Love Like That: Being Bold
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Today we are going to continue our series Love Like That looking at how we can learn how to love more like Jesus. The last three weeks we talked about the idea of being mindful, approachable, and grace-full and looked at examples in accounts such as that of Zacchaeus and the woman caught in adultery to see what we can learn from Jesus’ interactions with people during his earthly ministry. We are going to spend today talking about what we can learn about relationships and loving others from the example of Jesus and how he was bold.
First, I want to remind us of our theme passage for this series, Ephesians 5:1-2 from The Message paraphrase of this passage.
1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Let’s also remember as we dig in today that loving like Jesus is possible, but only through the help of the Spirit in our lives as we are continually transformed and growing in our relationship with Christ.
I don’t know about you, but as your pastor this series has been challenging for me to study and write. I have found myself thinking about where I do not measure up and how much more I have to learn about loving and living like Jesus did during his earthly life. And I want to warn you that today’s message probably hit me the hardest, because I find myself not being bold enough at times like we see from the example of Jesus during his earthly ministry.
Several years ago, as an undergraduate at Michigan Tech, I remember sitting in a lecture for my Thermodynamics class. The professor was of Asian decent and had a thick accent that was hard for me to understand, particularly when he started talking fast. You see, that was not long after my hearing in my left ear suddenly left me and I was still learning to accommodate that. In this particular lecture, I remember sitting there completely lost. I remember looking around and thinking that maybe I was the only one, as I couldn’t tell that anyone else was. As a result, I found myself not asking questions, but just letting the lecture pass along. I remember feeling stupid, feeling like I was the only one. However, I later learned I wasn’t, but no one wanted to be the one to interrupt the professor.
This phenomena of not asking questions because no one else is is something social scientists call pluralistic ignorance. It occurs whenever a group of people go along with something just because the incorrectly assume everyone else understands or accepts it.
Ever find yourself in a similar situation? I think we all have. I felt so much better after realizing that I wasn’t the only one lost in that lecture, and relieved that there were others who I could work with to figure it out.
Let’s dive into this idea of boldness this morning. The first thought for us is:
The Truth about the Truth
Truth. An idea that gets more airplay today than I would have ever imagined. Many say there’s no such thing as absolute truth. Maybe that is part of why the mob mentality is so prevalent. It is much easier to go along with the crowd than to stand out, even if it is to do what we know is the right thing to do. Just like my earlier story, it was easier not to be the one asking questions.
Dr. Parrott tells the story in his book of the Emperor's New Clothes. This is a story many of us probably recognize thanks to Disney, but it was actually written by Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish writer famous for his fairy tails in 1835.
Dr. Parrott’s telling of the story goes like this:
“A narcissistic emperor surrounds himself with people who only say what he wants to heart. Even the browbeaten citizens of the empire are so cowering and timid that they dare not disagree with the emperor’s edicts, nor will they criticize anything he says or does.
Then two con men appear on the scene. They witness the ridiculous situation in the empire and realize they can make a fast buck. They announce that they are the world’s best tailors and offer to make wonderful garments for the emperor - clothing such as has never been seen before. The catch is that the price tag for such royal garments is exorbitant. And as vanity will have it, the emperor insists that they make him new clothes.
After collecting a huge fee, the con men go to work, miming the actions of tailors. The emperor is measured and fitted, refitted and remeasured. The kingdom awaits his new duds, for word has it that only men of the purest of hearts will be able to see the glorious clothing in which the emperor will make his debut.
Finally, the day comes, and the emperor is having some doubts about his own purity of heart. He can’t see his new clothes. Knowing that he cannot allow his people to see his own consternation, he goes along with the ploy. The crowd becomes more and more enthralled with his new outfit. Then suddenly, from somewhere back in the crowd, a young boy shouts, “The emperor has no clothes!”
The emperor is horrified. The crowd is dismayed. But slowly it begins to dawn on everyone present: Who has a purer heart than a child? Sure enough, the emperor has no clothes. Everyone was thinking it. But nobody was bold enough to say it. They were going along with the absurdity purely because they didn’t have the gumption to speak the truth.”
This story teaches an important lesson. It takes boldness to speak up for what is true. It takes boldness to step our from the crowd and speak up. It requires boldness to stand up for the things Scripture teaches to be right. In fact, we see Jesus confronted with similar situations in Scripture where others had grown accustomed to going along with what was happening, as it was easier to not speak up and go along with the crowd.
Jesus wasn’t known to be a pushover, rather he was known as a straight shooter, often calling out what needed to be called out with the religious establishment. He was willing to be the one to stand up for truth, even if it made others uncomfortable.
Let’s look into one such encounter.
Turn with me to:
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.
15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”
In 1 KINGS 8:22-61 Solomon used language that indicated that prayer was to be the central activity connected with this place of worship. Instead, we see this money changing, extortion scam happening. The money changers were in cahoots with the temple high priests and they were all part of sharing in the profits. Often these people who came to the temple were forced to pay everything they had or even go into debt in order to but the mandatory sacrifice. We see Jesus take a bold step and call out this evil happening in the temple.
Jesus couldn’t stand by while the corruption and extortion happened. He couldn’t turn a blind eye, he was bold and stood up for the truth. He wasn’t afraid to call out those who were guilty of taking advantage of others. Jesus spoke an unpopular truth among the leaders and those in the temple that day that was not received well.
2. The Connection Between Truth and Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy refers to the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.
26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Jesus speaks pretty harshly about hypocrisy. In fact, he reserved his harshest yet truthful criticism for those who are hypocrites. If you’re bothered by spiritual counterfeits, you have some good company. Jesus lashed out at people who put on a front 20 different times in the Gospels.
Let’s look at some examples:
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
The most pointed, direct, and harshest words Jesus ever spoke were directed toward professional religious pretenders. In Matthew 23, He called them:
Hypocrites (7 times)
Fools (2 times)
Blind Guides (5 times)
Serpents and Brood of Vipers (1 time)
Let’s take a look at:
2 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get.
3 When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks.
4 Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
Pretty hard to miss his point. Right?
You see, the proof of spiritual maturity is not external. It’s not showmanship. And Jesus called them out… any time… any place. Jesus was the ultimate truth teller. He is a model for living authentically and honestly.
3. WHAT KEEPS US FROM BEING TRUTH TELLERS?
In a word: REJECTION. We’re afraid people won’t accept us, won’t attend to us, won’t approve of us. So, we wear masks to protect ourselves from the sting of rejection and the fear that surrounds it.
We usually live with two circles representing our lives. One circle representing the person who wears a mask, who goes along with the crowd, who knows what is right, but chooses not to do it. The other circle is the true representation of who you are. The farther those circles separate from each other, the more tension and fear you will experience. When what you do and what you say do not match the person you are inside — when your truth is not revealed to others — you develop a fragmented self.
A few years back, there was a movement, including bracelets and the like called “What Would Jesus Do?” (WWJD). The theme was loosely taken from Charles M. Sheldon’s book, In His Steps. A small town was totally transformed by a small group of people who chose to live an entire year by making every decision in their home, business, and lives by asking first, “What would Jesus do?” It changed the town because it changed their hearts and lives.
Observe Jesus… what He did regarding speaking the truth. He didn’t back down from Simon the Pharisee when Simon attempted to embarrass Him and paint Him in a corner of being a heretic. He lovingly confronts the woman at the well regarding her many relationships. He confronted his friends as well, like Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus.
Don’t misunderstand. You can be truthful and damage. Jesus wasn’t the guy who just loved to hurt people. No. Truth was always set in the context of grace. And this wasn’t just something Jesus did if He had the time. No. It was a priority. Be truthful. Don’t be ugly. Be truthful. Be genuine and authentic. Take off the masks. Be real. Isn’t that what this generation, maybe all generations, long for?
Remember His encounter with Philip’s brother in John 1?
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Jesus himself lived in a way that was transparent, straightforward, and direct, and He wants us to follow in this way. He commends Nathaniel. Jesus commended Nathanael for his integrity; “Here truly is an Israelite!” Not all Israelites live up to the name (Rom. 9:6), but Nathanael did! He was a Jew inwardly (Rom. 2:29) as well as outwardly. There was nothing false or insincere in his religion. Ps. 32:1-2 says, Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven… and in whose spirit, there is no guile. Jesus was quoting Ps. 32 of Nathanael!
Not only does a life marked by truth-telling open us up to the richness of our spiritual relationship with God, but it also empowers us to live meaningfully and lovingly with each other.
CONCLUSION
We fear that being known will lead to rejection. But it is only by being known that our hearts are truly loved. Authenticity separates being a loving person from merely wanting to be seen as a loving person.
Authenticity is all about being rather than doing. When you give attention to truth-telling from a loving heart, your actions naturally follow.
Love is dangerous because love means risking rejection. Jesus fearlessly risked not only His reputation but His very life for the truth. This uncompromising quality can leave some uncomfortable. No doubt. But that discomfort just may be the most loving thing we can do for them. So…
1. GET REAL AND BE AUTHENTIC
When we get real with others, we show who we really are. In recent years the TV cameras have gone into the homes of supposedly “normal” families in what has come to be known as reality TV.
Well let’s suppose that the cameras have been rolling this past week at your house. Only this time, the cameras were hidden and you didn’t know you were being watched. What could we learn about you as we watch your “real” life behind closed doors?
If we could watch one week of your life on the screen this morning, would your life behind closed doors authenticate what people perceive about you? Would it cause confidence in you to rise? We’re talking about authenticity.
CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:
• What does authentic Christian living look like out in the community? Does it really have to affect your life out on the street? It does if it is real.
• How does an authentic Christian act at the customer service desk?
• How does an authentic Christian treat their waitress down at the restaurant when the food isn’t cooked just right, or it takes a little longer than expected?
• What does it mean to be an authentic Christian on Election Day?
An authentic Christian does not try to compartmentalize his work life from his Christian life. You can’t segregate your private life from your church life. Jesus Christ wants to be involved in every single part of your life. Authentic Christians understand that, and I am telling you that your relationship with Jesus Christ, if it is real, will affect every single aspect of your existence.
Jesus is interested in everything about us, every problem, every concern. He knows how to make a difference in your work, in your marriage, in your families, and in your personal life!
Living an authentic Christian life will affect everything from how you do business, to how you relate to your customers, to how you treat your competitors, to the way you treat your waitress at lunch today. Loving Like Jesus affects everything.
2. GET VULNERABLE
Open up about yourself to those you trust. You’ll be surprised how that simple act allows truth telling to become part of your nature. You don’t speak truth from a self-centered heart. That position will always be more concerned with getting and promoting rather than giving. When we separate love from truth-telling, we are trading genuineness for approval. This creates a false and fleeting connection at best - about an inch deep. But when we risk rejection and get real, we begin to love more like Jesus.