Tag: Justice

God’s Prescription for Dealing with Toxic People-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:10b ESV

Toxicity has become the latest buzzword in pop culture lingo. One cannot scroll social media, read a magazine or peruse a news site without finding at least one article, reel or post disparaging toxic people and lamenting the impact they have on others.  Most content focuses on traits associated with either “narcissism” or “codependency”.  Narcissism is characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, lack of empathy, a need for excessive appreciation, and the belief that one is unique and worthy of special treatment. Codependency on the other hand is characterized by extreme neediness and a desire to control and manipulate others into doing what the codependent person feels is best. Codependent people feel most significant when they are needed. As a result, they will go to great lengths to become the most essential and indispensable person in every given relationship. 

These folks wreck a lot of havoc.

Therefore, nearly all the content recommends kicking toxic people to the curb and purging one’s life of their noxious existence forever. A whole industry has built up around this issue. There are therapists who specialize in helping folks to separate from narcissistic, annoying, overly needy and controlling people. The internet is flooded with influencers who center ALL their content around identifying and avoiding toxic people. There are entire books written about removing of toxic people from one’s life. This has become a movement. 

This movement is not Christian (sorry). It is not okay for Christians to adopt an attitude of unforgiveness towards anyone (Matthew 6:15, Matthew 18:35, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 3:12-14), James 3:12-17), no matter how aggravating they happen to be (Matthew 18:20-22). I understand reality. There are truly abusive and/or evil people in this world. God does not call us to be friends with those who have abused us or done us wrong in a really big way. I am not suggesting Christians stop saying no, allow themselves to be truly abused, forgo healthy limits or become doormats. God calls His people to use common sense and discernment (1st Kings 3:9, Proverbs 10:13).  

That being said.

Like it or not, God calls His people to be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving towards all people, even really annoying and/or stupid people (Ephesians 4:23, Luke 6:27, 2nd Timothy 2:23-26, 1st Peter 3:9). There are no provisions in Jesus’ commands on forgiveness and love that grant anyone permission to exclude jerks, narcissists or needy people who thrive on control from the commands to love others and forgive from the heart (Matthew 5:46, John 13:34-35, Romans 12:10, Romans 13:8). Sometimes I wish there was, but there’s not. I’ve done the research. 

We must understand that no one is without sin (Romans 3:23, 1st John 1:9-10) Everyone on earth (you and I included) have some (or many) toxic personality traits (Matthew 15:19, Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 6:16-19, Romans 1:18-29). We are all defensive, lustful, pretentious, vindictive, judgmental, rude, lazy, deceitful, competitive, lacking in self-awareness, argumentative, selfish, prideful, arrogant, passive-aggressive, domineering, manipulative and/or needy at least some of the time. It’s called being human. 

 God does not want us to run away from people who have toxic personality traits. God wants us to learn to love those who are totally unlovable and toxic (Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:20, 1st Peter 3:9, Proverbs 24:17, Proverbs 25:21). It is critical we learn to love difficult people because we too are unlovable (at least sometimes), and we reap what we sow. In His infinite wisdom God has set the world up in such a way that we always receive more than we give. (Hosea 8:7, Hosea 10:12, Matthew 25:14-30, Galatians 6:7-8). I don’t know why, but I do know it’s true. If we make a regular practice of forgiving others, loving well and giving grace we will be loved, forgiven and given grace we don’t deserve. However, if we make a practice of holding grudges, judging others, withholding forgiveness or cutting people out, we will at some point find ourselves receiving the same treatment.    

No one wants that. 

Dealing with toxicity comes down to three things. We must learn to:

Apply grace-

Some synonymous for grace are mercy, kindness and compassion. God gives human beings boundless grace (Romans 3:23-25, Ephesians 2:8-9). God is always merciful, kind and compassionate towards our failings. Our primary job in this world post-salvation is to take on as many characteristics of God as possible (Romans 8:29, 1stCorinthians 3:18, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 3:3). Becoming gracious towards the failings of others is probably the best place to start in our journey to become more like Jesus. I believe anytime a Christian refuses to give grace to others they are turning away from the Christian gospel and embracing a worldly (non-Christian) belief system (Galatians 1:6-7). 

Pray like crazy-

Prayer is critical when dealing with difficult people because there are some things humans simply cannot do without God’s help (Mark 9:14-29). No one can love a difficult or sinful person without God’s power working in them. No one can forgive certain offenses without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is where we get the power to do the impossible (James 1:5, John 15:7).  

And finally, we need to:

Seek wisdom-

None of this is simple or easy. Situations are often complex. There are few (if any) one-size-fits-all solutions for dealing with difficult people. This where wisdom comes in: sometimes God is calling us to say “yes” even when we don’t feel like it. Other times “no” is the wiser and more godly option. Sometimes we need to love more demonstrably, other times limits need to be set and adhered to.  No one will get any of this right without godly wisdom. We get wisdom by searching the Bible for it, seeking godly (not worldly) counsel and asking God to give us wisdom in abundance (Luke 21:14-15, Colossians 1:9, James 1:5). God never says “no” to that request. 

How did Early Christians Thrive Under Horrible Leadership?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone- Titus 3:1-2 NIV

Bad leadership is not a twenty-first century invention.

A broken world breeds autocratic, egocentric, prideful leaders in every sphere of life. God’s people have seldom been exempted from the curse of awful leadership.

The Hebrews were brutally enslaved by the Egyptians for centuries before God miraculously liberated them from bondage. David, prior to his ascension to the throne endured decades of harassment and abuse and more than one murder attempt at the hands of the authority in his life: Saul. Early Christians were routinely persecuted, abused, denied the ability to work and even murdered simply for refusing to worship human authority figures as God’s. Throughout church history sincere followers of Jesus have been victimized and oppressed. At times even by so-called “Christian leaders” who loved power more than they feared God. Over and over again, throughout history Christian people have grown stronger, wiser and more faithful to God in the middle of unspeakable suffering and persecution 

How they did that matters.

A Lot.

 Especially now. Leadership is not, as a whole is not getting better. Events of the last few years have exposed a creepy authoritarian element in many political leaders from countries once thought to be unswervingly democratic and safe from tyranny like Australia, Austria, New Zealand and Canada. Some public schools and health departments have become despotic in their approach in their approach to leadership. Even the church has had more than its fair share of greedy, narcissistic and exploitive leaders.

Sigh. 

Christians throughout history have been able to live with and pray for corrupt, evil and despotic leaders. They were able to do so, because they understood deep at the core of who they were that every human being on earth is ultimately answerable to God.  

They knew leadership is a stewardship. Human beings might think they are electing, appointing or hiring a leader—or an arrogant leader might imagine they have achieved their position due to their own cleverness, power or maneuvering but in reality, God—not human wisdom or control is what places people in positions of authority. This means that ultimately all human leaders whether they lead the church, the state or the family will someday answer to God for how they handle (or mishandle) the power and authority they have been asked to steward (Luke 12:47-48). 

Early Christians understood that no one actually gets away with anything. Not really. Contemporary believers do everything they can to avoid thinking about or talking about the J-word. Judgment. Most Christians are super uncomfortable with anyone getting punished, even if they totally one-hundred-percent deserve to be punished for their horrible behavior. The writings of the Church Fathers indicate early Christians did not have any such issues (2nd Thessalonians 1:6, Romans 12:19, Jude 1:5-7, 2nd Peter 2:4-21). Early Christians understood in a very real way God is not just a God of love. He is also a God of judgment. Early Christians took solace in knowing that evil, prideful leaders who refused to do what was right would someday be punished for their sins. Early Christians had the faith to believe God would settle the score, if not in this life, then in the one to come (Revelation 21:11-15). This knowledge empowered them to endure the suffering that goes along with living under the thumb of unjust and evil leaders.

They also knew enough about history and the Bible to know that sometimes God does not wait until death to begin adjudicating things. Occasionally evil people get a preview of their eternal suffering.  King Saul, the man who hunted David like an animal for years died by suicide and in disgrace. Queen Jezebel, arguably the most evil female leader in human history died from being thrown out a window. No one cared enough about her to retrieve her body. She was eventually eaten by wild dogs (yuck).   King Herod (Matthew 2:1-22) the man who murdered a village full of baby boys in an attempt to eradicate any competition for his power died of a horrible death from “intense itching”, “severe intestinal discomfort”, “breathlessness” and: wait for it… “gangrene of the genitalia”—His man part literally rotted off (super yuck). A sure sign of divine retribution if there ever was one. Early Christians saw Nero, the royal nut-job who set Rome on fire and blamed Christians for it killed himself to avoid being murdered by his own staff.   

Anytime a person refuses to repent they spend eternity in hell. Therefore, no one ought to revel in anyone else’s punishment. That being said, the beliefs of early Christians serve as a reminder for us in tough times that God is not unaware of anything. Nothing is hidden from His sight and everything will eventually be dealt with by Him (Hebrews 4:13).  

This affected the early church in profound ways. 

 They were able to pray for and feel compassion for their tormenters.  They were also thoughtful and cautious in the way they handled any authority they were given. They did not lord it over anyone.  It did not matter if the authority they held was in the church, the family or the state. They understood true Christians wear any authority they are given with a measure of humility and with a fear of the Lord. They knew no one is exempt from God’s judgment. 

We would do well to learn from them. 

Six Takeaways from the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation- Psalm 85:6-7 ESV

On August 23rd 2020, then seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse drove seventeen miles to a (depending entirely on your worldview and political leanings) either: a) peaceful protest or b) chaotic riot. That night Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two of them in what he argued were acts of self-defense and what the prosecutors in his murder trial asserted were acts of cold-blooded murder.  

Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges. 

Anyone watching the trial would have a hard time finding fault with the jury’s decision.  The case was hardly a whodunit.  It could be argued that the trial never should have happened in the first place. There was clear video evidence as well as eyewitness testimony proving all three men were attacking Rittenhouse when they were shot. That said, the trial has exposed some things about our moment in history that needed exposing, including:

“Journalists” lie-

 Journalism is now a career field littered with liars and frauds. Some media outlets out-and-out lied about this case. Many more intentionally omitted critical facts. On numerous occasions CNN referred to Kyle Rittenhouse as a “white supremist”. There is scant evidence to back up that rather horrible, character defaming assertion and they knew it. Nearly every media outlet claimed Kyle Rittenhouse “crossed state lines” to attend the riot. This is actually true. However, those outlets deliberately omitted some critical facts. Like, a) He worked in Wisconsin. b) His Dad lives in Wisconsin. c) The Wisconsin border was less than seventeen miles from his house. d) It’s not against the law to cross state lines anywhere in America.  CNN implied the men shot by Rittenhouse were black knowing full well they were not. CNN stated on several occasions that Jacob Blake (the man whose shooting instigated the riot) was killed by police. This is not true. Jacob Blake is very much alive and they knew it when they said it. I could go on but all that would do is waste time. I don’t know why journalists have determined it’s okay to lie their heads off. I do know that no one can depend on any one media outlet for their information anymore. Everyone must take the time to watch live speeches, trials and events to get their information now. It’s the only way to know what’s factual anymore. 

Government has allowed conditions to persist where evil is flourishing- 

The government really only has one job (1st Peter 2:13-14). Governments exist to protect citizens from evil doers. That’s it. If the State of Wisconsin and the City of Kenosha had done their job that night, seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse would not have felt compelled to their job for them. Anytime a city, state or federal government allows people to riot, loot and just generally terrorize people without consequence they are begging vigilantes to do their job for them.

The sin of racism is being used as a political tool by evil people- 

Racism is an ugly, anti-Christian way of looking at the world that is straight out of the pit of hell (1st Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11).  Unfortunately, many media personalities and politicians are making a regular practice of using false or unfounded charges of racism or “white supremacy” as a tool of manipulation to further their own political and social agendas. This sick behavior is at least as sinful, evil and damaging to humanity as being an actual racist.  

Seventeen-year-olds still need supervision-  

A seventeen-year-old is still a child, a child with some adult skills but a child nonetheless. Children of all ages need a few engaged adults in their life who will steer them away from ill-advised, potentially life-altering choices. Choices like going to a riot with a gun.  

Our justice system is being hi-jacked by malevolent people with a plan-

It just is. There are a large number of politicians, business leaders, professors and social justice warriors who want to change America into something radically different than what it is and always has been. They are cleverly destroying a perfectly good system in the name of “ending white supremacy” and “equity”. In reality they care little about either issue. All they really want to do is increase their own power. If these hypocrites get their way our justice system will no longer work for anyone, black, white or brown. Christians need to wake up to this reality and do three things: first, we must pray against this evil and injustice. Second, we must insist elected leaders do their job and protect our system of justice for everyone, black, white and brown. Lastly, Christians must call out media outlets who lie and cover for politicians openly attempting to hi-jack a system that has worked well most of the time for the last two-hundred years. 

This case clearly demonstrates we need revival. 

Without a healthy relationship with God, even well-intentioned people lack wisdom and discernment, leaving them unable to distinguish between good and evil. Without the Holy Spirit guiding them people will continue to believe the media’s lies Without God well-meaning people will vote for liars who use race to divide to increase their own power. Without God families will continue to crumble leaving seventeen-year-old boys to navigate life while trusting in their own understanding (Proverbs 3:4-5) Without God people will continue to do evil and love deceit because it’s all they can do. God has the power to alter the trajectory of our world but His people have to ask for it and live like we really believe it could happen.  

Is There a Difference Between Justice and “Being Political”?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

They have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace. Therefore, justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom– Isaiah 59:8b-9 ESV

We live in strange and increasingly complex times. 

Because this is true, it is sometimes difficult to know for certain what exactly is the right thing to do in a given situation. It is even harder to separate the essential from the inconsequential. 

Take the issues of justice and politics for example. 

Christians are called to steward every blessing given by God prudently and wisely. Being able to vote for a leader is a gift not everyone is given.  In the grand scheme of history, the whole concept of voting for leaders is a relatively new idea and it is still unheard of in some places.  Christians living in a democracy or a representative republic steward their vote well when they research issues and candidates and vote with a biblical perspective in mind. Period. Nothing more is required. 

That being said. 

We would do well to remember there is no sphere of life or society where Christians are not called be a stabilizing and preserving influence (Matthew 5:13). Therefore, it is a good and healthy thing when Christians enter the political realm with the goal in mind of acting as salt and light in our world. Nonetheless, it is critical Christian politicians work to maintain their Christian testimony and do everything possible to avoid the corruption and evil that is so ubiquitous in modern politics. This is no easy task. The bottom-line on politics and Christianity is clear: Christians should be the best citizens and they should seek to steward their civic responsibilities well. However, whether or not a Christian chooses to run for elected office or goes all-in for certain candidates is a matter of personal choice and Christian liberty.

Matters of justice are a different story altogether. 

Christians are called to love justice (Micah 6:8), proclaim justice (Matthew 12:18), and be doers of justice (Hebrews 11:33). Furthermore, Christians are called to love and care for the weak and hurting in all circumstances. This means finding situations where injustice has taken root and then working to make those situations just and right from God’s perspective. There is no “out” for Christians when it comes to matters of justice. 

This is where things can get a bit tricky. 

In order to be doers of authentic justice, we have to understand the mind of Christ (1st Corinthians 2:16) well enough to know what real justice and righteousness “looks like” from Jesus’ perspective. Loving real justice means we have to learn how to separate our emotional reactions and the unredeemed belief systems of our culture from biblical truth.  Being obedient in this arena also means we have to understand that issues of justice and politics sometimes become intertwined. 

Take these three real-life situations as examples. 

It was announced Monday that parents who question and/or criticize their local school boards for curriculum decisions or protest mask mandates and other covid policies will be investigated by the Department of Justice as “domestic terrorists”. Regardless of whether or not the parents in question have committed acts of violence or threatened anyone with violence.   

Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Scheler is the only member of the U.S military being charged with any sort of crime after the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan that left twelve service members dead and at least a hundred Americans stranded in Afghanistan. His crime: making a series of videos criticizing the United States government for the way the withdrawal was conducted.

Prosecutors in Chicago have declined to charge gang members who were arrested in a gunfight that killed one person and left two others wounded because the men involved were all “mutual combatants”. 

Many Christians actively avoid weighing in on these and other issues because they deem these subjects to be “political” in nature.  In reality they are all clearly issues of justice, not politics:

Parents are commanded by God to be stewards of and guardians of their children. It is clearly an act of injustice for a parent to be considered a terrorist for doing what God has commanded them to do.  

It is not fair (just) for one person to be charged with a crime in the Afghanistan withdrawal. Especially when that person’s only crime appears to be complaining (albeit against military policy) about the way the withdrawal was handled. 

Refusing to charge gang members for killing people on a public street puts everyone in the area in danger.  Any governments one job is to protect citizens from evil people (1st Peter 2:13-15). Consequently, the policy of only charging people who are not “mutual combatants” places bystanders and those who live in the neighborhood in danger and is therefore an unjust policy. 

I understand the reluctance Christians have of getting involved in politics. Politics are messy. The power structures in politics are unscrupulous and even good people can be corrupted by those structures. Moreover, no one in the history of forever has ever had their heart changed by the political process and it is all-too easy for politics to take a place in our hearts that only God should have. 

That said. 

Christians must learn to separate issues of politics from issues of justice. When we fail to do that we encourage injustice to flourish.