Let’s all be outraged together

No, actually let’s not.

I have found myself reflecting on the classic book City of God by St. Augustine a lot lately.  In this encyclopedic series that also makes a great door stop, Augustine reflects on both a failing Roman Empire and the steady, constant presence of the people of God throughout time.

The fifth century was a hard time for the Roman empire.  This empire had been built on worship of certain gods. Who seemed now to be letting the people down.  We should notice that Augustine himself reflected mournfully on the “virtue” of Rome’s early leaders.  (Yikes, that sounds a wee bit familiar.)

But now this once brilliant and powerful empire was in a state of collapse. There had been decay from the inside for a while.  Combine a sickening inner core to the fact that there were literally barbarians at the gates, and you have some real problems.

All of this social upheaval resulted in quite a bit of fear and anxiety for those folks who had become quite comfortable in their Roman lifestyle.  There were people facing death at the hands of Vandals (yes, that’s a real group of people) and worrying about what sort of world their grandchildren might grow up in.

Some blamed the Christians for what was happening, because after all they weren’t worshipping the Roman gods.  Could this be the gods form of payback?

So Augustine answers some of this.  There are some really funny lines that sound like they come from an Eminem Rap battle where Augustine lays the smackdown on the idols of his day.

But essentially throughout this great book, Augustine maintains that there are two different allegiances that we can have.  We can serve the city of God or the city of man.  One revolves around and is supported by the true creator of the universe, and can never fail.  The other revolves around an idol, or a series of idols.  And because of this it must fight, sacrifice, and kill in search of survival.  It will do this fighting in vain, because ultimately this city cannot and will not stand.

This was 1500 years ago.

It never ceases to amaze me, that regardless of the civilization, the technology, or language the human heart rarely changes through all the ages.  

My facebook feed today looks a lot like standing on a street corner under a viaduct listening to everyone complaining and blaming everyone else for all the problems in society.

In the past several years I have seen Chic-Fil-A, Starbucks, Police Officers, Democrats, Republicans, Nike, In-and-Out Burger, the NFL, the NAACP, The ACLU and a million other organizations, companies, brands, or leagues defamed, sabotaged, ridiculed, and maligned because they expressed a political opinion.

And make no mistake.  Some of us love Chic-Fil-A for expressing their opinion yet we are burning our Nike’s right now.  We are yelling that they need to just make shoes or sandwiches and stay out of politics.  We really shouldn’t think we can have it both ways.  Maybe at some point we can talk about consistency and inconsistency.

For now I want to ask you two questions. 

First of all, what’s really wrong with the world?  G.K. Chesterton was once asked that question by a newspaper reporter. His reply was “I am.”  We desperately need this attitude today.

Before we go shaming Nike or In-and-Out Burger it may be good to take three deep breaths and ask ourselves “Who have I hurt today with my words?  Who will I hurt with what I am about to post?  How can I choose to spread love not hate?”

You are free to choose not to shop at certain places or buy certain products, but I am certain of this: your facebook post is not going to bring down Nike or In-and-Out Burger.

Your words may cause you to lose friends.  They might make someone think you are a racist, communist, socialist, serial killing fascist.  (yea, that’s not a thing, but maybe you see my point).  Your words will probably hurt someone’s feelings you care about.  They will most likely make someone decide they don’t want to see your posts anymore, and they certainly won’t want to see you at parties.

Your anger will not in any way make the world a better place.  It simply won’t.

So ask yourself this: if the world around you is broken (and it certainly is) are you helping or hurting?

Second, and this gets us back to the reason I keep thinking of Augustine the last couple years.

Where is your hope – really? 

For those of you that love to bash Chic-Fil-A or In-and-Out, I get the feeling your hope is in progress.  The things we can accomplish.  That sounds reminiscent to me of a group of people in Genesis 11 who hoped to make a name for themselves through what they could accomplish.  This story has been repeated countless thousands of times throughout human history.  Every time to no avail.  Your progress is no good here.  Read a history book.

For those of you who are setting fire to your Nike’s, I think your hope is in either status quo (which is in fact the opposite of progress) or even a sense of returning to the “good old days.”  Although there is a reason we never know the good old days until they are gone.  It’s because we mercifully have a short memory for pain.

Seriously.  The human capacity to forget pain is why siblings exist.  It’s also why we think the good old days were when you had to walk outside at 3am in freezing weather to go the bathroom. Yeah, those days sound so awesome.  Sorry I missed that.

At any rate, whether you are hoping for progress or status quo, you need to know something.  Neither is going to happen the way you hope or fear.  None of us can fully imagine the world our great-great grandchildren will inherit.  But it won’t be what any of us long for and it won’t be what any of us are afraid of.  It will be a mixture of both.

The desire to spread your outrage comes from your hope in the city of man.  Your outrage comes from your fears, hopes, and dreams for that city.  Deny this impulse.  This city is already dying.

Here is what you can do to ensure a future with a better hope.  Choose today to spread love, goodness, and hopefulness instead of outrage.

Place your hope in a different city.  A city that lasts longer, has a greater hope, and a more certain God. Lay down your idols and hope in the good king Jesus Christ.