Note: This is a brief introduction to an idea that I am working through. Feedback is highly encouraged.
Acts 15:36-41
36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return to each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are getting along.” 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not shared in their work. 39 Their disagreement over this was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and the believers sent them off, entrusting them to the Lord’s grace. 41 So they traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia to strengthen the churches there.
NLT
The Apostle Paul is credited with many huge accomplishments. He wrote around 2/3 of the New Testament. He took the message of Jesus to the Gentile (non-Jewish) world. He is renowned by some to be the first to advocate the equality of all mankind (he wrote “there is now neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female” speaking of the liberty that is given through and in Jesus). We know that he was a Jewish Rabbi before his conversion to Christianity (some have even argued that as a Rabbi he had attained a level of study/understanding/calling that only 9 other Rabbis have attained in all of history, I’m not sure how true this claim is, but they still say it about him). He was a Roman citizen. Yep, a pretty extraordinary individual.
All of these things often cause us to think of him in a “more than human” way. We do this to a lot of people. We think of those who have accomplished great things as somehow bigger or better or smarter or more capable. We talk about people like Martin Luther King Jr. or Ghandi and they take on a “larger than life” image in our minds. In a way, we make them more than human. Perhaps we make them super human. Maybe that’s why we have invented comic books with super-heroes.
Superman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman, The Hulk, Batman; each of these characters show us things about humanity, things that we hope for. We look at Superman and we are just as impressed with his “do-good” nature as we are with his ability to fly. Spiderman reminds us that we all want to be about the responsible choice even when we have the ability to do what might feel good at the moment. Wonderwoman shows us that women truly are amazing; that she would be just as astounding without her powers as she is with them. The Hulk reminds us of our need for self control and the destruction that we are capable of without it. And Batman, well, he shows us that we can redeem the darkness in our pasts to build a better future (AND that if you are a reclusive billionaire that you can have a really, really cool car. And a cave, oh, don’t forget about the cave).
These characters are “super-heroes” not so much because of their powers as they are for their virtues. Think about it: without their virtues they would quickly become the “super-villains” that they do battle with. In fact, the villains in the comics are often the representation of the of the hero without his/her pleasant nature. Batman could just as easily be the Joker as he could be Batman. His choice to be Batman is what makes him “more than human.”
These characters are of course, fictional. They are not real. So why is it that we just as easily make our real life heroes as big as these fictional characters? I mentioned two names a moment ago: Martin Luther King Jr. and Ghandi. Have you ever noticed that people like these two great men take on the same persona as our fictional heroes? That often stories circulate about them-and others like them-that are not entirely true, or exaggerated, that make them seem bigger than life? They become less and less human and more and more super-human or “other.”
I call this “de-humanization;” the exaltation or putting down of another that makes them not human. In some cases, people have exploited our bent to exalt others in order to promote themselves (the propaganda of the Nazis comes to mind). In other cases, people use this natural bent in humans to put down others (that same propaganda comes to mind again). Whichever way that this pendulum swings, one thing seems clear: we are looking to each other for inspiration, looking down at others to feel better about ourselves, or just plain filled with hope that people could be much, much more than they are now.
Back to Paul.
The Apostle Paul is one of these people. We set him up on a pedestal and often forget that he was just as human as the next guy. The fact is that Paul’s message was so big that had he not spoken it, someone else would have. Now, please understand, I admire the Apostle Paul very much. In fact, I am guilty of de-humanizing him at times. He did so much with his life, I could only hope to do a fraction of what he did.
My point is that we unfairly exalt him. I am certain that he would be the first person to tell us that we shouldn’t, not because of a false humility, but because he was more interested in exalting Jesus.
Look again at the text at the beginning of this essay. Paul was in a heated argument. Not over principle, not over right and wrong, but over a person that I am sure he called a friend at one point. This disagreement over John Mark’s character was so “sharp” that Paul separated from his partner Barnabas. Paul allowed his opinion of someone else to influence his ministry negatively. So, do you think that when this happened way back when that there was a little gossip going around about the situation? Do you think that maybe Paul’s reputation was injured by his reaction towards John Mark?
Now, thankfully God makes all things-even the bad-good. God used this disagreement about John Mark to create two ministry teams instead of just one, effectively doubling the opportunity for the early Christians to spread their message to the ends of the earth.
I think there is more to learn here though.
The author of Acts could have simply said that Barnabas took John Mark and Paul took Silas and they went out to spread the Way of Jesus. But he didn’t. He made it a point to tell us that Paul, the great Apostle, had a moment when he let his temper fly a little, a moment when he wasn’t so super-human, a moment when he was
just
like
us.
It happens often in churches. We put our ministers, our leaders, on pedestals that prevent them from having flaws and as soon as they expose one of those flaws (speaking as a minister of sorts, trust me, we have many flaws), we criticize and question whether or not God ever called them to begin with. As soon as our ministers are reduced from super-human to human we toss them aside, making them sub-human (think about it, none of us are interested in hanging around with Clark Kent, we want to soar with Superman).
We even use words like “anointed” and phrases like “man of God” that make our Christian leadership sound like they are somehow better than everyone else. This causes two things: 1) the minister can easily start to believe all of the legends about himself and become an isolationist citing scriptures about Moses and Jesus pulling away from the people because they have to protect their callings (BULL CRAP!). And 2) we start to believe all of this mumbo-jumbo ourselves and prevent our leaders from being honest about who they are, expecting them to never have any problems or issues with which they deal.
The problem with all of this is twofold as well. First, our ministers make choices to become all of the things that are said about them; something that God did not make them to be. Second, they feel as though they are trapped; unable to ask for help or to honestly expose themselves to anyone, maybe even their families.
De-humanization occurs whenever someone is thought to be, forced to be, perceived to be, treated as though, or spoken of as though they are something other than human.
Other than human.
Any time that we try to make someone other than human we are robbing them of the image of God that was created in them. This makes them into objects, not people. No matter how good our intentions, when we try to make someone fit into a mold-whether in our minds or theirs-we do something very cruel to them; we bring hell into their lives.
Literal hell.
As soon as God is removed from a situation, a bit of hell has been brought to earth. Not metaphorically, literally. Hell is a way of life (as well as a place, in fact I would consider it to be more of a state of being). It is the way of life that erases God from our memories, removes Him from our presence. The absence of God is hell.
Removing the image of God from our perception of others removes God from that moment, and thus, hell is born.
How do I remove the image of God from someone? I just have to perceive them as something other than what God made them. I just have to prevent them from being their truest self. I just have to give them a title that bears a lot of weight. I just have to convince them that there is something wrong with being truly, honestly, totally, themselves.
And we do this in the “church world” a lot.
We excel at making our ministers super-human. We make them more than themselves. We bring the ways of hell into the church. Maybe this is how WE cause a minister to fall: we have surrounded him with false perceptions-with hell-and he has to try and fight alone. It is a battle that he can not win.
Whether he falls publicly or privately he loses. Publicly he falls, losing his whole world. Privately, he may gain a great name and a great ministry, he may gain the whole world, but he loses his soul in the process (Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 16:26).
And this, above all other things, has damaged the church.
We have created a way of life that is consumed in lies. We talk about trying to be real, about being honest; preachers even say things like “can I just be real with you for a minute?” implying that they weren’t able to be real with you without your permission. How can the church be truthful if it does not allow it’s leaders to be themselves? How can Christians expect non-Christians to respect a single word that comes out of their mouths when they impose false persona’s on the people that shape our Christian culture? Yes, the entirety of the Christian culture is dragged into hell when we surround our leaders with hell.
This is why Christians have little credibility in this world. Not because we don’t do enough good works, but because we refuse to accept anyone as “Christian” unless they become something that they are not.
Should Christians change? Yes, but their personalities should not.
Should Christians live by a different standard? Yes, but not this pseudo-biblical standard that we have created.
Should ministers live by yet a another standard? Yes, they should live by the standard of absolute honesty and transparency. They should live by the standard that God made for them; that standard is their truest self; flaws, strengths, quirks and everything in between. This is the same standard that all Christians should be learning to live by through the example of their leaders.
This is about building a culture of truth, of honesty.
And just like removing the image of God from someone can bring hell to earth, embracing the unique image of God in each person will bring heaven to earth. Heaven is the presence of God. Jesus IS the truth. When we are surrounded by truth, we are surrounded by Jesus. It pleases Him when we come to Him in truth (John 4:24). We gain credibility when we learn to be honest, in fact, this is the definition of credibility. We look like Jesus when we admit our weakness (John 12:27). And this should be our goal, looking like Jesus, bringing heaven to earth.
Heaven.
Humanity.
They were meant to exist together. Until we embrace our GOD GIVEN humanity we are guilty of de-humanization.
Jesus, help us to live with bold honesty, to extend mercy and healing to those who hurt, to uphold our leaders in the beauty of their unique personalities, embracing them in the innocence that you have created in them, and help us to see Your image in everyone, from the greatest to the least.
Amen.
