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Christians are supposed to be like Jesus. That means being nice, being kind, and seeking peace at all costs, right?

Actually, no. Not according to Pastor Doug Wilson. I stumbled upon this talk where he says sometimes being like Jesus means saying hard things people don’t want to hear. It means conflict. It means being hated. Of course we should never pick fights or rock the boat just because, but neither must we be always soft and gentle and say “Aw shucks” with our hands in our pockets. There are times when being tame can be just as wrong-headed and un-Christlike as is being a jerk.

Yes of course it is important to be kind and gentle. Love does not mean being a bully. But there are also times when the most loving thing to do is to suit up and slay the dragon.

Wilson is thoughtful, witty, and quotes a lot of Scripture. This talk is an easy listen and it gave me a lot to chew on.

I’ve been reading, “A Serrated Edge” by Doug Wilson. It’s a Christian defense of satire, and a good read. I’m only three chapters in but Wilson made a really good point that stuck with me.

He points out that too many Christians stay silent on a host of topics for fear of being called “arrogant”. The problem is that Christians and secular people often aren’t even using the same definition of the word. The meaning of the “arrogant” slur can be very different depending on who is tossing it around.

To a biblical Christian, God is our supreme authority and therefore we must submit our lives to what he has revealed to us in the Bible. To follow God‘s commands is humility. To reject God’s authority is arrogance.

To a secular person, God is unknowable (if he even exists at all). The only thing we can know for sure is our personal experience and feelings. Therefore moral uncertainty is a sign of humility. Anyone who presumes to know what God thinks is “arrogant“.

To one side it is arrogant to reject God. To the other side it is arrogant to acknowledge God.

When Christians stay silent for fear of being called “arrogant“, we have already lost because we have essentially conceded to the secular view of arrogance is the correct one. That’s a problem.

So far it’s a fascinating and thoughtful read. A Serrated Edge is available from Amazon here.