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Does the way you talk about politics reflect the grace, patience, and humility of Jesus Christ? No matter which side of the political spectrum you’re on, it’s difficult to avoid hearing (or participating in) the vicious, grace-less talk that is the native language of political discourse today. But how does that square up with the Bible?

This devotional from Words of Hope gets right to the point:

In the world of cable news and talk radio, politics is played out much like old sports rivalries. The two teams have a blind hatred for each other, often regardless of truth, reality, or common sense. The current “losing team” (whoever is out of power) usually spends most of its time abhorring, disparaging, and making up lies about the opposing side. Political pundits create caricatures of their rivals and then attack them. And too often we mistake this kind of behavior for hard news, which is like mistaking a pep rally for the actual game.

Ephesians 4 calls us to be humble, gentle, and patient. It says we are to make every effort to be unified and peaceful. Unfortunately, we aren’t very good at this when it comes to politics. We often do the opposite, continually looking for reasons to call names and point fingers.

Grace-filled speech isn’t something to practice every now and then—it’s something to be actively pursued in every conversation you have or blog post you write. The devotional concludes with some suggestions for how you might respond the next time you encounter (or are tempted to engage in) this sort of interaction. Read the full devotional at Words of Hope.

Is this something you’ve encountered, or that you struggle with? How do you balance speaking the truth (about politics, religion, or any other topic) with speaking gracefully?

One of the goals of contemporary Christianity is to translate the Bible into every possible language. It’s a desire that flows from the Great Commission in which Jesus tells us to go make disciples of all nations. We see Bible translation as a way to ensure that everyone has access to becoming one of Christ’s disciples.

Yesterday, I ran across a fascinating article yesterday that Lausanne Pulse published a few years ago about the history of Bible translation. In the article they mention that the Bible spent the first 1500 years of Christianity in only 35 languages. It wasn’t until the Reformation that Christians started focusing on Bible translation. Yet despite that renewed focus, it took the organization of the Bible Societies in the 1800s for Christians for it to really take off.

The following is a conglomeration of two charts from the Lausanne Pulse article, Bible Translation in a New Millennium:

I don’t have much commentary on this other than to say that it’s just amazing to see how we’ve doubled the number of languages the Bible can be read in in the past seventy years! Yet, even though we’ve made such great progress in the past few hundred years, there are still about 4,000 languages to go.

What do you make of the famous third commandment?

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. — Exodus 20:7

How do you understand this command? Is it talking about profanity and swearing? Can you misuse God’s name without saying anything at all?

Share your thoughts!