ROC – Polarisation: How we as Christians can deal with the increasingly varied and differing messages and opinions around us in a troubled world

26 August 2021

Today, the Orthodox Parents Group met at the Monastery. We discussed about how as Orthodox Christians we deal with adversity in today’s world of contrasting messages.

We are all different. God has uniquely made each one of us, and it is only natural that we also have different views or opinions on various aspects of everyday life. This, however, should not be something that separates or divides us. Above all we should never forget that God made us ‘according to His Image and Likeness’, and this unites us as children of the one true God, brothers and sisters in Christ.

We live in difficult times, and we are continuously challenged, almost on a daily basis, by new developments amidst a pandemic that has shaken the whole world. We have been affected in more than one ways by this crisis, which is not only physical, but also psychological and spiritual. So many voices echo, so many messages urge us to do this or that, to follow one direction or another. Logic is no more. What you think is logical appears completely irrational to another, and vice versa. What you think is the right thing to do is the exact thing someone else proclaims to be a huge mistake. How do we find our way in this confusion, and importantly, how do we as parents protect and guide our children? After all, we are now working for their future. Saint John Chrysostom said “With us everything should be secondary compared to our concern with children, and their upbringing in the instruction and teaching of the Lord.”

Children are very receptive to everything that’s going on around them. They understand, even from a very young age, that the world is going through a significant challenge right now. How they will respond to it and grow in it depends on the parents. The children see our example and imitate it. If they see anger in their parents, they will be angry too. If they see confusion, they will be confused too. If they see bad behaviour and disrespect towards others, they will behave in this way too. On the other hand, if the children see their parents putting their complete trust in the Lord, fervently praying for mercy for the whole humanity and for discernment, maintaining their peace and clarity of mind as much as possible, and showing respect and love towards others, even those sharing a different opinion, then that is how the children will behave too.

The Apostle Paul says “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”(Philipp. 2:3). “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world…”(Philipp. 2:14-15).

The disagreements amongst us and differing messages we are receiving, even from people we trust and look up to, should not separate us from each other or from the love of God. We should put aside all our fears, or as the Fathers of the Church say, we should lay our fears, burdens and cares on our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that He never has and never will abandon us, trusting in Him who made us and the whole world, who thought of us and loved us from the very beginning, that He will guide us through all and any difficulty to our salvation, as long as we follow our conscience in everything we do and regularly participate in the Mysteries of Confession and Holy Communion that our Church offers to aid our salvation. “Fear not, for I have overcome the world” says the Lord (John 16:33).

When we lay all our fears in the Lord’s trust and find peace in our hearts, we must also be vigilant about pride. Pride, thinking we know better and trying to impose our opinion on others, often in a disrespectful way, is not Christ-like and can separate us from each other. We must all individually be aware of what we are doing and make informed decisions for ourselves, but whatever our personal choices, we should not force them on anyone, either directly or indirectly. Rather, we should be an example of Christian love, be respectful and understanding of everyone, without judging or rejecting our brothers and sisters, either within our Christian communities or outside.

In these trying times, as Christians we are called to share the burdens we each carry. Acts of love and mercy, reaching out to those in need, are essential! We are all one body, the Body of the Church, and Christ is the Head of this Body. Let us not neglect the needs of our neighbour!

Completely trusting in the Lord, which brings peace and joy in our hearts, respecting, loving and understanding everyone around us, should all be accompanied by fervent prayer and tears of repentance. Now is the time to completely turn to our Lord Jesus Christ and repent! To know that He is the only light at the end of the tunnel, the only salvation, the only consolation! If we feel desperate and confused, Christ can safely guide us – let us all fervently ask Him for His mercy and for the gift of discernment.

Our primary focus is to spiritually prepare ourselves for eternity, and also guide our children towards this through our example. We should never forget that our lives are in God’s hands. He looks after the birds of the air and the flowers of the field – He can’t look after us? (Matthew 6:26-27)

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

We as Christians should therefore make every effort through our continuous spiritual struggle of ‘nipsi’ to be the shining light of Christ into today’s world of darkness through our gentle and loving actions.