Reflect

A middle school teacher is suspended because two students had sex when he stepped our of the classroom for fifteen minutes. A bomb goes off in a church on Sunday morning, injuring worshippers. A KKK rally turns violent. A teenagers kills his parents, then goes to school and begins shooting teachers and classmates. These stories appeared in the news during the same week. What do we do when we see stories like these? Shudder? Maybe say a quick prayer for those involved? Change the channel? Do we ever feel guilt?

When we Christians remain silent on issues of social evils…well, what good are we doing to change the reality? Wee need to do more than complain about how bad the world is, or merely change the channel. We are stewards of our culture and our posterity. We are responsible for how we use our lives to oppose social evils such as these.

—Andy McClung

Question

1. Do you agree with the saying “silence is consent”? Why or why not? How does your understanding of this saying affect how you view social evils?
2. The message God gave to Jeremiah in chapters 19 and 21 is quite rough. Do you think the world needs more preaching like that? Less? How would you respond if someone said those things to you? How do you think most people would respond?
3. What do you consider to be the most harmful social evil in our culture today? What makes it more harmful than the others? What can be done to make it better?
4. Would you be wiling to risk arrest and/or bodily harm to oppose a social evil? Why or why not?

Act

1. Poll your congregation and find out what social evil is their most pressing concern. Develop a strategy to a) minister to those affected by, and perpetrating, this evil and b) oppose it in a significant way. You may want to consider the following in your strategy: prayer, fasting, letters to government officials, guest speakers, linking up with an established organization, offering your building as an office or meeting space for organizations.
2. Evaluate your church’s ministry to youth and children. Is it adequate? Are issues of social evils dealt with from a theological perspective? Encourage your youth ministry committee to plan a series of studies, field trips, and retreats based on dealing with life issues from a theological perspective. Instill in youth and children the truth that life is not like television’s quick fixes to all problems, but real solutions are possible.
3. Educate yourself. Find out what has been done to oppose a social evil of specific interest to you. Determine the effectiveness of others’ labors and learn from their mistakes. Commit your time, talents, and possessions to this cause.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash