Christ is paramount may have slight nuances from situation to situation, but some manifestations of this idea are constant. Things such as biblical study, prayer, and fellowship with believers3 are critical to growth and sustainment of the believer and should be continued to the maximum extent possible.
Note that keeping Him supreme has a personal connotation and has no bearing on Christ’s actual position (He is supreme!). Yet, the idea of keeping Christ at the forefront speaks to an individual’s willingness to ensure their faith in Him doesn’t diminish with changing times. Perhaps that means adding a family devotional time, studying the Bible more, creating a virtual or in-person prayer group, praying and considering evangelistic opportunities, or pursuing a study in an area like church history or the original biblical languages. Whatever it is, it should be done faithfully with all our efforts in complete devotion to the Lord (rf. 1 Cor. 10:31). Remember, Christ is and always will be supreme; He can never be less than that. He’ll be supreme even if we fail to exalt Him.
In closing, these may seem to be simple instructions. Yet, instructions, especially biblical ones, need not be difficult in order to be obeyed (recall Naaman?). For the Christian, it’s having consistency with little instructions that often determines the trajectory of their faith, and I don’t think difficult times change that approach at all. So, I implore you to stay the course; that’s the message of the Script, and it’s the message we should hold and regard as dear until we see Jesus face-to-face.
1. This is not to say that political conservatism doesn’t hold certain ideas that are present in the biblical text, nor is it to suggest a moral equivalence to political liberalism. Rather, the biblical ideas and associated texts are the supports on which we stand, not political conservatism as a whole. Political conservatism is fallible; the Bible is not fallible.
2. Similarly, the example regarding outrage at a high-profile killing could have easily been replaced with outrage about the loss of a freedom in the political sphere. In that case, the hypothetical individual could be caught in a political movement and ancillary ideas that venture beyond biblical limits. The point is that any activism or direction we take must first be submitted to Scripture, or there’s a good chance we’ll make improper affiliations.
3. Much has been made on whether virtual or in-person fellowship is appropriate or whether doing things online in a socially-distant manner deviates from Scripture. This author doesn’t seek to be dogmatic on this point nor is that the intent of this post. Virtual church service is better than nothing, and assuming the virtual service allows interaction/feedback, my current belief is that it can still provide limited adherence to the instruction to assemble and fellowship with believers. Again, I’m not dogmatic on this position, and it’s a current belief that could change.