Not to Speak is to Speak

What kind of message does the world need from the church? What kind of problem does the modern church face in the world? I have been thinking about the phrase, Speak openly and clearly about what God is for. Speak openly and clearly about what God is against. One of the problems of being a Christian in our pluralistic society is that we do not speak up for almost anything. This Sunday, I heard something intriguing. The pastor said, “We are tolerant to beliefs. But we are judgmental to shoes.” We are judgmental to small matters. We speak openly and clearly about our views on fashion, music, food, etc…But we are silent on serious matters, such as morality, religion, lifestyle, etc... Where is our moral courage? Where is our message? Can we speak openly and clearly about what God is for and against?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” I think the world needs this kind of message from the church. Or I should say, the church must openly and clearly preach this kind of message to the world. So many silent Christians live in the world and are only judgmental to what people wear. But they are not “judgmental” to secular morality like friends with benefits, gay marriage, abortion, injustice in the world as well as in the church, etc… What are we for and against? If we are for honesty, we are against any form of deceitfulness in the church and the world. If we are against domination and oppression, we are for equality and stand in solidarity with the oppressed.

In the church, the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that we have been telling people to live a life of spirituality that is very self-centered and society-decentered. I feel like most of the time we live our Christian life in a churchly way: We read the Bible and pray regularly. We practice spiritual disciplines on top of different life responsibilities.  We keep a sense of calmness in all matters. Don’t speak too much. Don’t raise our voice when we speak. Don’t get mad in all circumstances. Don’t look at women in a lustful way. Don’t debate with others because when you debate, you may get mad or go crazy in disagreement. We listen to a sermon with submission. In collaboration with others, we ought to focus on relationship, not relationship, efficiency, effectiveness, and goals/objectives altogether.

Sometimes I wonder, “Is this how Jesus lived? Is this a kind of spirituality that Jesus expected from us? Do we miss anything in our Christian living?”