Controversy – the very word itself creates unrest in the heart. I cannot count the number of times that I have seen that word preceded with an attaching name/place and thought “Here we go again.”
There’s a controversy in every corner and when it gets big enough, it becomes cultural.
Lately, it’s the Trayvon Martin case.
Romney has a daily controversy, Obama does too.
In the NFL, it’s the Saints Bounty scandal and soon it will be another “Tim Tebow Controversy.”
A couple weeks ago in my little sub-culture, there was controversy surrounding the movie Blue Like Jazz (which in case you forgot ;) I liked the movie. Here were my posts)
About two months ago, it was the Kony 2012 controversy which started as a sub-culture thing and blew up globally (while I have my concerns, for the most part, I support their work).
Chances are you have started, instigated, fueled a controversy in your corner of life. Likely won’t make Headline News, probably not a Lewinsky life-changer, and hopefully it’s something you laugh about now.
Years ago in a previous church, I changed the Middle School ministry to include 6th Graders. We talked about it for months, it felt like I consulted 500 out of the 300 people in my church, it seemed everyone thought it was a no-brainer. Then it became official and someone told me, “Well, that decision is a little controversial.” I couldn’t believe the word “controversy” was used. “People are actually talking about this?” Then I found out that some didn’t even have sixth graders, some didn’t have kids in the youth ministry! It reminded me of what Paul said, “Does the foot say to the hand, I don’t like the kind of gloves you are wearing?” (I didn’t say which Paul). So much of it didn’t make sense to me.
I’ll tell you this though – I remember it felt personal. But I’ll get back to this later.
This series is going to have a couple parts but today, exploring the nature of controversy and our appropriate response to it. But today I want to reinforce the simple point that there will always be controversy. Always. And we should probably get better at dealing with it.
The logical question is why? Well, in some sense we need them and in another sense, there’s money and power to be made. Some controversies are legitimate. Some are created to keep you watching. Similarly, some only to get site clicks. Of course, these statements are subjective. But discussing/creating/manipulating controversy creates revenue, popularity and increases platform. However, at its best moment, it also has the potential to lead to the truth (or a form of it).
We’re always going to have controversy and as Christians, I look forward to discussing how we can add goodness to them.
What controversies are you following? Have you created any in your corner? Have you ever been in the middle of one, even a small one? Feel free to add your thoughts and hope you tune in to the next post.
I wouldn’t describe myself as being controversial, but I have been known to “stir the pot”. Sometimes I like to do it just to get a reaction. I know it’s terrible and possibly sinful, but sometimes you have to push a bit to see where the other side is at. In all seriousness, I am okay with controversy. I find the most important part of creating, engaging and responding to controversy is one’s motivation. Our motivations fuel our attitudes and reveal the true reason for controversial chatter.