top of page
Writer's pictureBible Brian

Toxic correctness


Knowledge, or at least the appearance thereof, is very appealing to the flesh. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 8:4, Paul tells us "...Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." This concept applies to more than just the topic of food sacrificed to idols, as discussed in that chapter. Knowledge in any area has a high potential to make us feel superior to those who do not have it. The result can often be worse even than political correctness. I like to call it toxic correctness.


Toxic correctness is a type of pride in one's own knowledge. Not only does it puff up the individual, but also puts off even humble truth seekers. When we are needlessly combative, people get defensive their errors, rather than considering even the best of our points. If we're a jerk, they see us as our beliefs, and conclude that even if we are right, they don't want to be. When we see their errors as their personality, we dehumanise them, and they feel it. Sometimes we give off the impression that if they realise we're right, we'll rub their noses in it, and no one wants that kind of humiliation. And of course, in all of this, if they can't defeat your main points, they will look for even the smallest error in you, missing the bigger picture.


As humans, it is all too tempting to let our knowledge puff us up, be it against unbelievers, or even those within the household of faith. Nevertheless, there is no greater Christian value than love, and love, rather than puffing up, selflessly edifies. Love does not use the error of others as an opportunity to feed the ego. Rather, it sees knowledge as a gift to be shared. It does not say "I'm right, you're wrong, that makes me better than you". Rather, it says "I have this knowledge, and if I share it with you, it will help you grow as a person".


Of course, the flip side of this is that we are all fallible. There are gaps in all of our knowledge. There are things we never knew, and things we once knew that we forgot. Sometimes we even go from truth to error, and we are the ones who need correction. Thus, one way to combat toxic correctness is to recognise how much we hate it when we're not the ones engaging in it. "Ain't no fun when the rabbit has the gun", as the saying goes.


In the end, we, as Christians, were once enemies of God, until truth was delivered to us. It is possible it was not delivered to us in love. Many Christians are all too familiar with toxic correctness, having been on the receiving end. Nevertheless, it was delivered to us, and so we know how important it is. We should want everyone to have the truth of the Gospel, not to puff up our own ego as if we obtained the knowledge ourselves, but so that the gift of salvation we have, others will also receive. Thus, it is vitally important to wrap that gift as carefully as possible. Not compromisingly, of course. Sometimes, the truth is unattractive. But it is vital to ensure the message is rejected, rather than us as the messengers.

7 views
bottom of page