Recently Terry Shaw, CEO of FaithSearch client Adventist Health System, posted the following on social media. Shaw gave FaithSearch permission to re-publish it here:
“This week, I had the privilege of participating in a President’s Forum at the Princeton Theological Seminary. This Forum focused on the relevance of the Christian church in today’s society and led me to write the following: Are we Lighting Candles or Cursing the Darkness? Over the past several months, we have seen events that remind us that ultimately this world is not our home. Across the globe, we are witness to the bigotry and the hatred that a few can inflict on the many. Where many of us or our family members live, we are dealing with the results of devastating natural disasters. Just recently, in Las Vegas, we witnessed the senseless devastation that one person can inflict on the physical and mental state of so many. Our society seems to be coming more polarized, more fearful, more angry, more disenfranchised, more lonely, more dehumanized and more segregated than ever. There seems to be something going on, something deeper seems to be taking place at the root of the basic human spirit. As Christians in this societal malaise, we have a responsibility to do what Jesus did while he was on this earth: be people who build up, not tear down. God created us, which means we all have infinite value. At this time on earth, let’s be people who debate, not eviscerate. People who seek encounters, not confrontations. People who listen to understand, not just to respond. In short, be people who are filled with humility, grace and trust in the Lord. In this dark time we have a choice: light some candles, or curse the darkness. As a Christian believer, God please help me to be someone that is the least angry, least fearful, least resentful person that others will encounter. Not because as Christians we have given up, not because we have lost faith in goodness, but because we are called to bring love, acceptance, and a safe zone for others in our daily encounters with the world. Lord, may you bring your grace, peace and light to our hurting world.”
