In recent years, we have seen an increase in censorship, such as on social media, as well as the reports of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs), where anything can be reported as a crime as seen fit.

Increased Censorship
Over the past decade alone, British police have investigated over 250,000 NCHIs – an average of 66 per day. One CBN News article published this week highlights several examples of people who have been charged with such crimes, including army veteran Adam Smith-Connor, who was convicted of a “thought crime” for praying outside an abortion clinic buffer zone, or Dr. Kelvin Wright, also a British army veteran, who was disciplined and investigated by the army after a transgender was offended at Wright’s post in favor of women’s rights.

If that wasn’t shocking enough, Sarah Phillimore, a British lawyer and free speech advocate, was placed under police investigation for posting a joke about her cat being a Methodist on social media. According to Phillimore, it was her way of testing the U.K.’s censorship laws and it worked.

Non-Crime Hate Incidents Defined
Non-Crime Hate Incidents are defined as “any non-crime incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice.”

Even with the few cases presented here, one cannot help but be shocked at how people are punished in this manner. They weren’t attacking anyone; they hadn’t done anything wrong, but they all were in hot water with the law because of how their actions were perceived. Matters like these leave one feeling afraid of speaking out or expressing a different opinion because they’ll get in trouble for it, even if they are not ultimately guilty of anything. We have seen this many times in recent years with cancel culture, which instills nothing but guilt and condemnation in those targeted.

The Party Is Always Right
I can’t help but think of George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, where he highlights a totalitarian government, the Party, at work. He quotes the following:

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

Whatever the Party says, goes—no exceptions. You must submit, or else. That is how everyone is kept in line by following what is imposed upon them. With that type of power, society is transformed in accordance with what those in power want. That is subjectivism at a transcendent level.

In Place of God
At its core, humanity without God seeks to place itself in the place of the Lord himself and interprets how the world is at the expense of absolute truth. It is doing what is right in one’s own eyes (Judges 21:25), trusting in one’s own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), and going one’s own way (Isaiah 53:6). As Christians, we should be aware of these, as these matters have always been the case in this world. So, how should we respond?

Don’t Conform
In the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he prompts believers not to conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2). John takes it a step further by stating, “Do not love the world or the things of the world” (1 John 2:15), with the warning that lovers of the world do not have the love of God the Father in them. That should cause the body of Christ to pause and reflect: who do they abide by, the world or God? The powers that be or the King of Kings? Although God has instituted kings and authorities, we ultimately serve one master. How much more do we recognize that reality when those in authority go against God rather than by what He has intended them to lead?

A clear example of this is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Book of Daniel, chapter 3. Although King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon decreed that everyone must worship the golden statue he constructed, they refused for the sake of honoring God above all. Their punishment would have them be placed in a furnace, which was heated seven times hotter than usual (v 19). Despite being in the furnace, the king saw that none of the men had been burnt and that a fourth figure was in there with them, who was described as “a son of gods” (v25). The point is that these men had divine intervention from God because they refused to conform to the world around them regardless of the consequences. They recognized that honoring God is far more significant than any authoritative figure.

Preach the Gospel & Persevere
Later, in the book of Acts, the apostles continued to preach the gospel despite being told not to (Acts 4:17) and even despite being imprisoned. The apostle Paul, who at the end of acts was placed under house arrest in Rome, continued to preach the gospel with “boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31). Friends, no matter the opposition that believers have faced in biblical times, throughout history, and today, we must continue to preach the gospel and persevere. May we stay the course and reach the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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