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Global Politics, Wars and Jesus

We here at Theophilus are not around to tell you what to think. 

We do not advocate a particular political stance, other than love Jesus and follow Him first. But, we are also not oblivious of the world around us, and we think it is important to discuss current events and how that relates to Jesus. 

How should I respond to Trump declaring import tariffs on the world, and then changing them, and then changing them again? How should I think about the war in Israel/Gaza or Ukraine? What is my role as a Christian to the thousands suffering in Sudan or Yemen? 

It can be hard to know what the “correct” Christian response is to these situations.

Preacher A who you respect has one opinion, while your best friend who is a strong believer has another. The voices are crying out from all sides, and some of them may even be using the Bible to back up their claims, making it all the more confusing.

So who to believe, what to think, and how can I stay true to following Jesus in how I respond to and think about current world events?

While I don’t have any hard and fast rules for you today, I do have a few tips that can hopefully help guide you as you form an opinion, generate a response, or think about world events as a follower of Jesus.

1. Love is always the correct response

If you find yourself hating, complaining or cursing anybody, you are not acting as Jesus. 

Yes, there is such a thing as telling the truth in love, but that does not include any of the above acts. In Jesus' famous sermon on the mount, he tells us to radically love our enemies. And while many of us may not have “personal” enemies, we have people who we don’t agree with. 

Jesus calls us to love them, even and especially when they are not around, or you may never even meet them… I think you know who I mean.

2. Be a Berean

 In Acts 17:11 the people of Berea are applauded for their searching of scripture to find the truth. 

In today's disinformation age, I encourage you to 

1. Fact check things you consume and believe/listen to other perspectives

2. Search the scriptures/pray to God yourself

The point here is not to come to become all knowledgeable, or be able to outwit an opponent online with your new knowledge, but rather to think critically about the information you consume, and always as the Bereans, bringing it back to scripture.

Thereby letting the truth of the Gospel and the Holy spirit guide you and transform you in your thinking. 

3. Listen, be humble, and be willing to accept you may be wrong.

My last and final tip for you is to recognize that despite it all, we are all fallible. 

You may be wrong. Be open-minded to those with different opinions, listen to different perspectives, and be willing to humbly consider their point of view. 

I mean, who knows, import tariffs may just be the key to unlocking a world of potential we never knew existed. 

Final Thoughts

By implementing these three tips, I cannot guarantee you will never have an argument, never be confused, or always exactly know the correct response. Life is not always black and white. 

But hopefully it will give you a little bit of direction in a world with so little of it. 

Until next week,

Be Blessed,

Aaron

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