I had drafted a post on the Israel-Hamas War, but after finishing, I didn’t feel it hit right.      

Each edit made it swing into directions I didn’t want to go.  Too hard.  Too biased.  Too safe.  Too neutral.  Too philosophical.  I shelved it.

Trust me, as an evangelical Christian and a man of Jewish extraction, I have plenty to say on the situation.  

With a Bible on one hand and a keyboard at another, we can certainly speak with authority on a great many things in our world.  But sometimes it’s easy to stray out of our own lane.   After George Floyd was killed in 2020, a lot of folks in pulpits wanted to say something or write something about it.  They regretted it later, as further information came to light surrounding the complex issues of the case.  In other words, they rushed to judgment.  They wanted clicks and likes (which they got aplenty), but didn’t think through whether their opinions would age well, much less edify.  The Proverb says, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (18:17).

What’s a minister to do except stick with something eternal, that cannot be proven irrelevant, or wrong, in the end?    

I’m not saying cowardice should keep us silent on current events.  Actually, some ministers speak out on issues, and do it well.  But they’re on tap for it.  The Lord has gifted them with enlightened insights—wisdom—without creating unnecessary heat.    

A fellow like me, involved with simple shepherding, discipleship, and inner life concerns, probably has no business pontificating on global issues that have yet to finish cooking.  For a while, prayer and watchfulness are a better course of action before trotting out the keyboard.  Besides, better men than I have been hurt meddling in things we weren’t called to:

“After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. But he sent envoys to him, saying, ‘What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.’ Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, ‘Take me away, for I am badly wounded.’ So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah”  (2 Chron 25:20-24).