Vindication: Good Movies, Bad Gospel
Posted: Sunday, May 04, 2008
by Steve Radford
I love vindication, don't you? A driver nearly runs you off the road as he speeds past. A few miles down the road you see a cop writing him a speeding ticket. Vindication. Someone embarrasses you in a meeting in an effort to elevate his position. A few months later, corporate restructuring results in his reporting to you. Vindication. You are ridiculed for siding with the minority on a hotly contested issue. Later your position proves to be the right one. Vindication.
Next comes the confrontation. The bad guy steals the good guy's girlfriend. The powerful bank takes advantage of a poor farmer. The undefeated team ridicules the upstart challenger. Terrorists take innocent people hostage. But be patient. We all know how the story ends.
The good guy ends up winning his girl back. Farmers band together to avert foreclosure. The upstart challenger miraculously defeats the undefeated team. And the terrorists die horrible deaths, usually involving impalement or a fiery crash. In every case, the eventual winner, the good guy, has the satisfaction of vindication.
That's why we have such a tough time with the gospel of Jesus. Where's the vindication? It starts out right. The good guy is born in a small town to an ordinary family. The family is Jewish. The Jews were being oppressed by the Romans. The underdog plot seems to be forming nicely.
The ancient scriptures predicted that a messiah would come and set things right. A series of events relating to the ancient prophecy had many people pointing to Jesus as the one. So if you were a Jew living 2000 years ago, you probably assumed this was leading up to liberation from the Romans.
The disciples thought they had it figured out. This Jesus had personal power and charisma. They must have imagined Him rising up in defiance and crushing the mighty Romans with the Jews rallying behind Him. But had they pondered His actions, they might have noticed that He didn't attack the Romans. He spent His time redeeming the outcasts and marginalized of His day. Confrontations were reserved for defending the helpless and powerless against the religious leaders instead of the Romans.
But that's not what we ordered. We want vindication. So we reject Jesus. By "we" I mean we Christians. We argue every conceivable point from economics to doctrine in an effort to prove we are right and the opposition is wrong. We are determined to be vindicated. Waiting a few thousand years will just make it sweeter when we win in the end right? Do you think this is leading up to a day when you will get to shake your fist at your detractors and say "damn you and you and you"? "I was right all along and you were wrong!" Sadly, I believe many Christians think that way. We've distorted the message.
But you say "I've read the book and we win in the end". You shouldn't have skipped to the end of the book. You missed the part where our leader said "follow me" and then He gave His life. I'm not talking about drinking the poison Kool-Aid. That would be easy compared to what He did. It's about forfeiting when you know you could win. Receiving insults and offering kindness in return. It's the opposite of vindication. You might call it grace.
So who wants to be an agent of grace? We want to win for Christ's sake! But Jesus calls us to lose. We want to crush and humiliate our enemies. He told us to love our enemies. We demand our rights in the name of one who relinquished all of His. The plan sounds backwards to say the least. Instead of "Go, Fight, Win", our battle cry is the very inspirational "Love your enemies, surrender your rights and die"!
How would my corner of the world change if I started modeling Jesus in my daily life? What if I took some of the power I normally use to win and made it available for use in this upside down kingdom? Suppose the same energy, formerly used to strategize and conquer, was redirected for the purpose of helping an opponent that is down. I know it's radical to suggest that Christians attempt to act like Jesus but it just might work. It makes a lousy movie plot but may be the answer for a world spinning out of control.
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More commentsAn excellent perspective and well presented. It is the human in us all that you have stated so intelligently.Robert, Thanks for taking time to read and for the nice comment. Steve
interesting read
Well, Steve, you have my attention -- what an incredibly powerful piece! While reading your work, I am humbled. Thank you, Steve for the reminders that many of us forget.Judi, Based on the little bit I know about you from reading your articles, I would say you don't need any reminders. Thanks for the kind remarks. Steve
Hi Steve, What a mighty word the Lord spoke through you in this article! Christians in general act just like the Pharasees did in Jesus'day. We think like they did, somehow we are better--sadly mistaken. We need to be looking to the eternal kingdom, not the temporal and shallow arguing. Because while Christians fight, Satan has his way and many will go down the road to perdition because we did not properly represent Christ. Thanks for the reminder!! God Bless you and God forgive us!Thanks for the encouragement Teresa, I'm glad you found this article helpful. I had the topic on my mind because of a growing awareness of my failure in this area. We are part of a very peculiar kingdom. SteveI hear you on this, it is usually what causes me to write or teach on a specific topic.
An unusually insightful artical Steve. It causes one to search his soul. I am somewhat of a failure in this area I realize and I do fight it. Your are absolutely right in that Jesus showed and taught kindness in response to abuse. I sincerely apreciate the article.Thanks Joel. I'm glad this challenged you. I had been thinking about the topic for weeks and couldn't get away from it. Steve
Great job, Steve. It staggers the of to think of this "radical" edict set in motion.
This is a FANTASTIC article. I feel that this world would be a better place if the people who called themselves Christians actually started behaving like the Followers of Christ. Thank you very much for a much needed reality check.
Steve, Amen to you. I'm not a believer in any faith or religion, but when I dialogue with those who are, this is one of my main sticking points with them. The intolerance, one-upsmanship and sometimes Bible thumping, further reinforces my varied views about religion and belief. As a child, I spent five years at a Catholic school and among the many contradicting things we were taught was one thing I truly liked: that Christians turn the other cheek. I'm not always in favour of that, it depends on the circumstances, but it is what you are proposing here and in the main, I agree with it. We, all of us, regardless of faith or lack of, are too ready to defend ourselves right across the spectrum rather than accept that we all have different needs, experiences, beliefs and attitudes - and that we can change no-one but ourselves. I much prefer leading by example than blustering like a storm. It worked for me as a parent, and I believe it works with most people in the long run. Refreshing! Cheers, HannahThanks Hannah! Christianity as a religion has become pretty lame. It needs a new name. Maybe churchianity or something that doesn't give the false impression that it has something to do with Christ. On the other hand, Jesus figuratively fights his way upstream through a crowd, all walking in the wrong direction. His objective is to reach and lift the one that has fallen and is being trampled. The trampling crowd includes a variety of religious types. So you're in Australia! No wonder you have such clear perspectives. You have to be upside down to understand this crazy world.
Great article, Steve.It would be very exciting to see the difference it would make in the world if we truly followed Jesus"s example ! JoAnn.
This article was well written but it is a veiled attempt to shed the "word of Christ" in a forum that the unsuspecting wander into. I have no issue with you expressing yourself but I have no desire to read half way into an article to learn it is all about my salvation. The title should serve as a warning as well as a description. I wish you luck and all the best in your endeavor.Keith, No trickery intended. Thanks for commenting. Steve
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