To my theologically conservative friends, I beseech you to not let your guard down in such a time as this. You are loving your neighbor, showing hospitality to strangers, suffering well, but then some are offering you a chance to do something remarkable for a cause. They are asking you to globalize your concerns instead of continuing to do those local things that God has clearly called you to do. They are saying that you should show care for this cause, otherwise you are an imbecile worthy of condemnation and to be treated as a denier of “progressiveness,” or good ol’ fashion, “social justice.” But, I say, resist the niceties of liberal agendas.
Remember C.S. Lewis’ exhortation against a theology of niceness. Many will guilt us into causes that are so far detached to the umbilical cord of truth, but they will present it as the “cause of the century,” or “the real battle.” “It’s just nice,” they say, to care about this or that movement. Lewis repudiated such absurdity when he wrote that nice people are difficult to save, and I might add, God is not nice or safe, but He is good.
This is a particular time in history when you are not to forsake your duties to your neighbor to join global causes; this is our time to be even more diligent loving our brother and sister, and serving and caring and committing to those tested and tried Christian duties. Naturally, you will feel a pull to take these causes in the name of making a mark or building your “I care” brand, but don’t be deceived, many of the ideologies of our day come with strings attached. They come right next to unholy agendas of sexual promiscuity and the acceptance of lifestyles far from the kingdom. Remember that the “who” is just as important as the “what” and “how.” Those who perpetuate concepts of reconciliation–from whatever tribe–may very easily wish that you follow your charity by kneeling before dangerous philosophies that do not lead to the cross of the crucified Messiah.
Keep your guard up! Don’t feel the compulsion to enter into the first cause that seems noble. Test the spirits and see if they are of faith for sometimes they dress up as angels of light to deceive you into a nice Christianity devoid of godly conviction and before you know it, the cause you are fighting for has no Gospel at all. God forbid!
The Allure of Social Movements
