“If Anyone Has Ears to Hear, Listen (to the Gospel)”
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
We are living in a long, tough slog, and no one knows how long it’s going to last, and the uncertainty will keep us on edge and unsettled for a long time.
But it’s not as if we can ignore what’s happening out there.
It’s natural, and even necessary, to pay attention to the state of the world.
We need to know what’s happening to preach the gospel into the world as it is.
We need to know what’s happening to live wisely, care for our neighbors, and bend the arc toward justice.
But knowing what’s happening has a trap that’s easy to fall into: we have to pay attention to the problems, and those problems contain threats.
Threats to our values, our loved ones, our jobs, and our lives.
And they are not idle threats. Not a single one of them.
And that’s what forms the trap.
You may have heard the expression, “You’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you.”
In trying to get a handle on the scope and depth of these problems, it’s easy to fill our ears with more and more statistics, heart-breaking stories, and analyses of blame.
And because our brains are wired to look for those threats to keep ourselves safe, it’s easy to be consumed by them in an unhealthy way.
As a result, doom-scrolling is a past-time for many.
Doom-scrolling—reading, researching, and watching everything we can in order to gain a shred of a feeling of control—is something I have to guard against myself.
I become fascinated by a topic and deliberately search it out to learn more, even when it has no direct bearing on my time or well-being.
But doom-scrolling fills our ears with threatening news and thus blocks them from the Good News, like:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27, NRSV).
“I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NRSV).
And, “Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together! And again: People of all nations, celebrate God! All colors and races, give hearty praise! And Isaiah’s word: There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope! Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” (Romans 15:12-13, The Message).
As preachers, how can we tell when we’re crossing over from gaining essential knowledge to too much information?
How can we guide our listeners to notice the same?
More importantly, how do we focus our attention on the hope that is in us instead of the threats around us?
Here’s something I’m learning that you may find helpful as well: an adaptation of the spiritual practice of minding our thoughts.
Minding our Thoughts
The purpose of minding our thoughts is to keep them in the knowledge and love of God rather than the things of the world that corrupt and destroy our equilibrium, serenity, and emotional capacity to serve our neighbor.
Or better said by Paul to the Philippians:
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
Phil. 4:7, The Message
Three Questions to Ask
To allow Christ to filter the worries so we do not allow them to become the center of our lives, it helps to become a bit more objective—to get curious instead of reactive—by answering these three questions:
1. What’s the likely timing of this threat? Is God asking me to give it my full and longer attention right now?
There are simply too many ordinary, daily responsibilities on our plates to be able to attend to multiple threats concurrently.
That means discernment is required.
Which threats rise above the others?
Which threats knock ordinary responsibilities down the list?
One aspect is to consider how likely the threat is.
What difference does it make if the threat is:
Imminent?
Inevitable?
Preventable?
Theoretical?
2. If we do need to engage the threat, how will doing so…
Honor God?
Help us be safe and thrive?
Help our neighbor also be just as safe and thrive?
3. Given the above, are we called to respond to the threat right now?
Is it sufficient to be aware?
Are we called to take action?
Do we entrust it to God’s care then move on to other concerns at hand?
Paying Attention
One way we can evaluate whether our attention is well placed is to observe whether the fruits of the spirit are grown or blocked.
Are we discovering new expressions of love, new reasons for joy, renewed peace, patience for the process?
Are we moving through the world with more kindness? Sowing goodness? Responding with courage and gentleness?
Are we remaining faithful to God, our responsibilities, and the good works we’ve been given?
Can we still exercise self-control in the face of crises that anger us, break our hearts, or threaten our livelihood?
In other words, in our scrolling are we becoming more like Christ?
More self-sacrificing?
More committed to our neighbor’s thriving?
More committed to ushering in God’s reign on earth as it is in heaven?
Or are we becoming more obsessed with our own selves, suffering, and self-righteous anger?
To be Christian is to be communal, thriving together by the grace, love, and mercy of God.