Polite but Deadly: Telling the Truth in a Duck Dynasty World

Rev. Brad Mathias 

As Christians we have a unique culture of being “polite.”  Polite for sure… but deadly just the same. 

I believe truth matters. Living in a PC world, it’s easy to shrink back from defending or proclaiming truth… especially if it’s unpopular.

Ever courteous, careful and considerate, we strive to be tactful and often it seems, we avoid at all costs the discussions or considerations that might be uncomfortable. So we take a very safe but selfish path… we avoid stuff. We cling to our politeness in an effort to justify our shame and shove more of our messed up world under the rug, hoping someone, someday, will come along and fix things.

Living in a Duck Dynasty world, it’s even easier to justify our decision to try to just fit in and be quiet. It makes a whole lotta sense to be careful in what we say, and avoid being mistaken as a hateful bigot or a right-wing fanatic. Both a serious risk if we dare to speak out and let our Christian values be heard.

But herein lies the problem. The truth of Christ really is offensive. 

 If we as “followers” of Jesus Christ are going to have a voice in our culture and our communities, we must move into more uncomfortable territory. We will need to take a stand on the essentials of our faith and quit apologizing for our biblical beliefs.

That doesn’t justify being a jerk or self-righteous idiot, moving past politeness… we need to claim some  “middle” ground culturally. To learn how to authentically act like the people of faith we are, without compromise and without intolerance of others.

The zealous Christians of past generations may have seriously over-emphasized the “truth” part of Christ’s gospel, and way under-stated the “Love” part… leading to a “gospel-shy whiplash effect” for modern believers to try to shake off, but that doesn’t mean we have to repeat their mistakes.

What if we could live from a heart of genuine love and respect for others, treating them with kindness regardless of their agreement with our beliefs?

What if that love “compelled” us to share the ridiculous truth of Christ with those who truly needed to know, without picking a political party to defend?  

Ask God to show you when and where to take some personal risks with this. When he nudges you… obey and see what happens. The truth spoken in gentleness and love has a huge influence on those who only see Christians as either fake or fruitcake.

 The Rev. Brad Mathias is Lead Pastor of Four Winds Mission and president of iShine and BEMA Media. Contact Brad.