Favoritism and Your Echo Chamber

Scripture:

Jude 14   It was also about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “See, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, and to convict everyone of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹⁶ These are grumblers and malcontents; they indulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage.

Observation:

Obviously Jude was gravely concerned with false teachers because he goes at them one more time in these verses. Reaching back into the Apocryphal writings of Enoch, which would have been known in his era, he quotes a passage that refers to judgement. The false teachers are people who love to find things to complain about and thereby cause trouble. This behavior is exceedingly self-centered, the only desire, to feed their ego. Therefore they speak out loudly and boldly, tickling the ears of certain hearers, flattering people and along the way, garnering attention for themselves. This is in complete opposition to God who shows no partiality (Acts 10:34). Favoritism is selfish and allows you to live in your own echo chamber. 

Application:

Unfortunately we all know that God’s community of believers, the Church, is filled with those who can find fault. Actually, it doesn’t take too much skill to find something wrong, anyone can do it. The question is whether we should be trying to fault-find. Living into this kind of negativity will be destructive, and it is usually self-centered. Looking for ways in which to criticize the body of Christ puts you into the category of the grumblers and malcontents that Jude saw as false prophets. At the same time, you might think that Jude himself is being critical of those he is seeing within the body of Christ that he believes are leading people astray. Is there a difference? Yes — and I believe that it has to do with motivation. 

Jude has written the believers out of deep concern for their faith and he wants to protect the sheep of his flock. He is speaking and writing out of a protective spirit and attitude. It is the responsibility of good shepherds to fight off the enemies that will attack the sheep, but the good shepherds never do this to garner their own praise or attention. Their focus is on the sheep. 

Bad shepherds want to get attention for themselves. Their sheep are more of a means to an end for these kinds of leaders. Far too often they are bombastic and arrogant; speaking their opinions in such a way that it makes it impossible to disagree. They post opinions on social media within their own echo chamber so that they can receive many “likes”, and this just feeds their own ego. In reality they are showing favoritism for those who will agree with their opinions and this is why it’s so comfortable to live within that echo chamber. (If you haven’t had a chance, watch the documentary, “The Social Dilemma.” It will challenge you when you realize how much we are becoming manipulated by what is happening on social media, and how easy it is to fall into the trap that has been intentionally crafted to be an echo chamber that feeds your ego.) 

To flip this argument over, you see that a good shepherd would do all that they could to bring unity within the body of Christ. They don’t try to be critics and fault-finders. The good shepherd is an instrument of healing, refusing to use the echo chamber, instead pointing all people in the direction of Jesus Christ. There is no boasting and no flattering of certain individuals for personal gain. There is no indulging in lustful behavior, but instead, the practice of self-discipline. Leaders should reflect the nature of Jesus Christ who lived and walked humbly on this earth. 

Prayer:

Lord, the temptation to garner attention and to live within the echo chamber is always present. May this daily walk with you be a constant reminder to set my face and reflect Christ in all things. Amen.