|
No
more mister nice guy
By
Mark Botham-Clarke
“To
always seek agreement, to be polite, to be ‘nice,’
to never make waves or fight for your convictions;
this might be a safe way to live, but it will
never get you counted among the great.”
“I
came so that you could have life to the max.”
What
does it mean to live; to truly live?
To suck all the marrow out of life and come
to its end knowing that you have experienced it
fully. Is
such life possible outside the willingness to
grasp hold of the adventure with a tenacity that
befits heroes and kings? And why do so few people
experience life to the max?
Is it because that to truly live is too
risky? Without
a willingness to live fiercely and to take risks,
without a willingness to face battles and collect
our fair share of scars, the awesome depth and
beauty of life will always elude us.
Life is more about faith and risk than it
is about safety and being ‘nice.’
“How
would telling people to be nice to one another get
a man crucified?
What government would execute Mister
Rodgers or Captain Kangaroo” – Philip
Yancey
Nice
people are everywhere, polite, courteous,
and nice.
But are nice people the
kinds who inspire you - the kind who are known for their greatness?
Would a ‘nice guy’ lay
his life on the line for his country, for
strangers? I know a noble and courageous man would. You
see the world doesn’t need more ‘nice’ people.
It needs people who are willing to
give their all and fight for what
is truly valuable. Maybe that’s why nice guys
finish last; winning requires a will to fight . .
. at least that’s what Jesus demonstrated.
“He
entered the temple and turned over the tables of
the money changers.
The religious leaders were afraid of him
and started looking for a way to kill him.”
Matthew 11:15-18
“Jesus?”
I hear you exclaim.
Yes, Jesus.
You see churches often portray Jesus as a
good moral teacher who told people to
love each other.
Not a revolutionary.
Not someone willing to fight
battles.
But this is exactly the truth
of who Jesus was. Although
Jesus did encourage people to love and accept
others, he was not just some ‘nice guy’
telling ‘nice’ stories and teaching people to
be ‘nice’ to each other. He stood
against the powerful for the sake of those
who were marginalized. Once he even
chased prestigious people out of a building
because they were abusing the poor.
He told the religious elite that they
were whitewashed tombs; looking good on the
outside but dead on the inside. He got
angry; he lived dangerously, and eventually died
because he refused to back down from
those things for which he stood. Jesus’ courage demonstrated that he knew how to truly
l live. He knew that it meant giving
your all for what was right and just, and being a
voice and strength for those who were in
danger. At
one point, while Jesus was hanging out with a
bunch of sailors, he asked them ‘Who do people
say I am?’ Hmmm… now there’s an
interesting question.
Based on what you sometimes see in
Church one might answer “You’re a sap, a wimp,
a momma’s boy.”
But as John
Eldridge wrote:
“Jesus
is no pale-faced altar boy with his hair parted in
the middle speaking softly and avoiding
confrontation.
He works with wood and commands the loyalty
of dockworkers no question about it, there is
something fierce in the heart of God” – John
Eldridge.
Jesus
was not just some softhearted goody-goody; he was
no Mr. Nice Guy.
He stood for something, and refused to back
down from his destiny. He lived with gentleness and mercy in one hand, fearlessness
and determination in the other.
He knew how to balance these two extremes
and spent himself on behalf of others.
No small feat, no easy ask, but life to the
max.
Sounds
inspiring…I sure think so. The
other side of knowledge is that the postmodern is
uncomfortable explaining everything about God.
God is not fully explainable, imperfect man trying
to describe infinite God, ya right!
I believe this is why the narrative is so important
to the postmodern; because it helps life stage the
things of God in picture form.
In light of how God has been revealed down through
time, the postmodern looks for Him to continually
reveal himself and thus open himself up to being
moved upon by God. If
there is a wind of God’s Spirit blowing, the
postmodern desires to be blown away.
|
