We live in what some people have referred to as
the "age of outrage".
Even if you are not familiar with that term,
you might already think it's a pretty good
description of the world in which we live.
And we might point t o two specific reasons
for why it's called that.
First of all,
it's getting increasingly difficult to have
polite disagreements with people.
A lot of the hot-button issues that we discuss
are more and more not just about
someone being right and someone being wrong,
someone being wise and someone being foolish.
Rather, it's about someone being good
and someone being evil.
So, whether it’s climate change
or a border wall,
whether it's tax rates or health care reform,
more and more people view
the people who are on the other side of those issues
as not just incorrect,
but even immoral.
And then second of all, we have been given,
almost exactly the right tools to take that,
that moral indignation
and to stoke it into a burning, hot rage.
The very tools that keep us informed
and keep us connected to people all over the world
also do a great job of adding fuel
to just about any fire.
And so people can surround themselves with people
who see things exactly the same way.
And then that group of like-minded people
can very easily, very quickly
turn into a virtual mob.
Taking their virtual pitch forks
and lashing out against anyone that disagrees.
Maybe you've even observed
some of these characteristics of the age of outrage.
Maybe you've even been on the receiving end of some of them.
And if that's the case, then maybe you'd agree
that for us, as Christians, it's sort of a perfect time
to be different.
We might think that we, as Christians, have
plenty that we should be outraged about, too.
And yet when we think about some
of the behaviors that have sort of become the new normal
in our world,
I think maybe you'd agree that it's sort of a good time
to be strange.
To be different.
To be
out of place.
After all, that's exactly what we are, isn't it?
A couple of decades after Jesus lived,
one of his disciples, named Peter, wrote a letter
to a bunch of Christians
who were not gathered all together in one neat and tidy community,
but they were scattered
in a largely unbelieving and un-Christian world.
And Peter wanted them to know
just exactly how different
they were.
And so he said this,
So by nature, we were walking in darkness.
Destined for a life of trying to prove our worth to God.
And therefore,
also trying to prove
that we're better than other people.
In other words, we were destined for
a life of outrage.
But God rescued us from that.
God brought us into the light
where we could see
that the approval that we crave has already
been won for us by our Savior, Jesus.
Through Jesus, we are God's holy people.
We are his special possession.
In other words,
we're different.
And if that's the case, then it
only makes sense that we would live lives
that are different.
Peter goes on to encourage those Christians to live as
foreigners and exiles
in our world. To live lives that are
strange and weird and out of place.
And this week I want to talk to you about some of the ways
in which we can do that.
Some of the ways in which we can be strange
in this so-called "age of outrage".
Ways that our lives can bring glory
to the one that has made us different.
I know it can be frustrating and exhausting
to live in this so-called "age of outrage".
But the good news is
it's a golden opportunity
for us to be strange.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father,
thank you for calling us out of darkness
and into your wonderful light.
Fill us with joy in how different you have made us
that we might live differently
and bring glory to you.
Amen.
As you think about life in the age of outrage,
what do you think is the greatest opportunity
for us, as Christians, to be
strange?
We'd love to hear some of your ideas.
Please take an opportunity to comment below.