Who’s Setting the Tone?
The tone of your family, your church, or of the culture of any organization is determined not just by what leaders say but equally by what we do. Sayings like, “Walk the talk,” or “Practice what you preach,” are a part of tone-setting. As I read Romans 12, I am concerned about who is setting the tone for our lives.
I suspect that most Christians would quickly answer that Jesus and his teachings are the foundation for our lives and should guide both our speech and our behavior. And I assume that most Christians would also say that the Bible is foundational in our understanding of God, Jesus, and the kingdom of God that Jesus spoke about in the Gospels.
As the apostle Paul instructed the church in Rome, he gave clear instructions about how believers are to act. It seems that our approach to these instructions and to many of the teachings of Jesus is that we see these instructions more like a menu, where we pick what we want to include and just ignore the rest of the instructions as optional or for the next person in line but certainly not for us.
For instance, verse 14 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” We likely take a serving of that instruction from the menu. Of course, we want to celebrate the good things that happen with our family members and coworkers. And we want to comfort our colleagues in times of loss or difficultly. But what about verses 17 through 21?
“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
In current culture, in our social media, and in political discourse, it seems that we see these verses as optional. Our tone is often that of vengeance and certainly not of forgiveness and love. And sadly, we are often quite outspoken about our feelings. It’s as if we think that God will not do what he said he would do and ultimately settle the justice issues in the world. I suspect our issue with God is that he just doesn’t seem to get the urgency of the matter.
James 3 addresses this same topic and specifically addresses our words when he says that our tongues, the words we use, can start dangerous fires. We certainly have seen that played out over and over in the political realm. Unfortunately, in the current moment we seem to quickly follow our political leaders’ examples and slowly follow the teachings of Jesus. Or maybe we just think that the teachings of Jesus were only for the early Christians but certainly not for us.
Maybe our first step in addressing our tone of leadership is to evaluate the source of information. Who do we look to as our example? How much time do we spend reading the scriptures? Do we consider that prayer might be a good thing to do before we respond to the Facebook post? If we want to see the culture of our families, our churches, and our communities change, then we might need to turn down, or even turn off, certain voices and get back to considering the one who God sent to redeem and restore his creation.
Father, forgive us for allowing cultural voices to determine our tone and our behavior. Open our hearts and minds to your words and to how our words and behavior are to be guided by Jesus and his teachings. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Romans 12:14-21; James 3:5-18 ESV
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