Fascism can be defined as a group or movement that exalts it’s own ideas above all others. It is marked by a strong desire for control and zero tolerance for anyone who disagrees.
Why are we talking about fascism on this Christian living blog? Because God is not a fascist. If we are to represent Him on earth, we should have no part in the controlling spirit that is behind this ideology, yet we can sometimes entertain it unaware.
We need to understand what fascism is, how to identify it in ourselves and others and how to walk in the opposite spirit, which is in freedom and grace. God has given us free will. When you think about the ramifications of that, the thought is shocking. We have utter freedom to say, act, and think how we want. Even though He is truly the only One with supreme power, He does not take that freedom away from us or censor us when He doesn’t like what we are doing. (This doesn’t mean that there are not consequences to our thoughts, words, and actions, but that God does not stop us from choosing to live as we want to live.)
Quite frankly, I’m concerned at this growing trend in fascist speech that I am currently seeing more and more of in the US. Groups from both sides of the fence who not only insist that they are right but bully and despise anyone who has an opposing view. Fascism is not limited to one political party.
I love how Jimmy Fallon put it in his opening monologue on the Monday after the shooting in Orlando, “This country was built on an idea that we don’t agree on everything; that we are a tolerant, free nation that encourages debate, free-thinking, believing, or not, in what you choose.”
Although this was said for an American audience, I believe that truth can be applied to many places around the world. I’m concerned we are losing the ability as a society to “agree to disagree”. It seems that we have gotten to the point where we put so much identity in our own opinions and beliefs that for another person to disagree with them is interpreted as a personal threat.
It would be very rare to find a person with whom we can 100% agree. Without freedom of speech, we fall into very dangerous waters. Who then determines what can be said and what cannot? Man should never have that much power.
Fascism is rooted in pride. It is the arrogant belief that I know better than you, so I will try to control and silence your voice because I don’t like what you have to say. If I’m going to be honest, I still catch myself doing this in my own household at times! Pride so quickly wants to raise its ugly head and shut down another’s opinion without listening or considering what is being said. Of course, there is a right and wrong, but there is no one group that holds the key to complete understanding of both. The Bible says that true wisdom is peaceable.
Fascism secretly believes (or openly declares) that its side is better, smarter, more deserving, and always in the right. The age old trick to try to get us to think that we know better than God. That we can eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and not get burned. We want to decide what is good and what is evil. And everyone who does not think like we do is evil. Obviously. (Scary!)
There are many forms of prejudice. If we ever harbor thoughts that we are better because we are _____________ (smarter/ more educated/ less educated/ richer/ poorer/ prettier/ funnier/ more likeable/ Democrat/ Republican/ Christian/ Muslim/ Atheist/ American/ not- American/ gay/ straight/ single/ married/ etc/ etc/ etc, then we are entertaining pride. NONE of those labels determine our value. Our value comes from our Creator, whether we know Him or not, whether we agree with Him or not, whether we like Him or not. He still loves us, and we are still worthy of respect because we are made in His image.
If behind closed doors, with like-minded people, we make fun of those that do not fit into our circles, we have not yet moved past the realm of 7th-grade cliques. We need to draw closer to God so that we can shed our insecurities and find our real identities in Him. We don’t have to agree with everything everyone says to respect and honor them. (And I’ve been guilty of this myself. I’m still on the journey, but I do want Jesus to be pleased with how I think and talk about His children -including those that don’t know Him yet.)
Fascism says that everyone should agree with and convert to its side of the story and then gets offended if others don’t want to. If we cannot see that there are sincere, well-meaning people on both sides of whatever topic we are debating, we have lost sight of what’s important. We must always be open to the possibility that we are wrong. And if after we have examined the truth and still stand at odds, we must be able to love each other and agree to disagree. Not accusing a brother in Christ with heresy if he doesn’t adhere to every doctrine that I deem the standard. The fact of the matter is that there is a lot more gray in Christianity than we would like to admit. And I think that’s the point.
[Tweet “God, in His wisdom, has not given all understanding to one said denomination. @bgrangard”]
It’s sprinkled around throughout the peoples, styles, and cultures of the world so that we must learn to work together to see Him in His fullness. It’s by this that we will prove to be His disciples (John 13). And if we say we love God but hate our brother, we are liars (1 John 4:20). (And that’s the love as defined by 1 Corinthians 13 – the patient, ever-bearing, kind, and self-sacrificial love that Jesus showed us.)
If we are truly concerned that a sister is in error and that this error will eventually bring about great pain in her life, we are taught to pray for her and to gently go to her. I think most people would not refuse that kind of approach. Even if the one bringing the concern is wrong. As long as it truly comes from a place of love, is gentle, and is bathed in prayer, I think the heart will be heard. It doesn’t mean that this sister will agree with our point of view, but that is again, not up to us. We do what we feel convinced in our hearts to do and continue on in charity, which is above all.
It can be easy to read an article like for someone else or for some other group. I encourage us all, myself included, to ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts, to show us where we have allowed pride and a desire to control to harden our hearts and stifle His love in us for others.
It’s so easy to think that we would never be involved in something as dangerous as fascism, but the seed starts small and it’s name is Pride. Pride is deceptive, and we often don’t see it until it’s taken root and borne fruit. We must vigilantly guard against the idea that we know best. Only God knows best. If we stay close to Him, we will retain soft and kind hearts, even towards those with whom we are at odds.
Light will continue to push out darkness, but it was never designed to come from the top down. It was designed to grow in a person’s heart, as yeast in bread. To spread through a real concern for one’s neighbor and from there, to change societies, thus changing the world.
