Recently,
I was reminded of an old story that I’ve heard many times, and perhaps you
have, too. The version told by one
comedian says that an old man and his grandson had a donkey named Hiney that
they needed to take to market. So they
set out with the boy on the donkey’s back and the grandfather walking. They came across a lady who criticized, “I
can’t believe that boy making the old man walk!” So they grandfather took the boy off, and sat
on the donkey himself. Later, they
passed a man who remarked, “That old man is so selfish, not sharing the ride
with his boy!” So the grandfather pulled
the boy up on the donkey’s back and together they rode on. Some time later, they passed a girl who said,
“Those cruel people are going to break that poor donkey’s back—they ought to
give him a ride, instead!” So they
climbed down and hoisted the donkey on their backs together. Pretty soon they came to a rope bridge. By the time they got to the middle, the wind
picked up and the bridge swayed and caused them to lose their balance. Over the donkey went, and fell to her
death. And the moral of the story is, if you try to please everybody, you’ll lose
your Hiney!
In
this age of political correctness, we are told that the best thing to do is
please everybody, and offend nobody. But
the truth is, in a society as diverse as ours, it’s impossible to please
everybody—and if you try, you’ll lose your hiney. So the best thing is to quit trying to be
politically correct, and be true to who you are—your core personality and your
beliefs. Be kind about it as you’re
being yourself, though. Don’t intentionally
be offensive as you defend your faith.
James 1:26[i]
says, “If you claim to be religious but
don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is
worthless.” Proverbs 12:18 tells us, “Some people make cutting remarks, but
the words of the wise bring healing.” So
many scriptures remind us to make sure that our words are loving and kind—but
kindness and political correctness are two different things. Political correctness tries to please
everybody, and that’s impossible. So be
true to who you are, and speak boldly for your faith.
John
18:1-18, 25-27 gives us two contrasting examples—one of Jesus who is true to
Himself, and one of Peter who denies his core beliefs. When the Pharisees and soldiers came to
arrest Jesus with swords, clubs, and torches in their hands, Jesus knew he
would be delivered up for crucifixion.
He knew how severe the consequences would be for identifying
himself. Yet, three times He did so,
saying, “I am He (verse 5)...I am He…I am
the one you want (verse 8).” , “As Jesus said ‘I
am he,’ they all drew back and fell to the ground (verse 6)!” I believe this happened for two
reasons.
First, because When Jesus says, “I
Am,” He is speaking the name of God as given to Moses at the Burning Bush: “I Am Who I Am (Exodus 3:14).” But He is not just speaking the name as
anybody else would—He, God Himself, I Am, incarnate in Jesus, is speaking His
own name. And the power of that is so
great that it knocks everyone back. Here
we see Philippians 2:10, which says that “every
knee should bow,” coming to literal fulfillment. And one day, not just a hoard of oppressors
but the whole earth will bow before His name.
Second, I believe that the testimony
of any believer is a powerful thing.
When we say, “I am who I am, and I refuse to hide, regardless of the
consequences,” the forces of darkness are thrown backwards. Note that Jesus never said anything unkind, but
clearly states the truth in an inoffensive way.
They are thrown back by the power of it, not by any offensive words that
Jesus uses. Too often we Christians see
the world coming with swords and clubs and torches, and we respond from the
flesh rather than from the spirit. We
return insult for insult, injury for injury, and in doing so we earn a bad name
for believers. While we shouldn’t give
in to political correctness, we should stand for the truth in plain speech and
loving action. Only that will cause the
world to stagger back in light of the truth.
In contrast to Jesus, who remained
true to Himself and spoke the truth in love, Peter denied his core beliefs and
his identity as a disciple. Just Jesus
identified Himself three times, Peter denied who he was as a follower of Christ
three times. “The woman asked Peter, ‘You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are
you?’ ‘No,’ he said, ‘I am not (v. 17).’” Later,
“as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again,
‘You’re not one of his disciples, are you?’
He denied it, saying, ‘No, I am not (v. 25).’” Finally, “one of the household slaves of the high priest…asked, ‘Didn’t I see
you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?’ Again Peter denied it. And
immediately a rooster crowed (vv. 26-27).”
Peter caved in to the pressures of political correctness, denied who
he was, and in the process denied his Lord.
When he realized what he had done, he wept bitterly and likely remained
in that miserable state until Jesus restored him after the resurrection.
Today, so many people in our culture
have misconceptions about what Christianity really is that many believers feel
pressure to deny or apologize for their faith.
So-called Christians who behave in ungodly and unloving ways have swayed
public opinion and made them judge all Christians in light of the extreme few. But instead of being like Peter who covered
up his faith, true believers need to shine a light of Christlike behavior and
godly love. Like Jesus, we need to say,
“I am what I am,” even if it gets us in trouble. Today, I wonder, how many Jesus-followers are
willing to put their necks on the line to stand firmly for the love of God?
In October of 1555, Protestants
Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were martyred for their faith by the English
crown, which was Catholic at the time.
As both burned at the stake, Latimer was consumed by smoke and died
painlessly, but Ridley’s pyre was made of green wood and made him simmer rather
than burning him outright. Latimer’s
last words were ones of encouragement to his friend: “Be of good comfort,
Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God’s
grace in England as shall never be put out.”
This is a gruesome reminder from the
not-too-distant past, that sometimes believers pay with their lives for
faithfulness to Christ. Certainly, Peter
was afraid that he, too, could be martyred if he publicly aligned with
Jesus. But Jesus Himself was not afraid
to say, “I Am what I Am,” even though He knew it would mean His death. What will you do, when they ask what you
believe? In Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus
said, “Everyone who acknowledges me
publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in
heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before
my Father in heaven.” This doesn’t
mean being obnoxious about your religion, but it does mean being true to your
faith, and to your Lord. Political
correctness says that we shouldn’t ever offend anyone—but if you try to please
everybody, you lose your hiney. Try not
to offend your neighbors if you can, out of kindness, not political
correctness. But it’s better to please
God and remain faithful to Jesus. Only
then can we light a candle and set it on a stand, so its brightness can
outshine the darkness of this world.
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