So, what do you think explains it?
I'm guessing that if people from the distant past
or if people from the distant future
looked at human behavior in the year 2019,
they would find it to be very strange.
And yet a lot of that behavior has come to define what
some people refer to as the "age of outrage".
The cruel words, the constant lashing out,
the hatred and the anger that always seem
to be right at the surface, just waiting to bubble over.
So much of it has become all too normal.
So what do you think explains it?
We might point to a lot of different external factors.
We might blame politics or the media.
We might blame our smart phones or our social media apps.
And yet the Bible helps us see that there's an explanation
that goes much, much deeper.
See, people who live in the age of outrage, just like people of every age,
need validation.
It's only natural that, as we discuss certain issues,
we turn them into things that are
just about being correct or incorrect
into things that are about being good
or evil.
Because, at the end of the day, we know deep down
that we are people who are either good
or who are evil.
And so it's normal
to view every opportunity to make a post
or take a stand as our opportunity
to prove that we're good.
It's very normal
to view every like, every share, every
re-tweet that we get as something that confirms it.
It's very easy for us to try and seek that validation
from God and to seek it
from other people. All of that is very, very normal.
To suggest otherwise would seem very strange.
And yet, more than anything else, that's what makes us, as Christians,
strange in this age of outrage.
See, whatever strategy we might pursue,
if we're trying to have an impact and make a difference. And,
and whether we always get that strategy right or very often
get it wrong,
our conduct in the age of outrage
is not our own personal audition tape
that one day God is going to play back and,
and use it to decide whether he welcomes us into heaven.
No, the audition tape that God needs in order for
our spot in heaven to be guaranteed,
well, he already has it
firmly in hand.
The writer to the Hebrews says this,
So even though Jesus didn't have
a smart phone or any social media accounts,
Jesus faced every temptation that we face in our age.
He was tempted to lash out.
He was tempted to get angry.
He was tempted to talk about issues
rather than taking the time to talk with people.
And yet, as those verses remind us,
Jesus was able to live his life
completely without sin.
And notice how the writer doesn't say that that makes Jesus a perfect example
for us to follow and imitate, although Jesus is certainly that.
He says that Jesus is our High Priest.
In Old Testament Israel, the high priest
represented the entire nation before God.
And so also, Jesus as our High Priest,
represents all of humanity before God.
Which means that Jesus' perfect behavior
counts as our perfect behavior.
His patience counts as our patience.
His care counts as our care.
His entire life counts as our life.
Which means that we have nothing to prove.
Not to God.
Not to anyone else.
So what that means is that
I'm guessing that there are people in our world
who would consider you to be
the embodiment of virtue.
But it doesn't really matter.
There might also be people in our world
who consider you to be the epitome of pure evil.
That also doesn't matter.
The verdict about you
is already in.
And the validation that you seek has already been
provided, free of charge,
through the perfect life
of our Savior, Jesus.
And because you don't need that approval from anyone else,
what it does is it sets you free
to be able to be there and to be able to give
whatever anyone else might need from you.
I know that sounds strange.
But in the age of outrage,
it's exactly what our world needs.
Let's pray.
Dear Jesus,
thank you for living the sinless life
that we could not.
And offering your life as payment for ours.
Fill us with peace.
And free us
to live in service to others.
In your name we pray.
Amen.