It’s automatic. Every time I say the word “squirrel” my dog will snap to attention and begin darting around with her head on a swivel. It doesn’t matter if she is in a deep sleep, sniffing the best-smelling tree, or trotting in an open field; if she hears “squirrel” she is instantly distracted.
The news headlines and corresponding commentary have taken up a lot of oxygen. It’s hard to avoid and even harder to escape. It’s expected and even wise that we as Christians would be informed and interact with current events. However, as I’ve read and listened to what Christians are saying I have to wonder if there is something more than just being informed. I wonder if we aren’t taking our eye off the ball. Or to put it another way, I wonder if someone isn’t yelling “squirrel” and we are all running getting distracted.
Think about it. If you were Satan and your desire was to keep Christians from delighting in and talking about the gospel, what would you do? You would certainly want to find something that they would get passionately behind that would appear to be important but, in the grand scheme of things, be far less important than the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel. You would want to take their eyes off the ball. Because when our eyes are off the ball then we are not in the game; we are just commentators, analysts, and activists. We stop being ambassadors, workers, and soldiers. We are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:11)—or are we?
I cringe when I think about the time spent learning and interacting with every single issue that comes down the pike while fixed settled doctrines have dust on them. Christians can post and discuss, in great detail, the specifics of executive orders but struggle to articulate an orthodox definition of the Trinity. We can talk through well-reasoned defense about social justice but not articulate the doctrine of justification. We can spend hours in a debate about politics on Facebook or Twitter but not five minutes in prayer for our leaders. What’s more, many of these issues that are taking up so much oxygen are not topics that all Christians agree upon. This means that we might have real differences on issues that are not central. In other words, you and I might agree about the gospel but disagree about political decisions and current events. But when we take our eye of the ball, the current events get elevated above the gospel, and cause division among good gospel-loving people. Brothers and sisters, this should never be.
Current events are whispering “squirrel” into our ears, and we are running around like a dog in an empty field. We don’t need to respond to everything; and we certainly should never let anything eclipse the gospel—which is of first importance (1 Cor. 15:3). Let’s keep our eyes on the ball and encourage others to do the same.
