I have a lot of friends who watch a lot of Youtube videos, and on FaceBook, reading things mostly about what’s wrong with the world.
Sadly, they won’t be running out of content anytime soon.
The issues they cover run the gamut: race relations, declining civility, gun violence, war, society’s blind adherence to political figures, over-population, conspiracy theories, gender dysphoria, you name it… the list goes on.
By the sounds of it, most of the content they consume is descriptive — everything that’s wrong with everything. Not much good news. I know you have seen this as well.
I’ve sympathized with my friends because I share many of their concerns. The world is indeed a broken place; to deny it would be to walk around with rose-colored glasses, or eyes closed altogether.
Yet the prescriptive part for them — what might be done to address these problems — is an open question.
Sadly, when I go out to eat with any of these friends, I get 2 bites into my food when the conversation turns into one of these same negative topics. I get very saddened by this and I try to explain to them that like politics – whether you lean left or right – isn’t the main issue in the Kingdom of God. (It’s true!)
While things like political causes do have value, they must be demoted and seen as secondary in importance, along with all other things, as the Apostle Paul noted. 1 Corinthians 2:2 says, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Therefore, the greater goal we need to proclaim the crucified Lord, that He is risen, and is the one and only true King.
So what does all of that have to do with my website?
Far too often we visit websites owned by people we know are believers and yet there is never a mention of Christ or where they stand anywhere on the site. If their beliefs are mentioned it is buried so far into the site that no-one ever sees it.
We should never be ashamed of who we are and what we believe. Matthew 10:33 says, “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
Yes, if you are a business, you need to let your visitors know what products or services you are offering, but our aim should always be to produce inviting, grace filled content, like scriptures, to warm the hearts of the people on our sites. Also, I know that as for myself, I would rather spend my money with a fellow believer.
All the important “one another” passages of Scripture that envision how we are to relate — such as “love one another, encourage one another, build one another up, etc.” will only truly flow when the Gospel is kept central, and faith is energized. Only then will we be the “aroma of grace” that others breathe in.
It’s the only thing that will attract a hurting world to Jesus (and to us!)
