Op-Ed: The spell of 2020 is starting to wear off

It sometimes feels like a lifetime ago, but one of the strangest things thinking back on 2020 is remembering how afraid people were.

• Corporations changed their logos.

• Professional sports leagues turned themselves into political movements.

• Even video games paused to hold virtual tributes.

Looking back now, some of it feels almost surreal.

Set aside all that recent history has revealed about the true nature of George Floyd's death, and realize that moment perfectly captures the cultural atmosphere of 2020. Institutions were rushing to demonstrate that they were on the "right side of history" while normal citizens were berated by online hordes into signaling their allegiance.

Why? Because the cost of dissent was deemed unbearable by so many. Fear became one of the most powerful forces shaping public discourse. The temptation wasn't necessarily to stop believing truth. It was to stop saying it.

But that was then. Fast forward to today and an obvious change has taken place. Two anecdotes from the last week offer perfect analogies for what I mean.

First, WNBA star Sophie Cunningham said female athletes should not be forced to share locker rooms with biological men, and that women deserve women's sports.

The outrage was swift and explicit. But this time around, the threats didn't land. Rather than bend the knee, Cunningham doubled down on her remarks.

Meanwhile, conservative writers Brittany Hughes and Megan Basham responded to the news that Fox News pundit Guy Benson and his gay partner "welcomed a daughter" by arguing that children deserve both a mother and a father. Both commentators pointed out gay surrogacy intentionally creates motherless homes which is something a sane culture would not celebrate.

The outrage begins again.

It's important to notice that these issues aren't obscure theological debates. From Sophie to Megan to Brittany, these are statements that would have been considered simple common sense just a generation ago. But cultural drift has a way of turning ordinary convictions into acts of courage.

The lesson of 2020 wasn't simply that public opinion can change quickly. It was that fear can change people even faster. When the social cost of saying something rises, many people begin asking not, "Is it true?" but, "Is it worth saying?"

That's a dangerous question because fear is a terrible guide for determining whether truth should be spoken.

Christians, of all people, should understand this. The Bible has never assumed that truth would be popular. Paul told Timothy to preach the Word "in season and out of season." Jesus promised His followers opposition, not applause.

Somewhere along the way, however, many Christians began acting as though being labeled intolerant, unloving, or on the wrong side of history was the worst thing that could happen to us.

It isn't.

Far worse is allowing those fears to decide what we're willing to affirm or what we're unwilling to deny.

That doesn't mean we become combative. It doesn't mean we delight in provoking people or go looking for fights. Scripture commands us to "speak the truth in love," and those two virtues belong together.

But love isn't served by pretending falsehood is true. And truth surrendered because we're afraid of the consequences isn't compassion.

That's why I appreciated something Allie Beth Stuckey recently wrote:

To be sure, Allie Beth, Megan Basham, and many others on the right didn't soften their message in 2020.

However, the normies were silenced and gagged at risk of cancellation.

Whether the issue is marriage, sexuality, motherhood, fatherhood, or the differences between men and women, Christians don't affirm these realities because they're politically useful or because they'll earn cultural approval.

We affirm them because we believe they are true.

Perhaps the greatest lesson 2020 should have taught us isn't who got every headline right.

It's that fear is a terrible editor of conviction.

The labels will come. They always have.

The only question is whether we'll allow them to determine what we're willing to say.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.