Thank God That Jesus Doesn’t Promote Cancel Culture

Cancel culture is everywhere right now.  If someone speaks, acts or thinks in a way that the mob decides is unworthy or hateful, then the trend dictates that such person be erased from society.  Shunning and silencing are not just acceptable, they are mandatory to keep status within the mob.  It is taken so far as to impact the offender’s current and future ability to make a living.  There is no redemption for whom the mob decides is unworthy.

This is not to say that there should not be consequences when people express themselves.  Natural consequences have always been a part of society.  We are free to listen to or do business with whomever we wish.  We are also free to change hearts and minds through winning the battle of ideas, and to civilly debate or stand against what we think is wrong.  But cancel culture takes this much further – there is no debate, and even if the offender repents, it is not enough.  Only permanent destruction is enough for the mob.

Cancel culture is toxic in the following ways:

• It crushes freedom of expression for fear of saying the wrong thing.
• It offers no chance for redemption of the accused, and can ruin lives.
• It promotes dangerous mob mentality.
• It can target anyone, since humans are imperfect.

Most importantly, it flies in the face of Christian teachings.  Thank God (literally) that Jesus was and is not about cancelling those who fall short.  His ministry was based on healing, forgiving and including the undesirables of the society, from lepers to tax collectors.  Today, Jesus invites all of us to a personal relationship with him, no matter what we have done or where we are in our lives.  He extends forgiveness, grace and friendship to us – inviting us to eternal life with Him.  With humility, we should recognize that we all fall short – we are in no position to judge.  All we can do is accept God’s redemption as the free gift that it is.

As the popular culture drifts further and further away from God, none of this is surprising.  People may ignore God, but the desire for redemption is intrinsic within the human person.   Outside of God, true redemption is not possible.  By cancelling others, the mob attempts to assert its own righteousness by contrast.  The belief seems to be that the more the offender is diminished, the greater the mob is elevated.  Not only is this untrue, it is evil in its very nature, and will eventually fall apart.

Jesus made it clear that we are to forgive others – forgive or we will not be forgiven by God for our own sins and mistakes.  This is practical, since we are all sinners and not one of us will survive the cancel culture that is permeating.  In the end, we will have created a society of complete brokenness and unforgiveness.  Therefore, it is up to us to resist cancel culture as we encounter it, and to extend forgiveness to all those who hurt us, especially those who we think are undeserving.