Faith Under Tyranny
Or How to live when the masses, the media, and the madding crowds rule the narrative`
I’m supposed to want posts that go viral. And I do.
But to do that, to ride the waves of the algorithms, I am supposed to research and write to the trends.
So, yesterday, I researched what is supposedly trending for you— my readers. That’s when I ran headlong into evidence that the devil uses trends to try to write the narrative, not only for the kingdom of the world but also for the kingdom come, the one you and I serve.
According to AI and other sources on the Internet, the topics you all want to discuss are:
Red hats vs Red letters (whether we follow politics or faith)
Iran’s seizure of that country’s oldest Protestant church
Some denominations debating the role of women in ministry
Tithing
The younger generation’s exit from the church
Conversion therapy
3000 different angles on the current American administration
Those topics certainly touch my life— and yours.
But, what I see in this list are
a) trends I could chase or
b) headlines intended to distract from a true hidden narrative— one that will matter even when these trends fade.
Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash
What I see is the danger of falling prey to the tyranny of a deceptive, thieving, hostile, destructive, murderous enemy who knows his time is short. An enemy who relies on gaslighting, who creates and exploits division, whose only aim is to blind, to burn, and to lead astray.
John 10:10 ESV says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Will we find abundant life chasing these trending topics? Or, will they steal and kill the life Christ is building within us and within His Body here on earth?
Jesus talked about why neither He nor John the Baptist played to the crowds in Luke 7:24-35.
He summed it up in verse 32: “They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’”
While Jesus and John were certainly trying to “reach people for Christ,” they didn’t play into the prevailing narrative but lived fully in the true story that can only be seen by those who are citizens of the kingdom of God.
Jesus lived daily in what was seen— water, food, children, the sick, the demon-possessed, sin, sorrow, pain, worship, joy, trees, cities, the rich, the poor, the outcast. And yet, His eyes were filled with what is unseen.
There were many times that Jesus spoke— He preached, taught, told stories, gave instruction, called people by name. There were also times He was silent.
I’ve thought often about His silence before Pilate. John describes Jesus’s conversation with this man who, from all appearances, had authority to take Jesus’s life. For a time, they dialogued but in John 19:9, Jesus doesn’t answer Pilate and that ratchets up Pilates’ anger.
Pilate exploded then because he believed that HE drove the narrative of that day until the moment Jesus refused to follow the course of the conversation. Jesus’s silence reminded Pilate how little power he truly had and then Jesus explained to the ruler that any authority he had over Jesus had been given to him from the One who truly determines the narrative.
Jesus knew the truth that Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
So, as Christians— both writers, readers, teachers, preachers, communicators, neighbors, coworkers, and friends, we must choose. Will our conversations and our attentions be devoted to the narrative determined for us by the masses, the media, the madding crowds and the forces, the powers that drive them?
Or will we exit that conversation and join the one Jesus started when the world began— the only narrative that leads to life.
So, rather than the trending topics suggested by my research into what the algorithms say we should be discussing, here are suggestions I have because they come up for me as I read my Bible, as I pray, as I listen to sound teaching, and as I engage with mature believers:
How do we live like Jesus serving the world without succumbing to its temptations?
What can we learn about living by faith from brothers and sisters enduring persecution and how can we serve them? Are we praying enough for those who suffer and for Christians trying to share the gospel under truly oppressive regimes?
God made us in His image— male and female— how do we love and serve one another in ways that reflect the integrity that is in the Godhead? How do we honor one another so that God’s image is seen in both our uniqueness and in our unity?
How do we, under every world system, remain free from the love of money, from greed, and from being enslaved by our possessions? How do we grow in generosity and giving to what will matter eternally?
In what ways can we reach the lost of every generation— from children to seniors— are we presenting the gospel clearly, regularly, and fully?
How do we love those who are outcasts? How do love those who defy God or who live contrary to what we understand to be biblical truth? How do we love our own children when they reject Christ or choose to live in ways contrary to biblical teaching?
What does it look like to live in a free nation with the responsiblity of engaged citizenship AND the calling to represent Jesus? How do we love, speak truth, and remain unified as the family of God, blessing various callings, offering grace on debatable issues or matters of preference, and resisting the temptation to worldly power?
How do we live in God’s story and not the false narrative of the doomed ruler of this world?
The topics suggested by the algorithims lead me to a sense of futility, like a hamster running on a headline wheel.
The second set of topics give me the hope of life even if nothing around me changes. Even if the earthly tyranny of mobs and merciless leaders continue to rule the day.
Jesus stood before Pilate, knowing the cross was hours away, with His eyes seeing the life that awaited on the other side of the tomb. That’s the narrative I want to live in every day.
We can exit the tyranny of the current matrix. Jesus did. I’m ready.
How about you?
I really, really want to hear from you on this topic. I respond to every comment and reply to every email.
Yes, yes, yes! It may be the narrow path, but it’s the wise one...and there are a few still traveling it.💞🙏
I have always avoided the news because I find it depresses me. I like your choice of topic better than the AI suggestions. Thought provoking. Good questions to ponder.