Are We Caught Up in "Selma Envy" ?

Repent of Self-Sufficiency

We live in a time of declining religion in America. To fill that void many have turned to political activism to fill their God-shaped void. At the same time we no longer live in a society that has systemic injustice as in the days of slavery, segregation, the KKK and lynch mobs. So we find many young, seasoned activists and Christians seizing on and inflating any remaining injustice because they are envious (among other things) of previous generations (like in Selma, Alabama) for having an obviously righteous and apparent cause to devote themselves to.

Just as Hollywood cannot seem to come up with any new original material and therefore keep remaking the same movies over and over activists seem to be doing the same thing.

Controversies appeal to our sense of self-importance as they make us feel important in the grand scheme of things. We imagine ourselves as being foot soldiers (or Generals?). Controversy and activism plays to our vanity and pride. We like the feeling of battling a cause larger than ourselves. The fantasy of having secret knowledge.

So pause for a moment of self reflection.

Are you steeped in spiritual wisdom, praying daily to God for guidance, confessing and repenting of your sins or have you let your ego define the day?

Paul told the early Christians (through the Holy Spirit) to make sure that no one would “think of himself more highly than he should think.”

Romans 12:3

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Our Lord made this plain as how we should be living our Christian life!

Philippians 2: 7

7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Christ said that greatness is servanthood! He did not say anything about being the most obnoxious and clever activist on the block.

We are men of unclean lips! Let us all repent and serve our Lord and our neighbor!