Well it finally happened! What am I am talking about? Twitter, Facebook, Google and Apple are attempting or actually cutting off the free speech of President Donald J. Trump and other like minded people from social media platforms and downloading spaces. Now, before we muddy the waters to badly let me first start by saying; this is not nor will it ever be a political post or a place for political discussion. Let me continue.
For the record, I am sure like myself, you too probably thought a dozen times or more; I sure which they would tell the president to shut up and stop tweeting. Again, I did at least a dozen times. And after the capital "riots" it finally happened. And if we are all honest our first reaction was....FINALLY!!! But you need to hold onto your thoughts just a bit because this thing could get a little crazy now that this has happened.
Again, I am not here for the politics in all of this. But I am here for what can and will more than likely follow in the months and years to come. When did we ever think that there would be a day that private companies, owned by their shareholders could have the power to silence "free speech" in America? We all thought that the government would one day but platforms such as social media just didn't seem to be the place for it. The very essence of what they do was all based on and all centered around the ability to post whatever you wanted as long as it didn't defame, defraud or cause irreparable harm to another individual. And truth is, that has even gone out the window because keyboard warriors can say anything about anyone regardless if its lack of truth or facts unless it doesn’t line up with their philosophies. But again that is not what I am aiming at here.
As a pastor, here is where my thoughts go. How long will it be before they construct some kind of well crafted argument or reasoning that what we preach in our churches every week is considered as hate speech, retaliatory and/or incendiary in causing anger or civil upheavals? I know, and I can hear it now and see the faces of a certain generation as they roll their eyes and muddle unintelligible comments under their breath. They don't want to hear this stuff. But, I am 49 years old and what I have witnessed in my time is a slow erosion of civil liberties that will not stop at the church doors. Rather they will soon break through them and call the pulpit outdated, unnecessary and out of touch with reality. It’s already been said that the Bible (Word of God) is no longer relevant. And the next thing to come? You dear pastor will all too soon be viewed as unnecessary unless you tell them what they want to hear.
Here’s something else to consider. What is the number one platform for broadcasting of our church services? You guessed it, social media. And don’t think for a minute they won’t shut us down when our messages cross the lines their agenda. It's truly only a matter of time.
So masking everyone in America to stop a virus isn't the only thing that is being masked. Free Speech is now on the menu unless you say what they (see 2 Tim 4:3) want to hear. Scripture is pretty clear on the matter.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Anyone with half a brain can see that this is happening right before our eyes. Again, what happened to the president isn't about the president. It's all about what they are coming for. And if you think the enemy of our souls doesn't have it eyes set on the pulpit then you really aren't apart of the woke crowd after all. And speaking about being "woke" the Bible started that thousands of year ago.
Romans 13:11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Dear Christian and pastor, time to wake up and pray for our country. Time to put aside political differences, party lines and denominational arguments. The church is under attack by the enemy and it's working in ways that are more subtle than we ever thought possible.
So how do we fight this? First we pray and secondly we “put on” Christ and don’t make room for our foolish fleshly ways. What a novel idea. We are to be Christians in the face of adversity. WWJD really is something to think about here.
Comments