Grace Under Pressure

The light of Christ is present within our hearts, and we can shine His light in the interactions in which we participate. 1st John 1 contains these words:
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Does a Bible-believing Christian have a place as a co-host on a television program that collectively, has a net effect of not promoting a Biblical perspective?   Elisabeth Hasselbeck faced that prospect, serving as co-host of the TV talk show, The View, which features a panel that certainly is left-leaning and will represent a worldview that is not consistent with Scripture.

Hasselbeck had the opportunity to be a voice of Biblical truth, and a Movieguide article reported on a conversation she had with Kirk Cameron recently. The article states:

“I believe, whether it’s SURVIVOR or your school lunch table or it’s your family situation — it’s all preparation,” she said in a conversation with Kirk Cameron. “God is not going to assign a platform to you without preparation in your heart first.”

Hasselbeck reflected on her time on the show, calling it “a blessing and a privilege,” and saying she “found joy” in moments on THE VIEW.

The article went on to say:

Cameron then asked how she came to work, day after day, knowing she would be challenged by both her co-hosts and the audience.

“The Holy Spirit just had my back,” Hasselbeck said. “When you try to do it in your own power, you lack joy. Your effort fails at some point, and you end up losing not just the battle of words and rhetoric and debate — you end up losing your spirit in it.”

She continued, “God just guided me, and I didn’t always do it perfectly, but I hope that overall it was glorifying to Him at the end of every day.”

In her book, Point of View: A Fresh Look at Work, Faith, and Freedom, she has written, according to a People magazine story referenced by Movieguide: “It was called THE VIEW, as in definite and singular,” adding, “Yes, there were bonds of friendship formed around the table despite opposing views, but there were also bonds broken because of those differing perspectives.”

And, there are instances of Hasselbeck sharing her faith with her colleagues. Movieguide relates such a occurrence involving a conversation with fellow co-host Joy Behar:

“For 10 years she and I debated, and reacting in those situations perhaps I could have offered a more tender witness to this awesome God- instead many times- I reacted,” Hasselbeck wrote in an Instagram post about her relationship with Behar. “Did I always show grace…sometimes not. And sometimes I felt the need to stand firm and be bold… For now, I pray to always be able to have grace filled #Godversations like this…”

She defines a "Godversation” as ​​”a conversation minus condemnation when talking about God.” 

There was also a reference to Elisabeth's response to Whoopi Goldberg's supportive declaration on abortion, from a previous Movieguide article:

Hasselbeck explained, “I personally believe, not because I believe life has value [but] because I believe our Creator assigns value to life and that those lives have plan and purpose over them, as designed by God, that are not limited to the circumstances of conception, nor the situations they’re born into.”

There are situations in which we may find ourselves, in which we can even recognize the hand of God placing us there, where we have the opportunity to truly be the light of Christ. And, Elisabeth Hasselbeck admits that her responses were not always the most - well, graceful.  But, that doesn't mean we should not continue to be steadfast in our faith, yet willing to lovingly share what God has done in our lives.  We will encounter what the world might call failure, but we can allow those times to govern our future interactions.  

So, that's one thing I take away.  We can also realize that there is tension between our being in this world and not belonging to it.  She took a job in which she was interacting with people who didn't share her worldview - it's really an odd concept, where you have one person who is seemingly ideologically different with the other co-hosts, put in the position to stand her ground.  You may feel surrounded in your workplace or in other life situations - in those times, we can certainly depend on the Spirit within us to give us the right words to say and the proper responses that He would intend.