“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

In the Odyssey, Ulysses is travelling by boat past the island of the sirens. 

He knows that when he and his crewmates hear the voices of the sirens calling out to them, they will get sucked in. They will go insane, if even temporarily, and it will last as long as they are within range of their voices.

So Ulysses ordered the crew to put wax in their ears. He tied himself to the mast and told his crewmates to stay the course no matter what he yelled while in earshot of the sirens.

Here’s the segue to my point.

We live in a time of competing and compelling voices. We also live in a time of rabid polarization. The issues in the wider culture are often over-simplified and then presented in an antagonistic point-counterpoint format. It’s easy to get sucked in. Side A is presented as noble, and side B is vilified. This happens on social media and is engrained into how a lot of the news is presented. 

Putting wax into our ears isn’t an option. But we do need to stay on the path of Christ with white hot zeal. It’s not a matter of silencing other voices, but of being so tuned into to the voice of our Lord that we know him and follow him regardless of the storm which threatens to blow us off course.

A teacher was attending a rally with some students. It became very contentious. Fights broke out between the two sides. One of the students called out to the teacher, ‘Which side should we help?!’ The teacher replied, ‘Both!’ Everyone needs the grace of Jesus regardless of whether they’re wrong, right or confused.

In our deeply polarizing time, we do well to remember that our allegiance is to Jesus first. Yes, we will have opinions and take stands, and so we should. But we will be so committed to the Lord of grace and truth that he will guide our thoughts, words and deeds more than anything or anybody else.

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Notes:

-Bible quotes are from the NIV.