16 These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; 17 Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,' Says the Lord."
There is much to be learned and applied, just from these 2 verses. We are called to "speak truth" - I believe that means that we should not lie, but that we are also to communicate God's Word and His principles, living our lives according to truth, justice, and peace. And, the kicker is found in verse 17, which can be tough for us, especially as we come out of a season where there has been much polarization - we are not to think evil in our hearts against our neighbors. This is the high standard to which believers are held...I believe we are to pursue a path of peace, "taking the edge off" in relationships with people with whom we disagree - holding unwaveringly to our deeply held beliefs, but finding ways to communicate in a manner that draws people to the presence of Christ within us and that doesn't repel people as we miscommunicate the principles of Christ.
Ephesians 4 talks about communicating with civility, without compromise, but with compassion - I call it "taking the edge off":
(14) we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
I came across a rather interesting story from the world of corporate marketing and advertising which really gave me a chance to think about how we regard people with whom we disagree. You see, in a very real sense, Christians are "competing" in the marketplace of ideas, and we have the ability to denigrate, sometimes in a very off-putting way, the people that hold to different opinions than our own.
So, here's the deal - in Cincinnati, there are two companies that have engaged in a rather unique way to sell pumpkin pies - according to the Wall Street Journal, the pie wars began in the fall of 2010 when Frisch's, a chain of restaurants that uses the famous Big Boy as its mascot, launched a new billboard campaign for its pumpkin pies. One sign, with the slogan, "Hello, Pumpkin," was inadvertently located directly over the flagship store of Busken Bakery, a smaller, local chain. Busken bought an adjacent billboard that read, "That's 'Mr. Pumpkin' to you, Big Boy." And, so it began...
The playful jabs continued throughout 2011. The initial sign was a simple picture of a pumpkin pie with the words: "You had me at hello." The Busken brothers, shot back: "Sorry Big Boy, this pumpkin's taken."
The dialogue continued on Facebook.
"Oh, sorry for being so fresh," came the response from the restaurant chain.
Busken: "Let's just be friends."
Frisch's: "Sure, nothing hurts my fillings."
The back-and-forth has continued, and the latest involves the Busken brothers donning ski masks with fake mustaches attached and cloaking a Big Boy in a Busken apron. They encased the statue's trademark burger in a Busken pie box. They then posted the maneuver on YouTube and Facebook in a video complete with fake explosions and flashes of lightning. And, guess what - Frisch's has posted coverage in its Facebook page.
Both companies have clearly benefited from the spat. Frisch's, which typically sells 90,000 pumpkin pies during its 16-week selling window, saw a 5% uptick the first year. The bakery, with an average of 2,500 pumpkin pies during the Thanksgiving season, saw a 20% jump in sales.
So, what do we take away? I think, Dan Haseltine, of the band Jars of Clay, says it well, according to The Christian Post, "How does it happen, that we should be in such unfulfilling work as that of perceiving neighbors as enemies?" Sure, the pie places are competitors, but they have apparently found a way to take the edge off, it's a delight to see, frankly, and customers are responding.
But, when we as Christians, in our fervor to uphold the truth, denigrate and even demonize the people that we are trying to win over, we are counterproductive in our mission of communicating what we regard as a compelling and superior set of ideas, rooted in Biblical truth, given by the Ruler and Creator of the Universe. As Greg Koukl says, we must pursue, "diplomacy, not D-Day". So, we hold fast to our worldview, without compromise, but we depend on God to show us ways to take the edge off, disagreeing agreeably, and affirming the worth of every individual, no matter how much we may dispute their views.
As Dan says, relative to politics but applicable to engagement on many fronts, I think:
"There is an art to civilized engagement about politics. It is the kind of art that is born out of severe disciplined love. Only love can remove the defensive posture of apposing opinions. Only love can settle a person in their own skin deeply enough to allow them to lift their heels and be teachable all the while standing in the trenches of a significant political discussion."
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