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The talk has turned into reality, and we now have new laws to combat hate speech and vilification. I would imagine most of us thought the laws we already had were sufficient, but apparently not.

You will have already worked out that hate speech laws are a two-edged sword. Put forward as being for protection, they can be equally used for control. That’s been the case with the infamous section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. And one can’t imagine it being different with the new laws that have come into place.

A 12-Gauge Problem

When I first went to India many years ago, the process of changing money was a mini-drama. In banks in those days, there was always an armed guard sitting behind a pile of sandbags, brandishing a 12-gauge shotgun. Guessing at the capabilities of a shotgun in a crowd, I was never quite sure whether to feel safe or in danger. Were there to be the need to use it against robbers, the guard could readily hit his target. He would also hit a wide range of the general population in the process.

I think we all know that’s the way hate speech laws will work. Because the word “hate” is an ill-defined term, whose meaning is a motive and an attitude. Unless stated by the offender, motives can only be guessed at. Its application in law, therefore, requires a judge who is a mind reader, able to determine motive and attitude. Or, as is usually the case, its meaning is determined by the level of ire of the person who claims to be offended.

A Call for Wisdom

Given all that, we need to help each other stay on track. It’s a call for wisdom. Sadly, wisdom can sometimes in short supply when we Christians decide we will be the one who will turn the tide of society by our witty comment on social media. That just isn’t going to happen, is it?

A man is in court in the UK at the moment for carrying a poster that said, “Love Muslims; hate Islam; Jesus is love and hope.” It hardly takes an Einstein to work out that if you put the words hate and Muslim on the one poster, you are not going to have people falling to their knees in admiration.

And it doesn’t take much effort to work out that if you are telling people that Jesus is love but that they should hate, you are doing a very good job of shooting yourself in the foot.

(It occurs to me that to knock off the first four words and simply say, “Jesus is love and hope,” would probably have had more effect. Just a thought…)

Don’t get me wrong. In a society that values free speech, the poster man should not have been arrested! But given the mood of society, he shouldn’t have been quite so unaware. You don’t make friends with a bull while waving a red flag in front of it.

As a former advertising copywriter, I can tell you that the fewer the words, the more time might be taken to compose them. Every nuance, every subtle inference, every ambiguity is tested and retested. Companies spend a fortune getting half a dozen slogan-words right.

Think of the horrendous backlash that many have received because their quick few words on X (Twitter) or Facebook have been misread. (Jon Ronson’s book, “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed,” [Picador, 2016] has some sobering examples. Worth reading.)

So, let’s be wise. If you want to make the pithy comment that will turn the tide of society, think hard about what you want to say and then don’t say it.

Does It Need to Be Said?

The issue actually goes further than just the brevity of X-style comments. In principle, ask yourself if you really do need to say what you are about to send out to the world. Many have been taken to task — sacked, “pilloried”, even arrested — for comments presenting (for example) a Christian view of marriage.

I recall one very recent case in which the one who was cut off from his career because of a miscalculated social media post, went public to say he was being “persecuted for his faith”. No, he was being persecuted for his lack of wisdom. Our faith is not our view on marriage. It’s not even central. Scripture does speak on the subject. But the first step towards a Christian marriage is the word “Christian.” People need to get over that threshold first.

We certainly have a Biblical view on marriage, but that’s because we revere the Bible. Those who don’t, don’t. Wisdom is called for.

A Better Way

The best way to overcome hatred is with love, and the best way to love is to, well, love… in action, not on a poster. The best way to flavour society with a Christian view of marriage is not to broadcast your views on how wrong unbelievers are, but to demonstrate Christ in your marriage. That may not give the thrill of being heard by the masses who rummage around the sewer of social media, but you will most likely be effective among those who see and know you.

Marriage is just an example, a subject we have been vocal on. Any subject requires the same diligence and focus. (As always, I distinguish between moral preferences and outright evil, such as the convenience killing of the unborn and the frail aged.)

How did Jesus put it? “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Visible Christianity. That’s his method. Peter was listening to the Sermon On The Mount and brought Jesus’ words back to us,

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” (1 Peter 2:12)

But isn’t that a bit tame? A rather weak approach? Only if God is not at work. Jesus promised, “Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” With words and without words, whether we know it or not.

Back to the Hate Laws

So, back to where we got in. We now face new hate speech laws. We can handle this! Sure, they’ll be a boon to the adversaries of Christ, but God is greater.

In many persecuted nations, the Gospel is bearing immense fruit without social media, posters and street parades, without free speech and with an openly hostile police force (militia.)

Proverbs tells us, “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.” We are not afraid of truth, or of using words, or of the consequences of standing for Christ. We just need wisdom to make sure it is Christ we are standing for, not a secondary idea or lifestyle preference. And let’s make sure we present Him as He would wish to be presented. For God so loved the world, He didn’t send a slogan or Facebook post. He sent a living, breathing Jesus of Nazareth. He now sends us.

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Image courtesy of Adobe.