Thinking Christian: A Counter-Culture Worldviewಮಾದರಿ

ENTER the DIALOGUE

A great deal of harm has been done in our society through the misuse of words. Politicians, the media, celebrities, industry leaders- we can point the finger in every direction. But it isn’t just them, it is also you who misuses words and intentionally or unintentionally causes harm. Perhaps a good principle should be that we resist the urge to pontificate or rage in relatively anonymous spaces (like social media) and, instead, choose to engage in civil dialogue with the men and women that move within our circles, where we live, work, learn, and play. When “they” have a face and a name and a story, and they’re sitting across from you, it is much more difficult to demonize, slander, and hate.

There is an animated Christmas movie from 1987 called, The Troll Prince. In it, trolls are evil, and gnomes are good. In one scene, two girls encounter a young prince of the trolls in their home, and they sing, “God loves all He made, even evil trolls.” Spoiler alert- as the movie progresses, the girls reflect the love of God to him, and his frozen heart quite literally melts, and he is transformed into a gnome.

Reflecting on all that we have learned about “Thinking Christianly,” it is possible that we could view ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our colleagues, our classmates, every man and woman and boy and girl through the lens of God’s good character: Sovereign, Just, Creator, Designer, Personal. All flowing from the heart of love; a love that did the most amazing thing for all of us:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Later in John’s gospel, after the miracle of the resurrection, Jesus comes to his followers with the following command:

Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. (John 20:21)

How did the Father send Jesus? As a generous gift born out of His love for every individual that He had ever made. How, then, does He send us? With that same spirit of love- love for God and love for the world He made.

With that in mind, consider this construct for healthy dialogue about hard issues:

YOU, ME, IT:

Before YOU and I talk about IT (the issue at hand), let’s establish some things. I like YOU. I hope YOU like ME. So as we talk about IT, that doesn’t affect how I think about YOU. Because YOU are not IT. IT is an idea, and no matter what happens, I’m never going to hate YOU because of IT. In fact, I’m going to choose to love YOU because God made YOU, and HE loves YOU.

Ask Yourself:

-Who are the hard people (name them!), and what are the hard issues in your life?

-How can you pray for the people you named?

-How will the “YOU, ME, IT” construct help inform future hard conversations?

Pause to Pray:

Begin your prayer with Psalm 19:14 and ask God to give you opportunities to have conversations about hard things with hard people, trusting that His Holy Spirit will give you wisdom, discernment, and self-control.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Take a Next Step:

What is God saying to you? What are you going to do about it?

Find more resources at www.whoisgrace.com/READ.