What Can Christians & Protestors Learn From Jesus?
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(2) <Jesus> taught them many things by parables, and in His teaching said: (3) “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. (4) As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. (5) Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. (6) But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (7) Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. (8) Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” (9) Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”’ (Mark 4:2-9)
Over the last several years, since the start of the 2020’s, there have been many protests on both sides of the political spectrum, and several have ended up in either violence against people or destruction of property. A few protests have been peaceful but full of shouting and loud noise-making, and only a few – those that don’t make the evening news – have been quiet and passive. Many of these protests are for ‘the current thing’, or as I like to refer to them as, ‘the flavor of the week’. A few, like the quiet ones, are for Righteous causes.
Many of the recent university protests, for example, had students who when they were asked if they knew exactly what they were protesting didn’t have a clue, only that ‘it’s what everyone else was doing, so I thought I should join in’. The types of protests, with violence or destruction and participatory ignorance, usually fall on deaf ears, and actually hurt their cause as people become hardened against what the protestors are for.
The thing about these protests is that some may have a modicum of possible value, but the intent is wasted by their lack of proper action and decorum. Had they softened their approach and not resorted to violence, destruction or disruption, people may have at least listened and considered their petition. Instead, they become thorns to everyone, even those who would have otherwise supported them. They instead get arrested, shamed and the aftereffects leave everyone worse off than before. Had they used their energy for something more positive, it may have been more beneficial to them and the community at large.
In Mark 4, Jesus discusses in a parable on the various people who the Christian, following the Great Commission of Matthew 28:16-20, will find as they spread the Gospel of Christ. Some will automatically be hardened like a well-trampled pathway; others may listen and be drawn but the secular world to them is more enticing and quickly be distracted. Others live in environments where they are not permitted to allow the Word to grow and it is always suppressed. But those who are not hardened, or were but now softened, or those no longer distracted or suppressed will hear the Gospel message, and it will take hold and they will not only listen but become active in participating and growing in the Word.
The protestors of today could learn much from Mark 4, as can many Christians. Why do people get packed down and refuse to hear the message? I don’t like answering my front door anymore for people I don’t recognize or have invited. After quite a few solar-power, roofing and window salesmen have come knocking, many rather abruptly and rudely, I usually answer the door with an immediate ‘no I’m not interested’ (though I usually will then ask them if there is anything I can pray for them about). I am hardened against hearing their message as I’m not only ‘not interested’ due to their abruptness, but due to their lies on it ‘being free’ (if I claim it on insurance, if I fill out the appropriate government form, etc. Hint – nothing is free except the Gift of Salvation).
Protestors fail to realize shouting and cursing and disrupting the lives of working-class Americans does nothing but grow contempt for their cause, and they compound the issue by not stating facts but feelings. Like the majority of protests, there is nothing in them for me to gain, except getting yelled at. (The only thing I allow to yell at me with impunity is my music and my wife.)
Christians can also be like the salesmen or the protestors; we can beat someone in the head with our Bible (figuratively) until they have had enough and shutdown and close the door. In essence, we’ve added the concrete mix to a soft soil by being loud and overzealous. A more practical approach is not to sell but to demonstrate the love of Christ. How can we grow seeds in hard soil, or rocky soil, or soil with weeds?
We can water the hard soil to make it soft, rake out the rocks and pull out the weeds to get rid of the distractions and suppression. In other words, help people by acting upon their needs in a positive manner, which then prepares their soil to be better capable of taking the seed. There are people who will open their hearts if they see that the Gospel is not just lip service but life-changing, to them or to someone they love.
Like a quiet, passive protest, similar to those at abortion clinics where pro-life advocates don’t shout or throw insults but pray or let women who are passing them know they are loved – before they walk in and after they walk out, what is seen is as important as what is said. Feeding the hungry, clothing the homeless, and providing for the widows of our community can lead to those who are being helped as well as those observing who are providing the help to want to know more. Like a farmer who tills the ground and adds fertilizer before planting the seeds, we need to properly prepare the ground to gain the most out of our sowing, else it’s simply a waste of time and a waste of good seeds.
