You’re most likely already aware of cancel culture.
Celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Nick Cannon, and Louis C.K. have been “canceled” in recent years because of moral missteps, ranging from questionable word choices to racist or abusive behavior. In very basic terms, if someone is “canceled,” the public swiftly condemns the person and stops supporting him or her.
We’ve seen cancel culture affect ordinary individuals as well, from the woman who borrowed a power drill to pose in front of an already boarded window to all of the “Karens” who are being exposed on social media for their racist comments and actions. It has permeated into all the nooks and crannies of our society.
Although it might seem satisfying to cancel someone for bad behavior, there is a danger to it as well.
But first, hear what I am not saying.
I am not saying the immoral actions should be overlooked. No, not at all! There must be righteous and just consequences for these sorts of actions like racism, sexual abuse, or violence.
What I am saying is that canceling someone’s life is not one of these righteous and just consequences or solutions.
That’s because canceling goes beyond shaming the person for one action. Cancel culture means we smear and destroy someone’s entire reputation, hopes for a redemptive future, and overall life because of a failure that was exposed to the rest of the world.
And if you are reading this and identify as a Christ-follower, then you most definitely should not prescribe to cancel culture.
Why? Because the Gospel diametrically stands in opposition to it.
As I’ve perused social media to see the reactions to some of the most heinous acts of racism and bigotry in our nation, I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t wish some people’s lives would get canceled. I abhor racism and how it has plagued our nation systemically and individually. It has affected many marginalized communities and individuals (particularly Black and Brown people).
As an Asian American, I too have fallen prey to racism or some deviation of it, and it is painful. The feelings of wanting swift cancel culture retribution and justice come about quite quickly.
But as someone who also has another identity in Christ — one that usurps (not denies or rejects) my Asian American identity — I have a different way to process and navigate how retribution, justice, mercy, and redemption play out in my life and how I believe it should play out in the lives of others and our overall society.
Cancel culture seems to be the post-truth world’s attempt at formulating a moral framework and execution of justice. But it has missed the mark entirely. Cancel culture leaves no room for mercy, love, and, ultimately, forgiveness and redemption. It says that your identity, at best, is your fatal, socially exposed mistake and, at worst, your identity does not have any room to grow or change for the better. And if you are a Bible-reading, Bible-believing Christ-follower, then you know this is not what the Gospel of Jesus says.
In the Bible, we see that we are all deserving of the greatest cancelation: condemnation. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This includes both public and private sins. Whether our social media presence or overall reputation to the public eye is in good standing, the Scriptures point us to the reality that our sins are enough justification for God to cancel us because we have fallen short of His glory. His holiness is so vast and immense that even the slightest sin we commit inhibits us from entering into His presence.
“In Christ Jesus and through His sacrifice, we are no longer condemned by God because He died for both our private and public sins.”
But praise be to God that He did not choose to cancel us for our injustice against Him, but rather, out of His loving kindness sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for you and me! If you continue reading in Romans 3, the Apostle Paul writes in verse 24, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
In Christ Jesus and through His sacrifice, we are no longer condemned by God because He died for both our private and public sins. Because of this Gospel truth, we have an opportunity to learn and grow and live life as a redeemed individual. If we are in Christ, we are not condemned — we are sanctified.
On one end of the spectrum of justice, there is cancel culture. On the complete opposite end, there is turning a blind eye to injustice and allowing it to run its course. In the middle, there is the cross of Jesus Christ, where perfect love, perfect mercy, and perfect justice intersects. For on that cross, the burning wrath of God toward sin and sinner was satisfied (perfect justice). Why? Because Jesus was sent by His Father out of His love for the world (perfect love).
For those who would look to the cross and believe in Christ’s sacrifice, God’s wrath would pass over them because the due punishment for sins was paid in full (perfect mercy). It is from this place where a path for redemption and growth (sanctification) is paved.
If you’ve been hurt by someone or have fallen victim to systemic injustice or any other injustice, yes, there is room for righteous anger and due consequences, as we see on the cross of Christ. But we must be warned and cognizant of not swinging that pendulum to the side of canceling people, as much as we may be tempted to do so. Let us be obedient to the Lord and love one another as Christ commands.