Snippet: The Tyrant Impulse

snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Justin Giboney commenting on government and public schools overreach, disempowering parents and encouraging kids to keep secrets from their parents:

“This is what I call the ‘tyrant impulse.’ And both ideologies have this ‘tyrant impulse’ that ‘I have to control you and your family because I know best and you guys are stupid and I have to save your kids even from you.’”

How can we address this when we see it?

I don’t recommend accusing someone of this. That never goes well nor persuades.

It’s probably not even a good idea to bring the “tyrant impulse” idea into the conversation. There’s no way to do it without it coming across as an accusation.

The best thing is prevention by talking about how leaders in government, education, and other vocations need to fight this temptation…pastors included.

But if you have a real-life situation that requires a response, you can talk through the issues without resorting to calling anyone a tyrant…even if you’re pretty sure they are acting like one.

Photo by Erika Fletcher on Unsplash

Snippet: "Just Preach the Gospel"

snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Here’s a snippet from an article by Esau McCaulley:

“Only in the context of racial injustice are we told to articulate the plan of salvation exclusively. When marriages are struggling, we don’t just preach the gospel to couples. We give them practical tools to love one another better. When parents are looking for clues on how to raise children, we do not simply preach the gospel. We give them Bible-informed tools to parent well.”

It’s actually in more situations than discussions on racial injustice. It’s what we like to say whenever we don’t agree with someone.

Let’s be aware that we’re all prone do this on something. Dr. McCaulley almost certainly does it. I do it. You probably do it, too.

I would add, we say “the gospel” in situations like that, but we mean “the message of salvation and grace.”

The gospel is so comprehensive a term that the word “just” in the sentence “just preach the gospel” is nonsensical. The gospel is the whole story of what God is doing to restore all things, including our relationship with him (which is indeed the centerpiece). It brings a word to just about every topic under the sun.

“The CRT Debate Distracts from God’s Justice: In the conflict over racial issues, ‘just preach the gospel’ misses the gospel,” by Esau McCaulley.

ESAU MCCAULLEY

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Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash