BISHOP’S MESSAGE Bishop Dr Gordon Wong was elected Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore in 2020. He served as President of the Trinity Annual Conference from 2013–2020.
Sowing in peace
I
was recently asked what advice I would give to young
Are we, indeed, a generation who have “turned hate into
adults as they pursue or complete their university
an asset”?
education. The natural assumption seems to be that
young adults will play a crucial role in the shaping of
Do we justify passionate anger as the only way to get
our nation which celebrates her 56th birthday. I’m sure
our way?
they will, as will the not-so-young adults amongst us. And so I offer the same advice to young adults as
Lord, have mercy on us.
to myself and older generations. Advice that comes directly from Holy Scripture.
Help us consider the wisdom of Your Word: “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God… But
“Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”
the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable,
(James 1:20 NIV)
impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness
gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James
Someone lamented that our culture seems to “turn
1:20; 3:17–18)
hate into an asset”. Many have said that we live in “a culture of suspicion, mistrust, and us-against-them”.
If we hope to reap “a harvest of [God’s] righteousness”,
And in such a culture, most feel that the only way to
let us try to make peace by sowing in peace.
cancel (counter) what is wrong and unjust in our world is through “bombast and bloviation”. So we express our
And may the God of Peace save us from becoming a
anger through condemnatory rhetoric and unfriend-
nation that “turns hate into an asset.” For “human anger
ing protests on as many social media platforms as we
does not produce the righteousness of God”.
can find. The many “likes” that our angry and rude comments garner only spur us on.
1
John Perkins as cited in Scott Saul’s A Gentle Answer (p. xvii).
METHODIST MESSAGE August 2021
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