In the spirit of all that has been going on, I feel that we have to get one misconception out of the way quickly and early: God does not need us to defend Him — we only represent Him.

By that, I mean the motivation behind any advocacy must be love. Which translates to the manner in which we advocate for our beliefs being loving. Without these two things in place, it doesn’t matter whether you think you’re right or wrong — you are not pleasing or glorifying God.

Now, representing God necessitates advocating who He is and what He’s all about. In that vein, there is no such thing as a silent Christian — silence is not love.

But you don’t have to look far to find vitriol and hate in online and everyday discussions from Christians. I don’t often see good and accurate representations of God and Christlikeness when it comes to contending on the sociopolitical issues of our day.

Instead it often looks like roughhousing — worldly wrestling of an antagonistic nature.

Consider this: Anger is the quickest way to prove the person you’re debating with right. It confirms what he already believes about you. And for Christians, what’s even more severe is the fact that your reaction may confirm what he believes about God.

Close-minded. Angry. Hateful. Bigoted. Now we may not necessarily be such people, but the way we react may certainly look like that.

What is in the heart dictates what comes out of the mouth (Luke 6:45), so if love motivates our advocacy, the words we persuade others with will be coated with care and delivered in deep affection.

If we truly see our brothers and sisters the way God sees them, we will necessarily shift away from an “us-versus-them” mentality.

When we have caught the heart of God on the many issues we face, words that were once arrows will bend and break.

Instead, discourse and conversations will be about who God is and what He is about, and thus why we want to uphold laws that reflect His character. To that end, how many of us have actually sat down, spent time with Father God, and heard His heart on the issue?

Many of us must repent for making many things – not just the hot topic of 377A – our own thing, and for bringing our own agenda and prejudices onto the table. It cannot be like that if we are to persuade people that we follow a God of love — who is love.

When we have caught the heart of God on the many issues we face, words that were once arrows will bend and break — becoming the very balm a divided and wounded world so desperately needs.

That’s something only God within us can do.

“… if truth is not undergirded by love, it makes the possessor of that truth obnoxious and the truth repulsive.” (Ravi Zecharias)

So how do we speak in love? I think the first and easiest step is to assume that we haven’t, or at least could be doing better.

We can start by repenting for not having represented God well, and acknowledge that we don’t have it within ourselves the ability to dispense true grace and love to another person in our words and actions.

If we are humble, we will increasingly see that we need more of God’s grace and love, not just for ourselves, but for others as well — especially those who have never tasted it.

Vexed by the 377A issue and reflecting on how to respond to it, I was reading a devotion earlier this week by Oswald Chambers, who wrote: “Every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier ‘against the knowledge of God’ is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise”.

Before I speak another word on this issue to the world, I want to listen to the voice of God — I want to draw on His power.

Have you previously gone on the warpath in some conversations? Many of us defend the faith (1 Peter 3:15), but forget the “gentleness and respect” Paul did it with.

If you are convicted to apologise to someone, ask God for the humility and grace to do just that. You can redeem the conversation with discernment and grace from God.

We’ve often heard the cheesy adage that people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care — but it remains especially true in our interactions with one another on contentious issues.

Whenever you leave a comment, remember first there’s a real person behind the Facebook profile or the username you’re replying to. Remember that God loves him just as He loves you, and because of that, you love him too.

Remember the God you represent.

377A is an issue that hangs over the entire nation’s mind-space, and isn’t likely to go away soon. But that’s not a bad thing.

Everyone is watching: the Government is looking for “public opinion”, Singaporeans are taking clear looks at what both camps stand for, and perhaps more obscured are the eyes of the foreign world peering in to what happens here on our sunny shores.

We have an opportunity. If you really believe we are the Antioch of Asia, then it’s time to act like it. What if we redeemed every petition, debate and conversation and used them to show the world who Jesus Christ is?

If the Great Commission is central to one’s life — shouldn’t it also be central in our advocacy? As we contend to uphold godly laws and values, let’s not forget the most important thing.

Let’s lift the name of God high and excellently through our response, that no fault can be found in us.

“… But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect …” (1 Peter 3:15)