This is not a topic that we were planning on writing about this month of June. However, we do realize that this is timely in the state of chaos, hate, and turmoil in our current society in the country of the United States. 

And, we have recently seen much more hate, anger, lashing out, un-peaceful protests, racism, and more online and offline. This is something that we do not condone or take part of whatsoever.

Some people genuinely are calling out the racism that still exists today, in people, in social gatherings, in various places, and even within their own homes. 

But, people have also shamed other people because of these reasons: 

• They have not posted anything on social media, on their feed or their stories.
• They have not proclaimed their support by using the hashtag #blacklivesmatter
• They have not participated in protests or marches.
• They have not shared certain posts with info on how to help & where to donate to.
• They have not bought the books they told them to read to educate themselves.

 

Social media alone isn’t enough.

If this is something that you have struggled with online or are currently going through right now with someone in your life, may we say this candidly? It is time to get off your phone, walk away, and get into the Word and get on your knees to pray.

A social media post or two, sharing posts on your stories, protesting, rioting, donating money ALONE does not create change that has to start in the heart, which only God can do…but we have to choose to go to Him in prayer in humility first before taking action. Because, sadly, choosing to do this with love and grace, is not our first reaction; rather, it can be anger and hate.

(We are not saying any of those activities will not bring change; rather, it is the intentions, purpose, and the heart behind the activities is what we are addressing.)

No one is righteous on their own, even if you are a good person, that simply do not say racist comments or have prejudices of someone based on their skin color, sexuality, health, mental state, their political stance, or their economic status. That is simply not enough. (Check out Romans 3:22-26)

This is not the time to ignore the cries of the oppressed as well and be silent. So, where do we go from here? If you are a Christian or a believer of Jesus Christ, we are already called to be ambassadors for Christ.

 

No Destructive Anger

But, before we do that, we need to take our hurts, our hot anger, the need to lash out or call out people on and off the internet to God. He has to take care of our hearts before He commissions us and shows us what He calls us to do and to advocate for.

“We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.” – 2 Corinthians 5:12

I (Lianna) have a recent experience (VERY recent) on this. I was on Facebook (and almost nothing good comes out of Facebook, sometimes), and I found a certain person that was very…loud. What I mean by this is they were advocating for black lives matter and saw that there was a very long comment thread and that is never a good sign. 

And, this person was bashing on a friend of mine and thankfully, my husband was right next to me and I showed him the ugly comments.

And, I was just fuming with anger and I wanted to comment on it, KNOWING it was NOT right. But, I was so angry that I was actually typing it out on my phone before David told me to get off my phone and go to bed.

By this point, it was around 10:30 PM, not a good time to be scrolling on Facebook. And, y’all, it actually physically hurt to undo typing, get off the app, put my phone up to charge for the night, and walk away. 

The spirit of hate and anger almost got to me because it got personal. The next morning, I felt obviously better but I had to pray to God on this and was so thankful that He used David to stop me because, man, I would have dug myself into a hole that I did not need to be in.

Y’all, we are called to reconciliation as Christians. It says it clearly in 2 Corinthians 5,

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

But first, let’s look at when is the right time to advocate and what is something God calls for us to do and advocate for: 

 

When is it the right time? 

Well, there isn’t ever a right time to advocate except to show up right where you are with what you have. However, from my example, it was most definitely not the right time for me to comment or message the person on my Facebook because why? I was angry and, in the heat of the moment, I wanted to lash out. 

But, although we are not perfect, we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us and guide us on what is the right words to say, what to write, what to do, and how to do it.

And, the fruits of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If you are not seeing the fruits of the Holy Spirit, it may be that the spirit of the world has a hold on you.

We can advocate, we can share resources, we can even protest….and still bear fruits of the Holy Spirit and approach this in the way of the Lord, not of the world. That is when you are ready to approach and advocate in the Holy Spirit and bear good fruits.

 

What is something God calls for us to do and advocate for? 

Well, for this, we would like to first define what God hates. It says clearly in Proverbs 6:16-19,

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

We won’t go into too much in these verses because it speaks for itself and it is a great Bible study section for you, if you want to dive deeper in all those verses.

But these are all the things that God hates, which we can advocate against and get justice. It is the way you approach it, where your heart lies, and it takes, again, humility to God to open your eyes and reveal your sin, your heart’s true intentions, bias and prejudices, and get to work at it.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” – Micah 6:8

 

Be Heard or Be Helpful?

I (Lianna) listened to a podcast episode recently & one of them said something that really struck with me…⁣

“Do you want to BE HELPFUL or do you want to only BE HEARD?”⁣

That struck a chord with me because I cannot be helpful if I am not sharing or saying anything. But, I also don’t want to say anything just for the sake of being “heard”.⁣ I’ve been in prayer for the last few weeks, afraid of what I post, write, share, or say for fear of man. For fear of backlash. For fear of everything. ⁣

But, here is a verse that really spoke to me months ago that I am glad that I read:

“…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

⁣We are called to reconciliation, yes, but we are also called to be love to everyone. To be the hands & feet of Jesus. To be peacemakers. To bring forth justice for those who are weak, oppressed, & who cannot help themselves. To forgive.⁣ 

Speaking from early on in the post, you do not ever have to receive, buy, or listen to something just because everyone else is doing it. ⁣Be careful on where you are heading in the direction of: towards the light or the darkness (check Ephesians 5:6-17).

We are called to be the light, and it cannot be hidden under a basket (Matthew 5:14-16). 

And, the world will not like you. In fact, they will hate you. They will hate the light of Jesus through you. But, if you are OF the world, they will love you and that is not good either. Jesus says here,

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” – John 15:18-19

“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” – James 4:4

⁣After all of the prayer, time, and the space to listen to the Holy Spirit for help & guidance, it is time to take action and be advocates and ambassadors of Christ.

• If you are called by God to go and protest, go and protest, peacefully no matter what other people do to you. Jesus was silent the whole time he was mocked, beaten, and eventually killed. (Mark 14 & 15)
• If you are called by God to donate for a cause or organization, go and donate.
• If you are called by God to listen to a podcast episode or two that is aligned with God’s Word + racial reconciliation, not more division and hate, go and listen.
• If you are called by God to purchase a book or two or more to read more that is aligned with God’s Word + racial reconciliation, not more division and hate, go and read.
• If you are called by God to start a difficult conversation and keep it going, start talking.

 

And, it all starts at home.

Here is a quote that has affected us both & radically changed our views on how God truly wants change to start…

“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” – Mother Teresa

Loving your family and your loved ones is one of the most important acts you can do. Home life can be so different among all of us. Whether you are raised by a single parent or married parents, the act of love has no limitations or restrictions.

At first, showing love might feel a little bit odd if you do not express love often. Or it can be very easy and more natural. There are lots of ways to show love like spending quality time, speaking words of affirmation, acts of service, giving gifts, or physical touch.

Listening to each can also be a form of showing love. Giving your family members your full attention and a listening ear. We are all humans, prideful and conceited by nature and it takes energy to truly tune out the rest of the world to listen to your family members.

Your home can have that loving touch to it, it can be full of laughter and maybe some tears as well.

True love springs forth from the heart and where your heart is, there your treasure will be. That treasure can be full of love or full of hate. Everyone has a choice; you can choose to love or choose to hate.

We do not have full control of how life happens to us, but it’s how we react to life that makes all the difference. 

Our hopes and prayers after reading this blog post is this, we pray that love will find you once more!

 

Personal (or Group) Bible Study On Advocating As Christians:

Here are some key bible sections (also added the ones from above) if you would like to read & study if you are wanting to head towards the direction of the light and love of God and be an advocate with a Biblical foundation:

 

• —2 Corinthians 5⁣
• —Matthew 24⁣
• —Ecclesiastes 3⁣
• —Psalm 44, 73 & 74⁣
• —1 John 4⁣
• —Romans 12:21⁣
• —Matthew 5:14-16
• —Micah 6:8
• —2 Timothy 1:7
• —Proverbs 6:16-19
• —Romans 3:22-26
• —Ephesians 5:1-21

Thank you for reading,

 

David & Lianna Bond

Co-founders of The Simple Mission