Standing firm in the storm
And yes, HAPPY Memorial Day
As you hopefully celebrate your Memorial Day with family, remembering to thank God for the courage and sacrifice of those who have died, I want to make sure you don’t miss something else that just happened.
If you listened to the MemoPOD on Friday, you heard me talk about the talented kicker for the professional football team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Harrison Butker is a Catholic, who ignited a firestorm by going to a Catholic University and saying…wait for it…Catholic things. Specifically, he reminded the graduates that there is nothing wrong with, and in fact there is great value in, making the focus of your earthly existence the love and care of a family. The gist of the speech was this: cling to godly values over worldly ones, invest in your spouse and kids, and find fulfillment.
The outrage was as intense as it was put-on. Despite left-leaning academics having spent four years ingraining into millions of college graduates perverse, deceptive, and dangerous values from their lectern, pearl-clutching progressives freaked out that a professing Christian would say to a small group of them what God values. It’s amazing how presumptuous that is, no? “We have a right to ingrain our religious beliefs in college kids for four years and get paid insane amounts of money to do it. But don’t you dare think you can spend 20 minutes on graduation day providing a Christian viewpoint on life.”
They demanded his public censure, his “cancelling,” and that (get this) the Chiefs cut him from the team and replace him with a woman. (Insert facepalm emoji here).
Again, I covered all of that on last Friday’s MemoPOD. But I wanted you to see the update. Butker endured a week’s worth of vitriol and hatred. I personally prayed for the guy, that he would not feel alone, but that other Christians would come to his defense. But more than that, I also prayed (and I really hope you will to) that God would use all the publicity, all the outrage, all the anger that is meant for evil to spread Butker’s biblically faithful testimony far and wide.
I got to thinking about that approach to my prayer (that God would use the rancor to generate attention for the truth) and wondered if Butker would appreciate it. There has to be a part of him that wants it to all just go away. He can’t like – no one can like – being the object of scorn and hatred. It made me pray for him again, this time that he would be at peace as a vessel used by God, even if abused by the world.
In a follow-up speech, Butker revealed that is exactly where he is: “Not people, but Jesus Christ I’m trying to please.” I think this will encourage you:
Do I think it’s insane that we are now to the point in our culture where a professing Christian going to a professing Christian school and saying Christian things is grounds for deranged and demented rage? Of course. Should we expect it? You tell me:
Matthew 10
22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
And again…
John 17
14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
I have doctrinal differences with Butker’s Catholic faith. None of that is at issue in this moment, however. What he has spoken, first to the graduates, and now in defense of those remarks, is both accurate and biblically faithful. May there be unity amongst believers in such a moment, and as Butker stands against the throngs of hateful voices demanding his metaphorical head, may he realize that he isn’t standing alone.
Should you want to message Butker encouragement, here is his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/buttkicker07/
And his Twitter/X account: https://x.com/buttkicker7
Finally,