I recently watched a video about hyenas. They make an annoying shriek. When an entire group of hyenas is shrieking en masse, it gives off a mocking sound.

At certain times, the voices of disagreement we hear in our culture sound like a pack of hyenas shrieking in their pursuit of what they perceive to be their next victim. These noisy hyena-type individuals exist on both sides of the political and religious spectrum, shrieking their displeasure as they pursue their next victim, attempting to devour their opinions.

Hyenas use their shrieks to communicate with each other, to signal location, and to confirm their social status in the pack. Hyenas use shrieking to mark their territory. Hyenas are also known for their ferocity and brutality when they attack and begin to eat their prey, while it’s still alive.

In our recent history, the rise of the shrieking increased in the presidential elections of 2016 and 2024. It also happened at the time of the outbreak of the pandemic, and of late, in how our government is currently being administered.

The sounds of a hyena-like shriek are the saddest when they come from those within the Church who are mouthing the same criticism and script that comes from an unredeemed world. I’ve had this happen to me. It’s both discouraging and demeaning.

If we join our voices to a hyena-like pack, we will sow division, not clarification. The Church needs to make a different sound than the shrieking sounds that fill our airways and create the social script of our opinions.

James wisely wrote, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” (James 1:19-20).

It’s a “too quick to speak” kind of issue that offers a quick, but undiscerning response, where we get in trouble. Human anger does not produce the righteousness of God, nor does an angry and undisciplined response that, while it may be partially true in its substance, misses the heart of God for how He wants the Church to represent Him in the world.