Reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel. Reconciliation can traverse great distances, overcomes hostility, breaks down indifference and apathy, and it cultivates peace.
Today in our angry and divided world as Christians we should be promoting reconciliation whenever and wherever possible.
Christ died that we too might reconcile with each other.
Revenge Politics & Public Incivility
"...Coupled with the steady decline of local media, this has resulted in a greater emphasis on national politics and less attention paid to local and state politics. Practically speaking, elections are increasingly viewed as referendums on the president and the party that controls the White House, leaving little room for individual members of Congress to distinguish themselves from their national parties..." from the article: How Hatred Came To Dominate American Politics
The night Jesus was born, the angels shouted, “Peace on earth” (Luke 2:14). For two thousand years, God has been presenting the good news to us in many ways. Through his cross, Christ won the victory over death, sin and suffering. What we pursue today in our nation is folly and sin , taking us away from the grace and mercy offered to us by Christ.
The Rise of Mock News
Revenge Politics is politics at its worse and most ugly. It lacks civility and objectivity.
Right on the heels of revenge Politics we have "Mock News". Mock News is bascially entertainment disguised as News. Fox News would be a good example. Why? As an example re member the lawsuit in which attorneys for Fox news said of Tucker Carlson's Show: "An attorney representing Fox News reportedly made an interrogative statement in federal court that directly called into question the news value of the number one host in all of cable news.
“Would a reasonable viewer be coming here and thinking this is where I’m going to be hearing the news of the day?” Fox News attorney Erin Murphy asked U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil during a hearing conducted via telephone on Wednesday, according to Law360 reporter Frank G. Runyeon’s account of what was said..." from the article: Fox News Lawyer Suggests No Reasonable Viewer Would Think Tucker Carlson Is News
The problem is most of the gullible public is to foolish to know the difference.
For further reading: Televised political shows and mockery
We have many people claiming to be Christians like Representative Lauren Boebert participating in hate speech and jokes. This is NOT in the spirit of our Lord.
"Islamophobic remarks by Lauren Boebert are “no laughing matter”, Ilhan Omar said, demanding action from congressional leaders – after the Colorado Republican said sorry.
“Saying I am a suicide bomber is no laughing matter,” the Minnesota Democrat tweeted. “[House Republican leader] Kevin McCarthy and [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi need to take appropriate action, normalising this bigotry not only endangers my life but the lives of all Muslims. Anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in Congress.”
Boebert made the remarks in her home district. To laughs and whoops, she joked about encountering Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, in an elevator on Capitol Hill.
“I see a Capitol police officer running to the elevator,” she said. “I see fret all over his face, and he’s reaching, and the door’s shutting, like I can’t open it, like what’s happening. I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar...." from the article: Ilhan Omar: Lauren Boebert’s ‘Jihad Squad’ bigotry is ‘no laughing matter’
Christians DO NOT laugh and mock other people, no excuses! There are many claiming to be Christians when they are not.
Forgiveness through Christ is always available to us in repentance and through childlike trust in Jesus. Where humble repentance is absent, then our sins condemn us.
Galatians 5:21
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
You and I cannot escape God's judgement on what we think and do!
It is not inconsequential to treat lightly a pattern of public behavior, social media posts that could lead to spiritual death.
Flagrant boastfulness, vulgarity, immorality, and factiousness are self-incriminating and reflect our inner character. But the worst thing that we ignore and are apathetic toward is the very real fact that what we say and do can be nation-corrupting, infecting our whole culture. The last five years bear witness to this infection of deviancy as we go further and further down to depravity.
We belong to a kingdom that will never be shaken, even when America is but a footnote in the books of history.