bias and how it affects our ability to share the Gospel (bias, pt 1)
dear friend,
I wanted to talk about something that I have never seen or heard any Christian influencers/bloggers/vloggers or even just regular, non-internet famous Christians talk about.
[Edit: As I’m editing this, I realized I did discount someone who did sort-of cover this in one of his videos before when talking about how he gets his news and what sources he uses; Steven Crowder! Overall, big thanks to him for going against the grain and encouraging people to do something different when it comes to getting their information!]
What I’m talking about is bias. We all have our own biases and we all have networks or sources that we tend to naturally lean towards, depending on where we fall on the political spectrum.
For one of my family members on my mom’s side, this looks like watching only CNN whenever he wants to relax and catch up on the latest news every day. For my one of my family members on my dad’s side, however, this looks like her and her husband tuning in to only Fox News for their source of news and catching up on the latest news and whatnot.
The thing is, (and this is a big take so mom and dad please don’t disown me hehe) BOTH of these people are doing the wrong thing here!
How are they in the wrong? you may be asking; well, both are in the wrong because they are only listening to ONE SIDE of the story! While all my Left-leaning family member hears is how Trump is an evil, bigoted, manipulative potato head who needs to be investigated and, subsequently, impeached, all my Right-leaning family member is hearing is that the Left-wingers are liars when painting this awful picture of Trump, that Trump is one of our greatest presidents and all the things he’s done in the past shouldn’t necessarily discount what he’s doing that is great for our country in the HERE and NOW!
If you’re still confused on how listening to only one side of the story can lead people down a slippery slope, let me give you a similar example to further explain what I mean. Imagine this:
You, in confidence, said something about a friend to another friend, whom you trusted to keep it between just you and him/her. You were venting, and in the heat of the moment, you got carried away and may have said something because you felt a certain way about that friend, and you just wanted someone to listen and give you advice. Well, advice is what you get when, two days later, said friend you talked about has not only called you out about what you said, but has blasted it all over to her friends! Ultimately, you don’t get the chance to state your side of the story, because everyone is listening to said other friend about your awful character, when all you were doing was venting!
Do you see what I mean now?
Getting back to what I was saying, hopefully from here on out you’ll be able to understand where I’m coming from. While both sides are, obviously, free to believe whatever they wish and have the privilege to choose to watch and listen to whatever sources they want, I just need to tear down the wall between the two. Because while it’s so easy to see, from a Conservative point of view, that Leftists live in this sort-of echo chamber, repeating the same things that one another squawk about to each other and to anyone that disagrees with them, sometimes I wonder if us that are Right-leaning do the exact same thing.
As a conservative myself, I get it. It’s hard to sit through a segment on CNN or NBC and listen to them say things about our president that are entirely falsified, blown out of proportion, and completely have no sort of evidence to corroborate what they’re saying as valid; however, in NOT listening to them, we build a wall against them. In not hearing the other side of the story, we unintentionally divide ourselves from people whom we are called to love and speak truth (aka, the Gospel) to.
Because I wanted to be so outspoken and “different” when I was younger (aka in my last two years of high school), I received all my news from a so-called “middle-ground” YouTuber (although I certainly consider him more Left-leaning) named Philip Defranco. Eventually, I became tired of all the negativity surrounding the stories he discussed, and the fact that there was yet ANOTHER Trump “scandal story” EVERY SINGLE DAY, so I stopped watching him. However, sometimes I do occasionally go back and watch certain stories he covers, just to hear his take (as middle-ground or Leftist it may be) because I LIKE to hear other’s perspectives. I like all the different feedback on a topic because it makes things interesting and helps me understand where people are coming from.
Anyway, that tangent to the side, my mom and I were actually talking about this in the car as we made our way up to Warrenton the other day. She told me about how one of her clients refused to out himself as Right-wing on any sort of social media platform and in his personal day-to-day life, because he felt that God was calling him to preach the Gospel to ALL people, not just those with whom he agreed politically. In fact, he felt that just by saying he disagreed with someone on the Left politically, he was immediately cancelling himself in their mind from being slightly more open-minded to hearing about the truth of the God who saves.
And you know what? I kind of agree with the guy! There is certainly a kind-of hidden beauty in NOT sharing that aspect of yourself on social media, since it surely feels at though it’s the most natural thing to do! And it’s really funny that, of all people, I’m saying this, because my Twitter account is definitely able to out me as entirely Right-wing. But that isn’t my point; overall, I just want to get us to think intentionally about how we’re going about sharing things about ourselves that, ultimately, may not matter in the eyes of God if all we’re doing is alienating ourselves to not be able to bring light to someone’s clouded mind of worldly issues.
Something else that’s related to this is how it was revealed to my family and I through this series we watched by The Fuel Project/Mark Fairley on YouTube about how Jesus wasn’t a Right-winger, nor a Left-winger: He was most-likely solidly in the middle, showing both love and mercy (two stances that come from the more Liberal side, believe it or not) AND the law and justice (two other stances that come from the more Conservative side) to all people.
{Click HERE to watch the first video covering this in Mark’s series titled “The War on Truth” !}
This is further evidenced on two separate occasions, the first one being when Jesus tells a man (one of the Pharisees, to be exact) what the greatest commandment is in the book of Matthew. Jesus replies, in verses 37-40, with this:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, English Standard Version)
Interesting that last verse is, where he mentions that these two greatest commandments depend on the Law and the Prophets… just food for thought. Now on to the next verse!
John, in the book of Revelation, on the other hand, describes Jesus in an interesting way when he reveals his visions God has given to him concerning the end times and Jesus’ return, saying,
“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:15-16, English Standard Version).
Do you see what I mean? He is love and peace, yes; but He is also justice and wrath. He is holy and yet He cares for us. How can this be? Our finite human perception can’t understand someone so complex; however, what we can do is try to follow His example by loving others and leading them to Christ, and further showing them the Law to follow and be obedient to Christ once they’re saved.
So, with that, I want to leave you with a challenge. This week, when a new piece of news breaks, don’t go to JUST your go-to news source. Try something that’s more middle-ground on the issue, and then try one that’s completely out of your comfort zone and something you’ll definitely disagree with. The point of this challenge is to get ourselves used to each other’s arguments so that, in love, we’ll be able to better understand one another, and, ultimately, share the light in a world that is so veiled in darkness.
much love & more,
