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Hindsight Isn't 2020 by Pastor Kevin Feder

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Well, what can we say about 2020? Online classes, distance learning, wearing masks, not going to restaurants, empty stadiums, and cancelled events are all things we have come to expect. This makes March 12 seem like it was more than ten months ago.

In between that time, we have seen racial tensions spill over into rioting in the streets, leaving us to wonder just how far the mayhem would go. We have experienced job insecurities that have led to layoffs and employees hoping to survive the cuts. Some roles have changed to the point where job descriptions are undesirable and unrecognizable. We have witnessed a historic and contentious presidential election, the most important perhaps in American history that featured many “irregularities” and procedures that violated election laws. Currently, our country is gearing themselves up for a Joe Biden and Kamala Harris presidency which, for many in the church, will mean an attack on several issues that are of grave concern: abortion, religious liberty, first and second amendments rights come to mind.

Consequently, it has been an exhausting year where division seems inevitable at every turn. To wear a mask or not to? Is the Coronavirus a pandemic or a plandemic? Is America systemically racist or is this just political hype? How should a Christian vote for one of two flawed candidates? Should Christians obey or resist certain orders? Should everyone be forced to get the new vaccine for the virus or not?

How can the church avoid division amidst the never ending controversy? My solution to this is to call for greater unity on what we do know from Scripture. Only Scripture is inspired by God and “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We can’t say this about CNN or Fox News, which means we should hold to what we know about Jesus more tightly than what we know about anything else. It also means our unity in Christ should transcend our unity in our various views. If 2020 has taught us anything it is that this is easier said than done.

Ironically, we are looking back on 2020 and as the popular saying suggests, hindsight is 2020. Even though the year matches up, the truth of the saying doesn’t, more like hindsight isn’t 2020. This year in review leaves us just as puzzled as we ever were. And to avoid any empty “ism’s” for 2021, I think we best just gear ourselves up for something we can know for certain: Jesus is worthy of our worship, he is enough to satisfy our souls and he alone has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). I urge the church to look into our life in Christ and consider the exciting possibilities of living for Jesus in 2021.

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