ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
November 9, 2021
This past Friday, I posted to Facebook a picture of a few of us who went to hear Keeton Coffman do a live show. I talked about how much I enjoyed listening to live music again, and how Keeton is a fabulous performer. I posted it late Friday evening after getting home, and I didn’t even turn on the TV or check the news online. Of course, I was unaware of the tragic events at the Astroworld concert. It wasn’t until mid-morning on Saturday that I read the news. Suddenly, my post about enjoying a concert at the very same time another concert had caused such pain and grief felt insensitive and out of touch. I doubt people said to themselves, “Bruce is an insensitive jerk for posting what he did,” but it still didn’t feel right. And for that reason, I took the post down. We live in a world where people are bickering about our culture not being sensitive enough or being too sensitive. Like a lot of things, we can probably find clear examples of both, but I have always thought people should police themselves… choosing to err on the side of caution and compassion. And most of the stuff that could be construed as hurtful or callous is not going to contend for a Pulitzer Prize in Literature. I still support freedom of speech and will defend people’s right to say just about anything, but taking something down out of an abundance of caution or a demonstration of compassion would go a long way. The Apostle Paul spoke strongly to the Church in Corinth about the freedom to be cautious and mindful so as not to bring injury to another. Remember, freedom to do something means you have the freedom to not do it.
Life is complicated, God, and though it is important for there to be a free exchange of ideas in this world, I pray that my freedom helps there to be more exchanging of love, mercy and kindness. Amen.
