Lost in the uproar: Discretion. Responsibility

First of all, let's be clear: this is my opinion. It is only my opinion. As the blog disclaimer clearly states, my words do not represent any official opinion of the Western North Carolina Conference. My opinion. That's what the blog-form conveys. Having said that, here's my opinion:

We have lost our minds in this country.
My observation is that we as a culture are going through a very immature phase. I pray that it is a phase. The phase is characterized by an independent streak that declares itself consistently like this: "This is a free country. I can do whatever I please." And the corollary of this declaration of freedom is this: "And, if you try to stop me from saying or doing whatever I want, I will attack you for violating my freedom." Whoa. I hear it in the culture and run into it in the church every day. Friends (this is my opinion and only my opinion), we are on the wrong track!
Does anyone believe that "I can do anything I want to" honors the freedom? Or that it builds up our common life? Or that, more pertinent to me and those who would read my opinion, does "I can do whatever I want to!!!" bear any resemblance to Christian faith? Paul had this same fight with the Galatians when they misunderstood freedom in Christ. Just because they were free in Christ did not mean they had license to sin. Freedom does not mean that now I can do whatever I want.
This is a constant uproar in our country. People in public say untrue things, distorted things (especially in election time), extreme things and divisive things--and defend their irresponsibility with an appeal to freedom of speech. It makes me crazy. Just because you live in a country where you have the freedom to say something false doesn't mean it is right for anyone to be misleading or false. Freedom of speech is not a permission slip for dishonesty. Freedom carries responsibility for all citizens. For Christians, doubly so. It is wrong to say "I live in a country which values freedom of speech. That means I can say anything I want to." That's an attitude of irresponsibility.
The way it looks to me is that public figures are actually penalized for discretion. Discretion doesn't make headlines. Discretion doesn't feed sensationalization-hungry media who are looking for the shocking angle to sucker people into the drama. "No boundaries" is the current modus operandi of our culture. It is breaking my heart, it is tearing us up as a people and it is undermining the Christian faith.
I am not an expert on responsibility and discretion for any platform except the church. That's an area that every pastor -- and especially every DS--needs to be an expert in because we have a corollary freedom: the freedom of speech in the pulpit. One of the greatest gifts of the United Methodist Church to its people is the gift of a free pulpit. That is, our congregations do not hire and they do not fire their pastors. We believe that serves our churches well in many ways -- but one of the most important is the freedom of the pastor to preach his/her conscience without fear of being fired. It's hard -- not impossible, but very hard--to speak God's prophetic word if the congregation can get together the next day, fire you and leave you and your family homeless and jobless. United Methodists have a sending ministry and, thereby, our preachers have a free pulpit. We encourage our pastors to study, pray and preach what God lays on their heart. Preaching God's word freely is the gift of the free pulpit and the greatest benefit to any congregation.
But we also insist that the platform of the pulpit is a place of responsibility. And I am now part of the accountability system in place that shows how much the church values responsibility. Just because our preachers are free to preach God's Word does not mean they are free to mis-use the pulpit for personal passions. For example, while I have very passionate political convictions, it is not appropriate for me to use my platform position with people to tell them who to vote for in the election. That would be irresponsible and I have never done it. I can appropriately urge members in the congregation to vote. But I would misuse my freedom and my place of influence as a pastor to tell people who to vote for--or to publicly criticize a church member from the pulpit. That would be wrong -- even if my criticism is fully justified. Freedom is not license to tear people up. Speaking your mind doesn't require that you tell it all. There's a responsibility that goes along with a platform.
And that's what we are missing in this country. People with a platform think that they can say or do anything they want. I strenuously disagree. People with a platform --an entre into people's lives have a responsibility to be honest, balanced and responsible in what they say. I cannot conceive of any thinking Christian disagreeing with that.
And yet, many Christians tune into --and let their thoughts be shaped by--politicians and media who do not live out standards of honesty, discretion or responsibility. In fact, some people deliberately tune into the strident voices. While it may have more entertainment value to listen to people rant and rave than to get a balanced picture, tuning to heated opinions rather than measured assessments has a terrible price for the listener--and we are paying a terrible price in our country and our communities and our churches. The overspill is toxic. The effect on people's well being and relationships is devastating.
I would not tell people, even in my blog, where to get their information. Even though this is my opinion and only my opinion, I still feel a sense of responsibility to an ethical and fair presentation of issues. But I have questions for all freedom-loving, freedom-benefitting Christians:
1. Do you get information about the world from one or from multiple sources?
2. Does your preferred information provider have a reputation for reliable, balanced information or opinions that largely reflect one perspective?
3. Do you believe everything your information provider says or do you check out the facts of something that was reported before you get upset?
4. Does your information provider slant reports in drastic terms, use sensational language? Is there name-calling and criticism of others as part of the coverage?
5. Does listening to your information provider help you love others or be a more faithful disciple of Jesus Christ?

Questions 1 - 4 give you important clues to the integrity of whatever you choose to give your attention to. Question 5 is truly the key question for all Christians.