Eternal vs. Temporary: When Social Activism Becomes A Distraction

I used to hear a lot of people who were lovers of history or social justice or civil rights, and were not alive during the many movements of the 1960s, talk about how exciting those times must have been.  It's a valid thought; especially knowing that the term 'excitement' can go a few ways.  For example, when I consider the various readings depicting churches with standing room only crowds...squeezed in to hear the messages of liberation, citizenship, and humanity from fearless men of God..I can't help but wonder what that adrenaline surge would feel like.  Of course similar meetings are happening today, but I think the difference is those meetings in those times were the first.  Again, not to lessen today's movements, but there's really nothing like the initial push.  Truly invigorating.  But the other thing that I can't help thinking about is, "all these people in those churches, and that preacher's got everyone's heart in his hands, did anybody get Saved?"

I don't know if there's a stat on that...how many people during a meeting lead by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference ended up accepting Jesus Christ...and I don't know what about that I'm more concerned with; the fact it wasn't tracked or the probability that it wasn't considered given the social situation.  Whatever it was it started a trend; using Christian people and facilities to aggressively promote a cultural movement...important as it may be...but not including the primary focus of Christianity.  Now, in all fairness it's pure speculation to say that evangelism didn't take place.  I'm sure during of what all was included in the Civil Rights Movement as directed by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s SCLC, that people came to receive Christ.  But what can't be argued is that social activism was the primary goal of this organization, not salvation.  And then, when I couple that with the activities of SCLC-inspired contemporaries like Rev. Al Sharpton or Rev. Jesse Jackson, who also don't appear to promote the clear objective that Christ has for all of His followers, it's a red flag to me that we may be missing the entire point.

In this, many Believers have disregarded the commandment in Matthew 28:19-20.  Obviously, this disregard doesn't only appear when social tensions heighten.  Scores of men, women, and children who proudly profess Christ in the face of achievement rarely share the reality of grace with their non-believing neighbors on a daily basis.  So, it's only logical when pressure appears, the primitive responses of survival are pushed.  However, this logic forgets that survival in Christ is in fact the only real survival there is.  I could insert my the enemy tricks line here, but who really is the enemy tricking in these situations?  Is it the people who don't know about the truth in Jesus at all, or is it to those who don't know and choose to only address the temporary trick on it's surface?

We are so turned on by the less important, more popular issue.  We are so consumed with life at this very moment, that we neglect the power (and directive) we have to change life forever.  This could be because many of us come Jesus in a "struggle" mind state...and decide to stay there.  It could be that our frustrations with what the media is showing can't be contained.  Or it could be that we are actually on the front lines of the offensive(s).  But at some point we have to evaluate what Christianity entails for us and those around us.  Simply put, is the all-powerful Savior we claim really not all powerful?  Are some things not meant to Christ-addressed?  With personal perspective considered, does the objective that dies when we die command more importance than the objective that has eternal implications for us and everyone else?

There should never be an ignorant attitude towards the suffering of people...anywhere.  But to proactively deal with these problems is to promote salvation in Jesus...everywhere.  This includes a full commitment to the message and the lifestyle.  Because the reality is that there will always be bigotry, there will always be terrorists, and there will always be injustice....until the coming that we believe in happens.  Then it's not white or black, man or woman; it's just Believers and non-believers.  The non-saved socially-conscious black activist and the fierce racist will be left behind to deal with an openly-ruled Satanic world.  And it would be an awful matter to find out during Tribulation that these issues really weren't the pinnacle of existence.


Peace