Today there is what could be called a "social justice war" going on. Liberals and conservatives are at each others throats, spreading lies and slandering the other side. Everyone is angry, and the adrenaline rush they get from this "righteous anger" keeps them angry. While it is hurting the world to be fighting like this, how more is it hurting us individually? Are we so distracted by this war that we are allowing Satan to undermine our faith and prevent our forming virtues?
In Jesus's sermon on the mount, He teaches, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?" (Matthew 7:3-4). Are we calling out the other side, telling them about the mote in their eye while we, in our own lives, are suffering from a beam in the eye? It may seem like the causes in this social justice war are the most important things, but if we are not working on our relationship with the Savior, praying and studying the scriptures daily, and increasing in charity toward others, then we are losing the real war--the war against Satan.
There is injustice in the world. There is racism, unfair wages, favoritism, unfair biases, and undo violence toward others. However, we cannot help fix the bad in the world before we fix the bad in ourselves. As I was reminded by a recent Facebook post, in the event of an airplane crash we need to put our own oxygen mask on before assisting others.
Back to The Screwtape Letters: In that same chapter, Screwtape says, "Give me without fail in your next letter a full account of the patient's reactions to the war, so that we can consider whether you are likely to do more good by making him an extreme patriot or an ardent pacifist." This statement presents two more ways Satan can try to bring us down: By making us "an extreme patriot or an ardent pacifist."
First, I will address the idea of being a patriot. I am all for passion; if you've ever met my husband, you know that passionate discussions fill most of our car rides. He is passionate about everything from his faith to his jokes about invading Canada to his conviction when saying the phrase "God bless the USA." The problem with passion and patriotism comes when we let zealousness for "the cause" overcome our desires for kindness, understanding, and civility. In a way, extreme patriotism can shift us from worshiping God to worshiping the cause.
Today, many people have left their faith to join "the religion of social justice." All their energy and thoughts go into fighting for the cause on social media and hating the other side. Jesus said, "For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another" (3 Nephi 11:29). Satan wants us to fight, because Jesus says, "if ye are not one ye are not mine" (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27), and the devil wants us to be anything but the Lord's.
On the other hand, Satan is also happy with us being ardent pacifists. In the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni actively fights to defend "the cause of Christians" (Alma 48:10) by encouraging righteousness and physically preparing to defend their city. Mormon, the man who abridged the Book of Mormon, says of Moroni: "...this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity. Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men" (Alma 48:16-17).
Satan does not want lose his power over our hearts, so he does not want us to be like Moroni. He does this by encouraging pacifism, the idea that "it doesn't hurt me, so why bother fighting it?" And it's true: You may never have been attacked because of your race, or neither you nor your children were killed by abortion, so it's not your problem, right? Wrong! We are taught to "mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:9), which includes standing up for their rights and helping to protect the defenseless. If our lives are so good, then we need to raise awareness for and give aid to those who's lives are less so.
So where's the balance? How do we help others while avoiding contention? That, I believe, is a personal decision, but I do have some suggestions. First, we can be kind. We can be bold and direct while avoiding a direct insults of those who believe opposing views. Using kind words and pictures goes a long way. Second, try to understand others. Even if you don't agree, show understanding as you express your views. Acknowledge the struggles and ideas that led to having opposing views. Third, don't just fight the bad, but add good to the world. It is in loving and serving others that we will make the most difference, much more than fighting against the bad that we see in the world.
Our ultimate goal is to return to live with God, and to help our family and friends return to Him, too. As we work on improving ourselves, avoiding contention, and trying to make the world a better place, we can completely thwart whatever Screwtape and Wormwoods there are trying to drag us down and successfully become more like Christ. That will make us happy, and the world better.
Love it! Very well said!
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