We think that by keeping up with the controversy we are really fighting the battle.
And because of all the Internet play it is getting, we know it is the battle for the ages. We think we are fighting off Suleiman’s Muslim assault on Vienna, preserving Western Christianity, when all we are really doing is playing with toy soldiers. Like those who fought in the Saint Crispin’s Day battle, we can then go to our beds thinking ourselves fine fellows for having been in the fight.
We, in short, aim far and miss far.
There are true, important, eternity-in-the-balance controversies going on all around us. There are fights we are called not merely to egg on from the sidelines but to join.
The calculus for the importance of any particular battle, in terms of its lasting impact on the great war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent, is simple enough. First, we need to know how large is the teaching ministry of the principals involved in the battle. We need to know how many unique visits this guy’s website gets. We need to know how many people recognize his name. The higher those numbers, the less important the battle.
The real battles are these:
Will I speak graciously to my children today?
Will I have a grateful and cheerful heart about my neighbors, my fellow employees, those with whom I worship?
Will I go to war against gossip, not by pointing out the gossip of others but by tending my own garden?
Whether some evangelical superstar embraces some mystical prayer form is less important to the kingdom’s future than whether I will pray faithfully for that little girl with the brain tumor.
It is true that the world out there matters. There are controversies that count. Martin Luther changed the world, facing bullies like David before Goliath. But when his beloved wife, Katie, trusted in the finished work of Christ alone, that changed eternity.
Not many of us worry about what we will eat or what we will wear. Sadly, that’s not because we’re so spiritual; rather, it is because we are so prosperous. Having been freed from such worries, do we then focus on pursuing the kingdom of God and His righteousness, or do we instead worry about the future of this theological coalition or the direction of that shared blog? Pursue the kingdom by pursuing His righteousness. And then all these things will be added to you. Stop your fretting. The future does not depend on you. It depends on the One on whom you depend.
There is someone wrong on the Internet. It’s probably you.
Log off, hug your kids, kiss your wife and go get some of His rest. The world will not only be there when you get back, it will have been made better.
This post was first published in Tabletalk magazine, May 2012.
