Have you ever seen film footage of a herd of zebras trying to evade a predator? I learned about this recently—how the herd uses their black-and-white- striped pattern, moving every which way, to confuse the pursuer, who then can have no single focal point.
In some ways, it seems Christians today have become so bombarded by media and cultural conversations that we have lost our ability to focus.
Listen in to the average conversation happening online, and you will hear topics like climate change, social equality, mental anxiety and LGBTQ+. These are just a few of the terms and topics society tells us we must focus on with urgency.
William F. Buckley, Jr. once said that a nation that is having a public conversation about privatizing light- houses will not be talking about socializing medicine. His point is that social outcomes are determined by what people are talking about. The priority is set by the primary conversations happening.
That is true in the church, as well. One of the great temptations for the church today is to be distracted. If we are not careful, we will spend all of our time and energy focused on secondary topics instead of the main thing.
For example, when the culture is obsessed with talking about topics like the environment, Christians can and should speak up with biblical principles to apply in those conversations and situations. At the same time, Christians do not need to be drawn into every conversation about it or make it our primary focus.
C.S. Lewis said the devil loves it when people are running around with fire extinguishers during a flood. In other words, our enemy doesn’t mind if we are passionate and care about things, as long as it’s the wrong thing.
Thankfully, Oklahoma Baptists recently convened for the annual Advance Conference, where the Gospel was put back in focus. We can use this moment as a springboard to refocus on Jesus. We should steer cultural conversations continually back to the Gospel.
The Bible says, “Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4:6). And “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).
Let’s make Jesus our focal point; make talking about Him the priority. After all, as his “herd” of followers, isn’t that supposed to be our main focal point?
