Dear Choice Makers:

A Calvinist dies and finds himself at a crossroads where there are two signs pointing down two different roads. One says in big letters, “Predestination Believers,” and the other says, “Free Will Believers.” Being a Calvinist and believing in predestination, he takes the predestination road. He walks down the road and comes to a huge golden door with the word PREDESTINATION written above it. He knocks, and an angel opens the door and asks, “What brings you to my door”? The Calvinist answers, “There were two signs, and I chose the one that says predestination." The angel says, “You chose it? Well then, you can’t come in,” and slams the door shut. The Calvinist is crushed and walks back to the crossroads where the two signs are. He goes down the free will road and comes to another huge gold door with the words FREE WILL written above it. Another angel opens the door and asks, “What brings you to my door?” And the Calvinist says, “I had no choice!”

I remembered this joke the other day while scrolling social media. It dawned on me that about 80% of the non-clickbait posts are people trying to convince other people that they are dangerously ignorant and the one posting is most deeply enlightened.

It reminded me of growing up in a brand of evangelicalism that carried the burden of rescuing other souls from hell. We were, all of us, on a conveyor belt to damnation, but fortunately some had seen the light and jumped over to the heaven-bound conveyor powered by Jesus. Our job was to persuade the people on the downward path to join us on the upward path by any means necessary. At the end of their earthly journey, as their doomed transport flipped them into torment, it would be our heartbreak that we had not been more persuasive. If only we had tried harder, their eternal doom would not have been sealed.

On the other hand, we were comforted by the fact that they were unrepentant sinners and we were the righteous. It was just as well that we didn’t have to spend eternal glory with that bunch of morons. So, most of our “evangelism” wasn’t really trying to change others as much as pointing out the evil consequences of their stupidity. This method, of course, persuaded few and kept the wonders of heaven from being overcrowded with losers.

What if we actually changed the minds of people for whom we had neither respect nor love? That would be awkward because it would imply obligatory fellowship with the formerly unclean. It was far easier to shout insults across the void than to demonstrate authentic concern; they were too foolish to convert, so why not insult them along the way?

That thought has given me pause. Attending a virtual conference a few weeks ago, one of the presenters offered the acronym W.A.I.T. to be considered before posting or speaking—this was an abbreviation for Why Am I Talking. If the purpose of my contribution is to insult others or promote my superiority, perhaps I should just keep quiet and WAIT until I have something constructive to offer. Am I looking to help or hoping to hurt? In the end, there’s a choice.

Seeking to stay on the right path, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor