Political correctness is quite a taskmaster. It often prevents us from getting to the real truth. For example, in the recent presidential campaign here in America, President Bush suggested that the struggle with terrorism will be with us for a long time and that there is no way to eliminate it all together; instead, his administration’s task would be to reduce the threat of terrorism.
The media reacted negatively to this moment of truth and punished him. President Bush dutifully retreated to the less accurate and more unsupportable position of eliminating terrorism all together. John Kerry had a similar experience.
Why do human beings have difficulty being realistic? The ultimate result of such political correctness is disappointment and discontent among those who look up to such leaders for solutions.
Have you ever had anyone place unrealistic expectations on you that you couldn’t possibly achieve, and then find them upset with you for not meeting them? I have.
This happens in churches, institutions, and even families. We are often willing to accept lies or believe things that aren’t true even when, with a little thought, we could clearly see the fallacy of our thinking.
Yet, because it is not the picture we want to believe or the experience that we want to have, we are willing to create our own reality and blithely live in it until we come face to face with the genuine. Then we become disappointed.
I know an increasing number of people, for example, who are disillusioned with their church fellowship. They have blithely accepted what they have been told and think that everything is just as it should be in Zion. Then they are hit with the reality of the enormous apostasy that plagues God’s church. Their eyes are suddenly opened, and they sometimes react in extreme ways.
Why is it easier to hide problems and protect those who are doing wrong or who are teaching error? Is it because many want to support unsustainable notions about the condition of God’s church in these last days? This is not the time for fables. It is the time for truth.
If members refrain from speaking out on things that matter, the illusion of “peace and safety” will continue until it is, perhaps, too late. Then they may be lost because of their disillusionment. May we, each one, be careful to face reality with a holy boldness. Sweep it not under the proverbial “carpet.” It is time to prepare for the crisis, and God’s people must be warned.
If you are punished for it, you are not alone. Jesus was, too.
God bless you.
