Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29)
Throughout this election cycle, feelings have run high, resulting in a ton of vitriol on both sides. That does not surprise me. What does is what I have heard from many on Facebook, Twitter and in the public arena coming from those who propose to be Christians. Instead of exchanging opposing viewpoints in a spirit of give and take, there is a judgmental spirit by many Christians seemingly evidenced by a judgmental put-down or labeling of the person(s) with the opposing viewpoints.
Do Christians have the right to disagreed? Sure they do! The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 11, said there is a need, at times, to have disagreement in the Body of Christ when someone(s) is leading a whole group of believers to sin by wrongful thinking or wrongful teaching.
What we don’t have the right to do, as believers, is the putting-down and labeling of others who have an opposing viewpoint. Let me use myself as an example. I have very strong feelings about any view that supports abortion. I believe that I can defend that conviction without equivocation from the scriptures. Do I have the right to stand for that conviction with others? Absolutely. However, while I may have a difficult time understanding how anyone could come to that viewpoint, I do not have the right to label or write off a fellow believer as a “moral pigmy” (or something of the like) because they have an opposing viewpoint.
One of the age-old psychological tactics of the insecure is to call those who have any opposing viewpoint a particular name in order to put that person on the defense. Often this is more done unconsciously than consciously. If I understand the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life, I see no room for that under the umbrella of “abiding in Christ” (being controlled by the Holy Spirit). In the Ephesians 4 passage that is mentioned above, the Apostle Paul went on to say:
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
I want you to think about this. Can one be right in one’s conviction and wrong in one’s spirit with anger, bitterness, and slander and thus, being pleasing to God? I think not. No, I know not! This passage plainly states that such an attitude grieves the Holy Spirit. In other words, it blocks the Spirit’s power in our lives.
When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, I heard an interesting story. It was said that Justice Ginsberg, who was known as a liberal, and the late Justice Scalia, who was a conservative, were very good friends. It was said that they were such good friends that their families would visit each other’s home for dinner often and even went on family vacations together. Someone asked Justice Scalia, how a conservative like him could be such good friends with a flaming liberal. Justice Scalia said, “I attack ideas, not people. Some very good people have some very bad ideas.” Justice Scalia separated the person from her ideas. In so doing, he really gives us a portrait of what I think a godly Spirit-filled believer looks like in the arena of opposing opinions and ideas. You can disagree with grace without attacking another.
During this time in which feelings are running at a fever pitch in our nation, let’s be careful to not become prideful thinking that because someone doesn’t agree with our opinion or view, we are somehow morally superior to them. The Bible makes it very clear that pride comes before a fall.