[Slice 1955] Not Nice Enough (June 4, 2009)
Every culture or era has its own way of defining issues that invoke shame and guilt. These are connected, but different. Guilt is a feeling associated with things done or not done. Shame has a much deeper and wider impact. It is, in a sense, a deep embarrassment about who we are. It is an almost visceral contempt for some act or behavior that leaves you feeling disgust, contempt, or humiliation...at yourself.
In 2 Timothy 1:8, the Apostle Paul exhorts the young Timothy, “Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me his prisoner.” The apostle understood the pressure against witness, the cultural dynamics that militate against boldness, and the real dangers and threats from militant traditional Jewish audiences or hostile Roman Imperial authorities. The dangers were many, and as we know from the history of the early church, they were real.
One danger, however, that I’m fairly sure they did not face was the pressure to be “nice.” What do I mean?In our time, we have lived through the expansion of the market, the explosion of media influence, and what Philip Rieff of Chicago University calls “the triumph of the therapeutic.” We are immersed in values and visions of the good life, which we inculcate with almost every breath that we breathe. It is a cultural moment where looking good and feeling good are paramount, and anything that threatens, disturbs, or challenges the cultural value-setters is ruled out of court.
I am not suggesting that following these values is a conscious choice for many, but I would propose it is the default setting of most lives in our comfort-driven, convenience-laden moment. Our internal radar system is fixed on the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain. We simply “know” that certain things, difficult things, and yes, even some good things, are just too much to ask in our context.
For instance, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel...” Well, maybe for some people.“Be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you...” But they may think I’m a fanatic, or worse, some kind of religious nut. Anyway, the doors of the church are open and we have a special speaker on Sunday. They can come if they want to (or not). I can’t jeopardize my status, my peace, my equilibrium, and thereby risk becoming not “nice.”
I must confess it is hard for me to envision the apostle Paul worrying excessively about not being “nice.” It is equally difficult if I consider Wesley, Whitefield, Charles Finney, or Billy Graham. They were not rude, belligerent, ugly, or unnecessarily aggressive. They were clear, confident, compassionate, and courageous. At stake were some key issues for all of the above, the importance of truth, and the necessity of obedience. The gospel is not advice, a set of ideas, or a moral exhortation for those who happen to like such things. It is the revelation of God to man of his great salvation (Titus 2:11-16). Jesus commanded his Churchto “go,” and as one wise leader once said, “‘go,’ means change of location.”
Perhaps you’ve never reflected on how your sincere desire to be “nice” may undermine or completely prevent a serious expression of your faith. If every time you feel you should give an answer or every time you think you should be involved in some kind of witness or ministry, you are effectively stopped by an internal dialogue that insists the need to be “nice” trumps all other goods or needs, perhaps it is time to seek the Lord afresh, resist that voice, break the hold of bad ideas, and step out in faith and obedience and do or say what is needed.
There are worse things in life, after all, than not being nice! Perhaps being unfaithful is one of them?Stuart McAllister is vice president of training and special projects at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.Christ: The Model for Missions with Stuart McAllister“We communicate the message by living it. Will thisbe comfortable? No. Will this mean that we change things? Yes. Is there any other way? No.” In this compelling message delivered at a missions conference, Stuart challenges Christians to reevaluate what it means to live and communicate the Gospel. http://store.rzim.org/product/tabid/61/p-20-christ-the-model-for-missions.aspx
In 2 Timothy 1:8, the Apostle Paul exhorts the young Timothy, “Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me his prisoner.” The apostle understood the pressure against witness, the cultural dynamics that militate against boldness, and the real dangers and threats from militant traditional Jewish audiences or hostile Roman Imperial authorities. The dangers were many, and as we know from the history of the early church, they were real.
One danger, however, that I’m fairly sure they did not face was the pressure to be “nice.” What do I mean?In our time, we have lived through the expansion of the market, the explosion of media influence, and what Philip Rieff of Chicago University calls “the triumph of the therapeutic.” We are immersed in values and visions of the good life, which we inculcate with almost every breath that we breathe. It is a cultural moment where looking good and feeling good are paramount, and anything that threatens, disturbs, or challenges the cultural value-setters is ruled out of court.
I am not suggesting that following these values is a conscious choice for many, but I would propose it is the default setting of most lives in our comfort-driven, convenience-laden moment. Our internal radar system is fixed on the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain. We simply “know” that certain things, difficult things, and yes, even some good things, are just too much to ask in our context.
For instance, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel...” Well, maybe for some people.“Be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you...” But they may think I’m a fanatic, or worse, some kind of religious nut. Anyway, the doors of the church are open and we have a special speaker on Sunday. They can come if they want to (or not). I can’t jeopardize my status, my peace, my equilibrium, and thereby risk becoming not “nice.”
I must confess it is hard for me to envision the apostle Paul worrying excessively about not being “nice.” It is equally difficult if I consider Wesley, Whitefield, Charles Finney, or Billy Graham. They were not rude, belligerent, ugly, or unnecessarily aggressive. They were clear, confident, compassionate, and courageous. At stake were some key issues for all of the above, the importance of truth, and the necessity of obedience. The gospel is not advice, a set of ideas, or a moral exhortation for those who happen to like such things. It is the revelation of God to man of his great salvation (Titus 2:11-16). Jesus commanded his Churchto “go,” and as one wise leader once said, “‘go,’ means change of location.”
Perhaps you’ve never reflected on how your sincere desire to be “nice” may undermine or completely prevent a serious expression of your faith. If every time you feel you should give an answer or every time you think you should be involved in some kind of witness or ministry, you are effectively stopped by an internal dialogue that insists the need to be “nice” trumps all other goods or needs, perhaps it is time to seek the Lord afresh, resist that voice, break the hold of bad ideas, and step out in faith and obedience and do or say what is needed.
There are worse things in life, after all, than not being nice! Perhaps being unfaithful is one of them?Stuart McAllister is vice president of training and special projects at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.Christ: The Model for Missions with Stuart McAllister“We communicate the message by living it. Will thisbe comfortable? No. Will this mean that we change things? Yes. Is there any other way? No.” In this compelling message delivered at a missions conference, Stuart challenges Christians to reevaluate what it means to live and communicate the Gospel. http://store.rzim.org/product/tabid/61/p-20-christ-the-model-for-missions.aspx
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