For many years, David
Letterman had a segment on his show called, “Is This Anything?” In that
segment, the curtain on the stage would be raised to show a performer of some
kind doing an act of some kind. Most of the time, there was real question as to
whether this “act” was actually an act, or just some random person doing
something equally random. After a few seconds of watching them performer,
Dave and Paul would then discuss the question, “Is this anything?” The basic
idea was this: “Does this performance rise to the level of something of value?”
Now, it was done purely for comedic purposes; the bit itself had very
little value, which was, I think part of the point. Take a look here at one of
the segments.
I say all of that to
say this: I think it would be good sometimes if we Christians asked that same
question: “Is this anything?” This is a question that could resolve a lot of
stress in our personal relationships, in our churches, in our families
and in our communities. Anytime we see ourselves beginning to get upset or
stressed, to simply ask ourselves, “Is this really anything?” Is this the kind
of thing that is worth the stress and worry I’m putting into it?
Let me explain to you what I mean: we live in a society that seems to want to make a “thing” out of everything. Far too often we are quick to rush to judgment about a person we care about, or a politician we don’t like, or a cultural issue that we disagree with. So my wife forgets she told me she’d watch television with me tonight, and I quickly assume that it’s because she doesn't care about my feelings. Or a politician you don’t care for says something that could be taken one of two ways, and you automatically choose to take it the way that makes him look the worst, or makes you feel the angriest. Either way, we're both far too quick to assign wrong motives to people, even before we could even begin to have a clue what their motives were.
The Biblical mandate for avoiding this kind of rush-to-judgment is clear. Jesus said you are to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) And loving your neighbor as yourself simply means giving them the same benefit of the doubt you would like for yourself from others. We don’t like it when people jump to conclusions about us. We should not do it with others. We must understand that this kind of neighbor-loving both believes and hopes and endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7) So as a Christian, I should prefer to be wrong about someone’s motivation in a way that believes and hopes in them rather than wrong in a way that cynically suspects the very worst of them. There is a time, and I think it’s fairly often, just to let stuff go. Everything does not have to be a “thing.” There is also a "boy who cried wolf" syndrome at work here. When everything is something, nothing is anything.
Let me explain to you what I mean: we live in a society that seems to want to make a “thing” out of everything. Far too often we are quick to rush to judgment about a person we care about, or a politician we don’t like, or a cultural issue that we disagree with. So my wife forgets she told me she’d watch television with me tonight, and I quickly assume that it’s because she doesn't care about my feelings. Or a politician you don’t care for says something that could be taken one of two ways, and you automatically choose to take it the way that makes him look the worst, or makes you feel the angriest. Either way, we're both far too quick to assign wrong motives to people, even before we could even begin to have a clue what their motives were.
The Biblical mandate for avoiding this kind of rush-to-judgment is clear. Jesus said you are to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) And loving your neighbor as yourself simply means giving them the same benefit of the doubt you would like for yourself from others. We don’t like it when people jump to conclusions about us. We should not do it with others. We must understand that this kind of neighbor-loving both believes and hopes and endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7) So as a Christian, I should prefer to be wrong about someone’s motivation in a way that believes and hopes in them rather than wrong in a way that cynically suspects the very worst of them. There is a time, and I think it’s fairly often, just to let stuff go. Everything does not have to be a “thing.” There is also a "boy who cried wolf" syndrome at work here. When everything is something, nothing is anything.
This kind of living
very quickly runs up against our own fleshly desires, our demands for our
"rights," our hopes to have things our way. And that's part of
the point. As Christians, we don't have the right to be easily offended.
Now, Jesus told us to
gentle as doves, but he also told us to be as wise as serpents. (Matthew 10:16)
So this is not a call to gullibility for the sake of the kingdom. I’m not
telling you that you must let yourself get burned again and again and again by
someone. What this is, is a call to diligently hope for and seek the best in our
neighbors, whether they be a wife or husband or mother or father or pastor or
mayor or governor or president. Don’t automatically assume the worst. This kind
of attitude has the ability to change families, to change churches, to change
communities, to change countries, to change the world, for the better. Always
hope. And be willing to endure being wrong. Go into this recognizing that you
will be wronged, and you will be hurt. But love isn’t safe. Love doesn’t come
without pain. Ask Jesus about that. And then ask yourself, in comparison, “Is
this anything?”
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