ESCAPE OR ENGAGE

 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:10 (NIV)

                There has been a commercial running on TV lately that has captured my attention. It is not that I am interested in the company it represents, but in the message that it gives. If you watched the Super Bowl, you have probably seen it. It is a commercial for Salesforce and it stars Matthew McConaughey. The line that grabs me is, “It’s not time to escape but to engage.”

                We live in a world that is constantly looking for ways to escape. As the commercial points out, many people are looking at things like the “Metaverse” or colonies on Mars as a way to escape the issues we face right here on earth. Many people prefer to live in a virtual world, where they can control all of the variables, rather than engage in a very real world with its uncertainty and risk. Yet we cannot truly escape our world. Whether we like it or not, it is the only world we have.

                Unfortunately, some within the church have chosen the route of escape over that of engaging. This is nothing new. From the time of the first monastic movements, there have been those in the church we have chosen to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. It seems safer to close ranks and live within our tightknit Christian community, rather than be fully engaged in the world around us.

                The Bible calls us to fully engage rather than try to escape. We are to be a positive influence in our world wherever we are. Jesus said that we are to be salt and light in our world. We are to be salt, both adding flavor to life as well as acting as a preservative. We are to be light, both exposing the sin of the world and illuminating the way toward God’s grace, forgiveness, and restoration. As Jesus makes it very clear, in order for us to be salt and light we need to be fully engaged with the world around us.

                For us to really make a positive difference in the world around us we need to demonstrate a better way of living, right here, right now. Paul gives us a roadmap for engaging with our world. He basically is telling us to chose to live in stark contrast to the world around us.

 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:29-32 (NIV)

                Paul then sums up what it means to be a positive influence in our world. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)

                There are many practical ways that we can demonstrate the love of God to the people around us, but we can only do it if we engage with them, not escape from them. As the commercial so rightly states, “It’s not time to escape, it’s time to engage.”

Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)