Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. (Jude 2)
Father Richard Rohr, in a recent book, asserted, “The best criticism of the bad is to practice the better.” It is easy to get caught up in quarreling and debate with someone or some organization with whom you disagree—but quarrels rarely result in changing either side’s views or actions. This type of fighting often results in further polarization and isolated communities. This does not mean that we should not speak up when we see bad actions, but rather, it gives us another way to speak out against it. We can speak up most loudly with our lives more than our voices.
It would be easy to read this short letter from Jude and focus on his condemnation of the false teachers who had infiltrated the churches of his readers, but in doing so we would miss his overall point. His prayer for his readers was not that their enemies would be vanquished, but rather that they would live lives of mercy, peace, and love. He knew that the only way they could overcome the ungodliness that was occurring both inside and outside the church would be to have lives of ever-increasing godliness. Jesus modeled this in his interactions with the religious leaders of his time. He challenged them with his life, and he challenges us to do the same today.
In the face of the bad, practice the better.
Mark Moore PhD is an associate professor of theology at William Jessup University and the spiritual formation pastor at Faith Legacy Church in Sacramento, California.
© 2023 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
