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Be innocent as doves, wise as serpents

Be innocent as doves, wise as serpents

Recently in my conversations, I found myself reacting strongly to the account of some of my friends’ and familys’ circumstances. They reported various kinds of injustice, from being passed over for promotions due to a superior playing favorites, or being unfairly given more workload, or being denied support or guidance in a troubling circumstance. I found myself almost instinctively jumping up at these accounts, and the familiar rush of frustrated passion that would typically lead me to say something like ‘some people deserved to be slapped’. (A pithy statement which is probably worth it’s own post in the future).

Now, I am by no means a saint, so I have been struggling with whether this passion comes from a place of self-serving, or of real virtue. One interpretation is that my reaction comes from a place of holy discontent, or what one might more commonly call righteous indignation. In other words, I am reacting strongly because I feel that something is not right, and I am passionate about making things right.

I think another part of it comes from my utter loathing of broken systems; and there are so many. Every political system is broken, for example. The fact that entire nations go to war on the word of one man is so utterly incomprehensible to my tiny brain that it makes me wonder how in the world it is possible. The fact that companies exist which are clearly flouting laws without penalty from governments, while individual lose homes and family because of those same laws, is so ridiculously inane that I cannot imagine why we allow governments to run our countries at all. I exaggerate here. I can imagine and do understand why these things happen. But it irks me to my bones when I hear of it.

Biblical Tension

The other night my dad advised in one such conversation that God places us in undesirable situations to shape us, and we should make the best of these situations. This gave me pause. He was right, of course. If I believe God is sovereign, then I must also believe that all these broken systems, all this injustice, all this sin that runs rampant, is also something He either brings about, or allows. And I do believe this.

Now the common Atheist argument will interject here and say that such a God is not worth believing in. I don’t intend to argue this point, but I will say that if God is truly God, the fact of His sovereignty remains regardless of anyone’s belief.

The thing I struggle with therefore, is not so much whether God is in charge, but what our response ought to be. Some questions I ponder, for example:

These are things for which the Bible is not wholly clear about. 1 Peter 2:20-21 says it is good, for example, to suffer injustice for the sake of Christ. But what if the injustice is not for the sake of Christ?

This is where wilder interpretation occurs, and therefore debate. Some may say it is still good to suffer injustice anyway, as showing love to our enemies is to pour burning coals on their head. I for one am not so inclined to say that suffering injustice silently is akin to showing love.

I think follow the reasoning of C.S. Lewis, who is one of my models as an author, layman and Christian thinker. Many of his writings formed my system of reasoning about Christianity in my youth, when I struggled to reason even with myself about my own faith. As he says in his essay ‘Why I am not a Pacifist’ - and I paraphrase - if it is merely about harm done to me, then the Bible leaves no room for doubt that the desire for retaliation must be suppressed. But if the harm is not aimed at me, then the situation changes.

Walking the tightrope

So if I am the one who is being slighted, the Bible is clear. I am to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to give the cloak - as Jesus says in Matthew 5:39-41. Even if to an enemy - that is, to one with whom I have a grudge - I ought to do this, because this is the example that Christ sets for me by His sacrifice.

But if I am not the one being slighted, then my passionate response against injustice seems Biblically correct; or at least not wrong. To care for the poor, the needy, the downtrodden, to love my brother and my neighbour.

The difficult part comes after this response. So I am justified in my holy discontent. So what? What am I doing about this problem? How am I addressing this injustice? If I do nothing, the broken system continues to incentivize the brokenness. If I say nothing, the vocal minority continues to sway the silent majority.

What do I say, or do, such that I love both my brother and my neighbour; even if that neighbour is the perpertrator of the broken system?

This is the tension for Christians today. It is easy to say - and I admit I am still immature in my immediate and passionate response - that we should retaliate, that this should not be happening, that idiots and incompetents should be removed from their positions.

But the Christian is not given the easy way; he is given the way of Christ.