I know of a few things that can really get someone going. I mean, get their blood pressure up. Some of these will sound trivial to you but just follow me for a second. When someone says that iPhones are by far the superior devoice and androids will only bring risk of explosion in your hand.
Iphone people - elated and celebrate.
Android people - anger, resentment, frustration.
Or, you could say that MJ is by far the GOAT. Instantly Lebron folks are up in arms with all their stats, and longevity, and on and on it goes.
(Image source1)
For the record, when I bring these up in teaching or speaking situations it is always to lighten the mood, get a reaction, and in a way disarm people so they can meet with the Word of God in an honest way.
But I’ve come to realize that these simple lighthearted jokes, aren’t being taken that way any more. In fact, five years ago when I made these jokes no one ever seriously got upset. But today, slowly; more and more people are not only taking it very seriously - but it is shaping the way they perceive me as a person. Kind of wild, but it’s been my experience. This experience has zeroed me into something that I think is one of the great (if not greatest) dangers of our society today. Not at a local level, or national level, but global.
It is the issue of contempt. I would argue, that this is not simply an emotion people can have, but it is the preferred emotion that the dark powers (spirits) desire to leverage in order to bring about the undoing of our humanity.
What is contempt? Contempt is the movement beyond anger, and into hatred. You could be frustrated and even angry with someone for a moment because of their
political views
opinions on gender
theological takes on hell or the rapture
and this would be very understandable, and I would argue very normal.
Contempt moves beyond anger and into overwhelming hatred of the person that thinks or feels different than you. No longer are they an image bearer of God that differs in opinion from you; now they are an arch enemy that must be despised wholesale. This kind of perspective creates a scaling division that is fueled by contempt. We’ve seen this especially in the last few years with politics. Author Arthur Brooks says, “America is addicted to political contempt.”2 I agree.
But contempt is not limited to politics. I experienced this personally when I had a difference of opinion on a very popular pop star who is beloved by many. Some of the very people who messaged me about how much my ministry and theology efforts in various areas had been such a blessing and source of encouragement to them, after watching my “hot take,” replied with some of the nastiest, anger-filled words that ended with “I’ll be unfollowing you now, and I’m done with you.”
This, my friends, is the spirit of the age - contempt.
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Ephesians 2:1–2, NIV)
I think one of the great tragedies for believers specifically who live out contempt in their lives is that they were actually set free from this in Christ and yet willingly chose to be held captive by it.
How do we deal with contempt? I think we can practically do three things. First, we practice forgiveness. Second, we embody the fruit of the Spirit. Third, we live out the virtues of the Kingdom of God detailed in the Sermon on the Mount.
Practice Forgiveness:
The English word “forgive” is a multi-faceted concept in the Hebrew Bible and throughout the New Testament. The idea throughout the Old Testament is that forgiveness is something that we should be indulgent towards. Forgiveness is heavy and costly. And then in the New Testament we see that forgiveness is about releasing that weight and burden. It is about a debt that has been freely cleared, not to let the other person off the hook, but to free yourself from the entrapment of resentment and yes, contempt.
Here is the relief that many of you also need to hear. The Bible does not demand that we forgive and are required to be reconciled. We can forgive, and release, and establish a boundary for the sake of safety and our own personal sanity and just move on with our lives to honor the Lord in all that we say and do.
We Embody The Fruit of The Spirit
Take some time and read through Galatians 5 and the fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit has a goal. To edify the people of God and to glorify God. This means that when we practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness… and the list goes on - we are, in fact, inoculating ourselves against the sickness that is contempt. The fruit of the Spirit is given to all believers. Some may come more naturally to us than others, but we don’t get to say we only have some and not others. So we embrace fully what comes naturally, and we learn through the process of sanctification to practice those that are hard and painful. Whatever we practice, we will get better at!
We Live Out The Virtues of the Kingdom of God
The greatest sermon ever preached was by Jesus, and it’s called the Sermon on the Mount. Every part of the Sermon on the Mount protects citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven from being enticed and corrupted by contempt. I’ll end with something very simple.
Finish this article by reading Matthew chapters 5-7.
When we embody the virtues of the Kingdom of Heaven, we will suffocate out the oxygen that contempt requires to live and thrive on.
Here’s a bonus for us. Something Arthur Brooks states that I think is so important, “Gratitude is, quite simply, a contempt killer.”3 The challenge for us today would be to look at those that we have anger and contempt towards and force ourselves to figure out at least one thing that we are grateful for in what they do or say. This could be in the area of politics, theology, social situations or cultural perspectives. It could be music that you hate. Whatever it is, learning to find something that we can find gratitude for will over time deal with the virus that has plagued our society called - contempt.
Horne, Charles, and Julius Bewer. The Bible and Its Story: The History, II Samuel to II Chronicles. Vol. 4. New York, NY: Francis R. Niglutsch, 1909.
Love Your Enemies, Arthur Brooks; Pg. 28
Ibid, Pg. 58.