School of Theology

Last month I traveled far more than was good for me.  For several unexpected days I found myself on the campus of a small, rather conservative school in the southeastern part of the country.  It's a pleasant place with a nice little library so I set up shop there part of every day. 

One day one of the students brought over the front page of the USA Today and pointed out a particular story.  "See this," he said.  "USA Today is always pushing their agenda."

"They are?  Interesting.  Why do you say that," I replied.

"I track this.  They do this every day.  Every issue has some story that pushes their liberal agenda."

I was interested in his point of view so we chatted for a while.  I asked him, "What do you want to do when you graduate?"

His answer was quick, laced with passionate conviction.  "I'm going to fight for the truth.  I'm going to fight for my conservative Christian truth."

He went back to his work.  I finished mine and traveled on.  But his words have stuck with me.

I am pretty sure USA Today isn't planting stories with the express purpose of challenging and destroying my friend's world.  They are just being themselves.  If they even know about his world, they know only the barest caricature.  They are just being themselves.

So when he shows up to fight them, their first response will be, "Why are you so angry?"

I know more than one person like this friend.  They live in worlds that are pressed down and threatened with destruction by the faceless influence of larger, dominating ways of life.  

Most of them are angry.  Some of them actually blow things up. 

But my friend will lose his fight because his "enemy" is too big and too indifferent to even know it has made him an enemy.

More importantly, he will lose his fight because anger only wins the hearts of similarly disaffected souls. 

Only love is winsome enough to capture the imagination of this preoccupied world.