According to conservative author David French, Christians living in today's polarized political climate are commanded by God to advocate for truth while demonstrating kindness and humility.
Last week, at the Evangelical Press Association conference, French, the senior editor of The Dispatch and a conservative columnist, advised a community of media representatives that believers should speak out according to Micah 6:8.
Paraphrasing the verse, French was quoted by Christian Headlines as saying, "What does the Lord require of you? It is to act justly. It is to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord your God."
"What that means is you're not engaging in the public square to own the libs or to trigger the conservatives. That's not why you're engaging," he said. "You're engaging to seek justice. With one hand you're reaching for justice, and [with] the other hand you're reaching for kindness. You're doing these things at the same time."
Christians can distinguish themselves from the divisive realm of politics, as well as from so-called cancel society by walking in humility and mercy, said French.
"There's a significant minority of Americans now who ascribe dehumanizing characteristics to their political opponents," he said.
Micah 6:8 calls Christians to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly, French pointed out.
Acting justly means "opposing" what is wrong and "upholding what is good," he says. To "love kindness" means that Christians will "see the humanity in your opponents." Walking with humility, he says, "can defuse a lot of situations," an attribute which he says it in "short supply online."
Finally, French acknowledged that engaging society in a polarized environment is difficult. But it's what Christians always "have been called to do even in the face of cancel culture," he said.
He noted that there are a number of the stronger voices - people who have insightful and intelligent stuff to tell but are scared to talk because they fear to stand up for the truth. They are unable to speak out because of "cancel culture" despite the fact that social media has the potential to influence more people than every other generation in the history of mankind.
But doing what is right and "loving mercy," he said, take "courage."
Practicing what he's preaching
As an illustration, consider French's words in his Jan. 10 essay for The Dispatch following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He made no attempt to minimize what he referred to as Christian-nationalist rhetoric.
Noting that all aggression has a purpose, some of his readers would attempt to coerce him into writing or speaking out about the justified complaints of the Christian community, as well as to explain to the left why people are so mad.
To that he would only reply, "No. Sorry."
"Think of it like this. Riots weren't justified when police knelt on a man's neck while his life drained away in Minneapolis. Riots weren't justified when police killed an innocent woman in a botched, reckless raid in Louisville. Riots weren't justified when a black man was executed in broad daylight by wannabe vigilantes in Georgia," he wrote.
Recognizing that political enemies are fellow citizens, he stated that his disagreements with them would not warrant his disobedience to Micah 6:8.
"I won't stop seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly," he wrote in his essay.
