Don Friesen
Arun Gandhi tells a story of a childhood friend, a little boy, six years old, who had a very sweet tooth. He couldn't resist sweets, and as a result started getting boils all over his body. When his parents took him to the doctor, the doctor said, "You've got to stop him from eating sweets--no more sweets until he is cured of this ailment." Each day the parents nagged the boy, but to little effect.
His mother took the boy to Arun's grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, and implored him to tell the boy not to eat sweets. "Persuade him to give up this harmful habit," said the mother. Gandhi sat for a while in silence and then said, "All right, come back after 15 days and I will speak to him." Upon her return a few weeks later Gandhi quietly took the young boy aside and in a few simple words pointed out the harmful effects of indulging in too many sweets. Gandhi urged the boy to abandon the habit. The mother thanked Gandhi for giving her son such good advice, but then asked him, in a puzzled voice, "I would like to know, Gandhi, why you did not just say those words to my son two weeks ago when I first brought him to you?" "But," explained Gandhi in reply, "Three weeks ago I myself was still addicted to eating sweet foods!" (Arun Gandhi, "Reflections of Peace," adapted from a forum address, March 23, 1999, Marriott Center, Brigham Young University)
No doubt Gandhi believed his words would have little influence without the weight of example, a lesson familiar to Christians. If we wish to convince others of the Christian call to justice, our pleas will be better heard if our manner of life shows a generous measure of justice. If we wish to convince others of the importance of the Christian virtue of forgiveness, our pleas will be better heard if our manner of life shows a forgiving spirit. If we wish to convey to others the biblical truth, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11, KJV), our message will have considerably more weight if our own lives give evidence of contentment.
The Call for Consistency
Several years ago I was preparing to preach a series of sermons on Christian character, and in so doing I came across an author who suggested that we "need to set definite boundaries on our appetites". He wrote about "reversing the moral collapse of the ...family" and talked about the "death of outrage". (William Bennett, The Book of Virtues) Critics referred to him as a sanctimonious scold, referring to his remarks as "sermons"--no doubt intended as a rebuke--but his book sold two million copies in the first six months! While his remarks appear to have had as much effect as most sermons, it was nice to hear a public lament of virtues lost.
This week the same author confirmed published reports that he has a gambling problem, confessing to having lost eight million dollars in the last decade playing slot machines and video poker. It appears that this arbiter of public virtue, calling for boundaries on appetites, neglected to place boundaries on his own appetite for gambling! (Michael Kinsley, "How a moral crusader gambled and lost," Ottawa Citizen, May 7, 2003, page A19)
Cynics were quick to engage in schadenfreude--a wonderful German word conveying the joy some find in the suffering of others--but Christians should be saddened, for many of the virtues and traits of character encouraged by the Gospel have once again been devalued.
Our reading from 1 John, chapter 3, draws attention to the inconsistency of some believers, asking, "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?" (1 John 3:17) "Little children," he continues, "let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." (3:18) Or, as the Cotton Patch version reads, "Let's not talk about love. Let's not sing about love. Let's put love into action and make it real."
Real Shepherds and Bogus Shepherds
Our Gospel reading tells us about two kinds of shepherds, real shepherds, and bogus shepherds. The real shepherd is the "good shepherd (that) lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) The bogus shepherd, merely a "hireling," sees a "wolf coming (and) abandons the sheep and runs away!" (10:12, NEB) His commitment to the flock is rather shallow! Earlier in the chapter John speaks of the bogus shepherd as a thief and a bandit (10:1 and 8), and a stranger. (10:5) By contrast the real shepherd, the good shepherd, has a deep and courageous commitment to his flock, even willing to lay down his life for his sheep. (10:15)
Sheep are not as dumb as we may think. They know their shepherd. A person who grew up on a sheep farm said that "it never ceased to amaze him, growing up, that he could walk right through a sleeping flock without disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not step foot in the fold without causing pandemonium." (as told by Barbara Brown Taylor, The Preaching Life)
Years before I ever considered going into the ministry, my brother encouraged me to read the novel, Elmer Gantry (1927). It's a novel written by Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), whom some called the greatest satirist of his era and others called a muckraker. His Elmer Gantry character is an unscrupulous, silver-tongued evangelist whose actions contradict everything he says and whose vices prove his undoing. All along his roguish career as an itinerant evangelist Gantry preached a sermon entitled, "Love Is like a Rainbow," a sermon as superficial as himself. The novel outraged many, including a New England clergyman who wanted to have Sinclair Lewis imprisoned for maligning the ministry. Another preacher invited Lewis out to his town to be hanged! The book was banned in Boston as well as other cities and several years later was also banned in Ireland. Lewis was an equal-opportunity muckraker, however, having already uncovered hypocrisy in business (/I>Babbit, 1922) and in medicine (Arrowsmith, 1925).
The Scriptures are not shy about uncovering the hypocrisy of bogus shepherds (e.g., Ezekiel 34), but their focus is on good shepherds, leaders who by their integrity appeal to us. Just as the sheep in John's Gospel run away at the sound of a stranger's voice but eagerly respond to the voice of the good shepherd, so we instinctively respond more eagerly to the voice of authenticity than to the voice of mediocrity. Few of us fail to be moved by a person of sterling character.
The Power of Example
Words may sway us, but an exemplary life moves us to adopt a similar manner of life. Mark Twain gave testimony to the power of example in a back-handed way, saying, "Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." Others, however, have pointed to its compelling power. Tertullian (160-240), a third century church leader, said of his fellow believers, "It is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ‘Only look,' they say. ‘Look how they love one another ...Look how they are prepared to die for one another.'"
The eighteenth century John Wesley (1703-1791) called fellow believers to holiness, saying that a loving quality of life reveals more of authentic Christianity than any spoken creed. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), when asked why he gave his life to Christian service, said, "I wanted my life to be my argument."
I know the compelling power of example myself, for at a time when I no longer wanted to be called a Christian I found myself in the fellowship of a little church where people's manner of life drew me back to faith. They didn't push me to accept the faith. They didn't tell me I had to believe only one way. They didn't make me sign anything; they just lived their lives in a way that drew me to faith.
Our example leaves an impression on others, for better or for worse. In his autobiography, Mahatma Ghandi confesses that during his student days he was interested in the Bible. Deeply touched by reading the gospels, he seriously considered becoming a convert. Christianity seemed to offer the real solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. One Sunday he went to a church to receive further instruction in the faith, but when he entered the sanctuary the ushers refused him a seat and suggested that he go and worship with his "own people". He never went back.
Let your Manner of Life Be Worthy of the Gospel
Neither the church nor the world needs any more racist or bogus believers. The Apostle Paul told the Christians in Philippi, "Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ...." (Philippians 1:27, RSV) It's a recurring theme in his letters; he told the Christians in Ephesus, "I ...beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called...." (Ephesians 4:1) Similarly, the Colossian Christians were told, "...lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10) And to believers in Thessalonika, Paul urges them, three times, to "lead a life worthy of God (1 Thessalonians 2:12), "worthy of the kingdom of God...." (2 Thessalonians 1:5), "worthy of his call...." (1:11)
A life worthy of the gospel will reveal the qualities and virtues that were present in Jesus' life--the virtues of forgiveness, tender-hearted love, patience and fidelity, and all those other Christian virtues that glorify God and ultimately make the human experience a more harmonious one. On a day that we have dedicated ourselves to the nurture of children, it may be useful to reflect upon the manner in which these virtues are reflected in our family life. Is our family life worthy of the gospel of Christ? Are our marriages worthy of the gospel of Christ? Is the example we provide our children worthy of the gospel of Christ?
The New Testament encourages us to strive, with all diligence, to be worthy of our calling, understanding that to be worthy is not to draw attention to ourselves and our goodness, but to reveal the worth of Another--the One in whose presence even John the Baptist felt unworthy (Luke 3:16)--the One who is the Good Shepherd, who was willing to lay down his life for us. For that reason the New Testament sings of his worthiness:
"Worthy is the Lamb ...to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:12)
Amen!
All quotations of Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version.