AN ENCOURAGING CHURCH (2 OF 5)
by Jerry Watts
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5
This content is part of a series.
An Encouraging Church (2 of 5)
Series: A J.E.S.U.S. Church
Jerry Watts
Philippians 2:1-5
We are living in a culture that is dying from the inside out. I'd like to say that it's like a cancer, but it's more like a birth defect. You've heard me say this before, ''we are living in the last verse of Judges'' (which is written 2 times in the closing chapters of Judges 17 and 21). That is today.
What seems to have become the norm today, is criticism, destructive response, and cancel culture. Certainly, this didn't begin with social media, but SM has been the accelerant that feeds it. It doesn't matter if it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or any of the other dozen online social media outlets, they are all 'equal opportunity offenders.''
Before you jump up and down to write this type of media off, I would counter that there is much good done online. For instance, we are capable of reaching people around the world with the gospel message, we are able to communicate to family and friends when a tragedy occurs. We broadcast services. The list goes on and on. SO - It's not so much the medium that has the problem as it is the medium users.
For instance, I was watching a lady demonstrate a new way to prepare eggs. It was interesting. As an egg eater, I might try it one day just for something different. I was amazed at the ugliness, unkindness, and literal hatefulness that was written as people commented online. I was embarrassed as a human being. I thought 'we are better than this.' But I thought again - Nope, this is who we are. Critical and mean spirited, this is the cancer that is eating us up from the inside out, this is our birth defect. We cannot seem to help ourselves, if we are left to our own.
I will push this a little further. Just because you attend church, don't make you immune to being critical and just mean. (We have nobody like this, obviously) I remember walking into a church as a DOM, thinking I was being quiet, but when I sat, t ...
Series: A J.E.S.U.S. Church
Jerry Watts
Philippians 2:1-5
We are living in a culture that is dying from the inside out. I'd like to say that it's like a cancer, but it's more like a birth defect. You've heard me say this before, ''we are living in the last verse of Judges'' (which is written 2 times in the closing chapters of Judges 17 and 21). That is today.
What seems to have become the norm today, is criticism, destructive response, and cancel culture. Certainly, this didn't begin with social media, but SM has been the accelerant that feeds it. It doesn't matter if it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or any of the other dozen online social media outlets, they are all 'equal opportunity offenders.''
Before you jump up and down to write this type of media off, I would counter that there is much good done online. For instance, we are capable of reaching people around the world with the gospel message, we are able to communicate to family and friends when a tragedy occurs. We broadcast services. The list goes on and on. SO - It's not so much the medium that has the problem as it is the medium users.
For instance, I was watching a lady demonstrate a new way to prepare eggs. It was interesting. As an egg eater, I might try it one day just for something different. I was amazed at the ugliness, unkindness, and literal hatefulness that was written as people commented online. I was embarrassed as a human being. I thought 'we are better than this.' But I thought again - Nope, this is who we are. Critical and mean spirited, this is the cancer that is eating us up from the inside out, this is our birth defect. We cannot seem to help ourselves, if we are left to our own.
I will push this a little further. Just because you attend church, don't make you immune to being critical and just mean. (We have nobody like this, obviously) I remember walking into a church as a DOM, thinking I was being quiet, but when I sat, t ...
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