I’ve just recently started reading, “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by Eric Metaxas. I know I’m nearly a decade late to the party, but better late than never. It’s a great book, so far, and one I would highly recommend.
In the section I’m currently reading, Metaxas looks at the seeds of anti-Semitism which were planted in Germany. Unfortunately, one of those seeds was likely planted by one of our Protestant heroes—Martin Luther. Though an early supporter of Jews, and one who wanted to see their conversion, as Luther grew older he became a very outspoken critic. His use of insults and hyperbole is well documented. These types of statements which were made against the Jews were picked up by the Nazi’s as fuel for their anti-Semitism.
Though Luther would not have been a fan of the godless Nazis, they were all too happy to use his rants for their own agenda. Metaxas writes,
“The constant repetition of Luther’s ugliest statements served the Nazi’s purposes and convinced most Germans that being a German and being a Christian were a racial inheritance, and that neither was compatible with being Jewish.”
And again:
“What [Luther] wrote during this time would rightly haunt his legacy for centuries and would in four centuries become the justification for such evils as Luther in even his most constipated mood could not have dreamed.”
That last statement got me thinking. Wicked people using Luther’s writings to do even greater evil than Luther does not excuse him. And this is the tragedy of Luther; namely, his legacy and (more importantly) the name of Christ has been marred by his words. The same is true of us.
I realize that for the vast majority of us, what we write, share or post has little influence on the world, but the principle is the same whether our words are used to excuse holocaust or vitriol. Thinking of Luther in this light and how his legacy was damaged makes me wonder, “How often have I marred my legacy (as insignificant as it is) by posting something in the heat of the moment? How many times have my ‘constipated moods’ reflected poorly on not only me, but on Christ and His Church.”
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” In fact, Scripture is replete with warnings about the destructive nature of the tongue. It is past time for us to take these warnings to heart. We must bridle not only our physical tongues, but our digital tongues as well. At the end of my life, I don’t want people to know more about my political leanings or what theological camp I’m in than they know about the Christ who saved me.
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” – James 1:26. May this not be true of us, and may God grant us repentance for the many times we’ve marred the name of Christ through idle speech and cantankerous posting.
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