Finger Pointing and Name Calling

Ever since I became politically vocal on Facebook and active within our local Republican Party, I quite often receive comments or hear of criticism that I’m a “rabble rouser,” or that simply asking pointed questions and/or addressing dishonesty within our leadership is “hateful,” “rude,” and “mean-spirited.”

It’s interesting that the ones accusing me of hate are also professing Christians. Since perhaps they need a refresh of the Christian walk, let’s take a look at some scripture:

“𝐖𝐨𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬! 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.” (Matthew 23:27)

“𝐘𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐲𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥?” (Matthew 23:33)

Was Jesus hateful, rude, and mean-spirited for pointing his finger at the Pharisees and calling them names like white-washed tombs and serpents? Judge within yourselves.

“You’re not Jesus!” one might say.

Well:

“𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝.” (1 John 1 2:6)

“𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨; 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.” (John 14:15)

But, for the sake of the argument, let’s look at some non-Jesus related verses:

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫." (1 Timothy 5:20)

"𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞... 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡;" (Titus 1:11-13)

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞." (Titus 2:15)

"𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦." (Ephesians 5:11)

"𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝; 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧; 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐤𝐞, 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞." (2 Timothy 4:2)

The word "reprove" means:

1. to convict, refute, confute

1. generally with a suggestion of shame of the person convicted

2. by conviction to bring to the light, to expose

2. to find fault with, correct

1. by word

1. to reprehend severely, chide, admonish, reprove

2. to call to account, show one his fault, demand an explanation

2. by deed

1. to chasten, to punish

There are those who say "don't point the finger," but we are COMMANDED to reprove the works of darkness, which we can't do WITHOUT pointing the finger at the darkness!

Look at what Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:15-18:

"𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫: 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐬; 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞."

Was Paul wrong in NAMING Hymenaeus and Philetus? No. He dutifully warned the churches of their false doctrine and "vain babblings" which "eat as doth a canker."

Jesus reproved, John the Baptist reproved, the apostles reproved, prophets reprove. The un-Godly and religious don't like it and try to call it sin, because it exposes them. That's why they persecute the prophets.

"𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞." (Matthew 13:57)

"𝐘𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐲𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭: 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝, 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝? 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞; 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬:" (Acts 7:51-52)

If we’re not only allowed but ENCOURAGED to openly shine the light in the darkness within the Church, how much MORESO within our own party. A party infected by two-tounged and two-faced Christ-claiming politicians who are in each other’s beds and pockets, who speak sweet nothings to itching Christian ears to garner a vote, while using their positions to work the will of Baal.

Throughout scripture we see men and women of God continuously addressing, confronting, and correcting political leaders. Moses rebuked Pharaoh. Esther approached Ahaserus. Samuel, Saul. Elijah, Ahab. Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar… and the list goes on and on.

Confronting wrongdoing, hypocrisy, injustice, and poor leadership is not rude, mean, or hateful as some like to suggest. It’s righteously pointing the finger at self-serving opportunists so voters aren’t deceived by their honeyed words.

For of this sort are they who creep into our hallowed halls and assemblies, who conflate weakness for humility, hubris for strength, and compromise for diplomacy.

It is not only our privilege as Americans to hold our leaders accountable — it is our duty. And it has been our pious refusal to speak the hard word and stand against evildoing that has resulted in an anemic America.

So keep asking questions. Keep accountability. Keep pointing the finger and naming the names. Hold them responsible for their words and actions, and hold their feet to fire.

Only those working in darkness are offended by the light.

Be that light.

This is how we save our nation.