Well, did you see the notorious “Tim Tebow ad” on the super bowl last night?  If so, you can thank CBS for resisting the outrage of the pro-abortion folks.  For weeks in advance of the ad actually airing, they were doing all in their power to stop it because they were outraged that Pam Tebow’s story might even be told.  As it turns out, she never mentioned the word abortion and came across as a charming woman with an interesting story.  The sponsor, Focus on the Family, was the big winner and I am sure millions will do as they ask and go to their web site to read the whole story.  And all the outrage was for nothing.

Outrage is the coin of the realm in America today.  Cable networks and bloggers on the left and the right are perpetually outraged about something the other side is doing.  Politicians tap into that and are constantly outraged too, or more likely, good at faking it.  I wish that we Christians were immune but we are not.  For example, if you are a Christian and have e-mail, you almost certainly received an e-mail some time ago explaining how we needed to be outraged that Muslims were holding a national day of prayer in Washington.  They were full of “We need to stop this!  This is horrible!  How could our country come to this?!?!” 

Huh?  What happened to freedom of religion?  Or freedom of assembly?  How did Christians, who fought and died to launch a nation founded on these principles, come to be against them?  It is because we have been infected by the culture of outrage that permeates our land.  Read a paper, watch the news or, worse yet, go to the internet and you will find an endless list of things you ought to be outraged about. 

Here is an assignment…read the Gospels and find out what outraged Jesus, and what did not.  If you have time, read Paul’s letters and his story in Acts and see what outraged him and what did not.  Make a list.  And then compare it to what outrages Christians today.  My sad conclusion is that we are not outraged at the things that outraged Jesus and Paul and we are outraged at things they didn’t respond to emotionally.  In fact, I don’t see evidence that either of them was ever outraged at the actions of unbelievers but only at the actions of the people of God.  But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself.

How do we break free from the culture of outrage?  Grace gives the answer.  Take abortion…what if we stopped picketing abortion clinics and shooting their doctors and focused, as Pam Tebow did, on telling the story of life?  The overpowering truth is that those stories are entirely on our side.  And not just the Tim Tebow stories.  I have a friend who was advised to abort her child.  She resisted and carried the baby to term and every time I see that cute little girl my heart melts.  She may never be a superstar but she is precious.  Tell the stories, treat others who disagree with grace, and let the power of life speak.

In our heart of hearts, we are dismayed by the culture of outrage we see all around us.  All of us are.  Stories of grace always touch the hearts of even the most hardened outrage-centered person.  Just imagine what would happen if Christians, each and every one of us, determined to replace our outrage with grace.  But we live in the land of outrage.  Now, more than ever, we need to see ourselves as aliens in that land.  My plea is simple, the next time you are urged to be outraged at something…resist the outrage and choose grace as a way to respond.

Can you think of a way where you can confront genuine wrong-doing around us with grace instead of outrage?