Christianity and The Media
Written and Media by Kelsey Neier.
Media is a very powerful tool that can subtly plant a seed into our mind and begin consuming our thoughts. The news we listen to, the movies we watch and the stories we read start to alter our perspective of the the world and the people within it. It is no surprise that the media has complete control over the information we receive. Christians are under attack for our beliefs and practices. The media spews words like hypocrites, bigots and liars at us. It is almost as if we are too afraid to speak up in fear of getting torn apart by the media. Why has being a Christian become a bad thing? How did this happen? Maybe it’s the media’s fault. Maybe it’s our own.
The media portrays us as people who think they are perfect and can do no wrong. They tend to believe that we claim to be better than them, and that we are as holy as Christ himself. This type of thinking cannot be further from the truth. In reality every single one of us are sinners. We fall short and need God’s grace and forgiveness daily. It is the type of Christians that go as far as to hold signs condemning gays to hell and yelling at them to change their ways. Who would want to go to church or listen to someone tell other people how terrible they are? This is not how we should be spreading the love and good news of Christ to people!
I think that the relationship between the media and Christians will forever be a losing battle. However, if we believe God is our savior we have won the ultimate battle. As the hands and feet of Christ if we bring at least one person to Him, we have defeated the enemy. Jesus warned us that we would be persecuted for our faith. Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” We have nothing to fear.
We as followers of Christ are always striving to be more like Christ. The church of Christ needs to remember how much Jesus loved and cared for others. We need to do a better job of spreading that love to the homeless, rich, poor, those who have never known God, those who have rejected Him and everyone in between. Does all of the money we give megachurches go to building improvements, or should we be focusing that money more on ministry? In this video by Jefferson Bethke the spoken word hits hard and is very powerful. Bethke makes the point that church is not a museum for good people, but instead a hospital for the broken. We are no better than anyone else. Bethke goes on to ask if Jesus came to your church, would you actually let him in?
Religion has divided the people of God. Bethke’s spoken word says it perfectly: Christianity is God searching for man, whereas religion is man searching for God. Jesus and religion are on separate spectrums. Jefferson Bethke says that just because the media calls us blind, does not give them vision. I am not saying the media isn’t biased, because it very much so is. We should not be changing people, but instead helping them and providing them with whatever they need. What I hope you take away form this is that we should not stop serving others, and deepening our personal relationship with God. Even though the media may never change its biased stance, the best way we can spread Christianity is by serving people of all nations. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” 1 Peter 4:10.