When speaking the truth is so unpopular, how can we do it with love?

When the truth we want to share is so unpopular, how can we speak it lovingly?

Nowadays, trust is hard to come by.

For instance, the victors of a recent fishing event in Ohio were disqualified when it was revealed that their fish were filled with lead weights and fish fillets, therefore invalidating the whole tournament.

The death toll from Hurricane Ian rose to at least 103 as of this morning, a dismal update to yesterday’s news. The fact that the path of the storm was projected to take it further north in Florida than it actually hit is a contributing factor. This meant that many people in the Ft. Myers area weren’t ready for the hurricane’s destructive force.

For many days, the primary American prediction model predicted that a Category 2 hurricane would make landfall in the Florida Panhandle or Big Bend region. With its more powerful supercomputers, the European model consistently predicted a more southerly and more intense storm course for Florida. (The actual result was much closer to its forecast.) The National Hurricane Center then anticipated that it would make landfall to the north of where the storm actually made landfall.

A police chief and nine elite officers in Indonesia have been fired from their positions after the deaths of at least 125 people (including 32 children) in a soccer stadium crush.

This time it was Brazil, where the incumbent president garnered more votes than expected and will face the top challenger in a runoff.

In the daily headlines, we see ever more evidence that we are fallen beings in a fallen planet. Then why is it so hard to persuade those who identify as secular that they need something more from society?

Adjusting the Overton window

The lost would come to Christ if they saw their desperate need for him. If they don’t, it’s because they don’t think they need any more “spirituality” than what they currently have. This means that they want the things we have already established they need, as we discussed yesterday.

One may assume that catastrophes like Hurricane Ian’s would lead more people to God, because they highlight our own mortality and weakness. They make us face the inevitable death that we’re so excellent at avoiding. Furthermore, they demonstrate the need of preparing for the unexpected now.

However, many people see natural tragedies as opportunities to doubt God’s care, might, or even existence. They fit into a cultural narrative that values independence. Stoic philosopher Epictetus once observed, “No man is free who is not master of himself.” What he said may easily become the guiding principle of our time.

Due to shifts in the spiritual Overton window (the spectrum of what is considered acceptable) the cultural center has shifted to the left. If you are younger, you are more to the left.

In the event that I do not suspect malignancy,
The majority of Americans now reject biblical truth on a variety of moral concerns, a first in the country’s history. A common definition of “morality” is “doing anything you want to do that doesn’t injure someone else.” It’s a logical fallacy to argue that my opposition will hurt you or push you over the edge.

Can you explain why this morals definition seems so appealing?

Take the LGBTQ community in the United States as an example; they make up no more than 5.6% of the total population. To be sure, the vast majority of us don’t have any direct experience with LGBTQ concerns, but if we determine that the Bible and Christian tradition are incorrect on those topics, we may also conclude that they’re wrong on other topics.

Christian opposition to homosexuality paves the way for a rejection of Christian opposition to abortion. And the same goes for making choices like having sexual relations before marriage, living with a partner who is not your spouse, seeing sexually explicit material, ending one’s life, and so on.

Because of this moral relativism, we cannot accept the one answer to our dilemma: “You know that [Christ] arrived in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). I will not see an oncologist or agree to any of the treatments she recommends if I do not think I have cancer.

The Bible doesn’t seem to have an answer on how to deal with this kind of trickery. The truth is unpopular, so how can we communicate it lovingly?

1: Pray with all your heart.

“We do not struggle against flesh and blood, but against… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (2 Corinthians 4:4) because “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (Ephesians 6:12). This is a spiritual battle, and spiritual means are required to win. Therefore, Christians should prioritize prayer for a moral revival and a spiritual awakening.

2: Keep your emotions in check

Becoming the change we want to see in the world begins with ourselves. Now we can get started with: “I will consider the path that is blameless,” David said (Psalm 101:2). Make the pledge, “I will not place before my eyes anything that is useless,” and you will become “blameless” (v. 3, my emphasis).

If that’s the case, we need to act quickly. Sin spreads like cancer when we lie to ourselves and tell ourselves things like, “There is no sin in me” (1 John 1:8). You may get God’s forgiveness by confessing your sins and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal them to you (v. 9).

3: Pray for divine intervention.

Do you believe you have access to supernatural means in your everyday life? As the Bible says, God “is able to do much more abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). Now more than ever, we must let our faith limit his power. Avoid accepting anything less than his utmost effort.

God will never put a demand on you that you cannot meet. He gives us strength in our weakness by virtue of his omnipotence and wisdom in our finiteness because “he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). (John 15:5) If you don’t have Christ, you can’t accomplish anything, but with Christ, you can do everything (Philippians 4:13).

The question of faith is not so much whether we believe in God, but whether we believe the God we believe in, as theologian R. C. Sproul put it.