So there’s this new book out by Chip Ingram called Good to Great. It’s about, in his words, the only way the church is going to become the church, what it’s supposed to be, is if leaders and mature Christians take it to the next level. And so “good to great” is about getting to the next level. And personally, I like the idea of taking it up a notch.
The problem I have with this is, or the confusion I have, is this. There was this guy who went to Jesus and he addresses him, “Good Teacher”. And then Jesus says, whoa, hold on there. Why do you call me good? Because there is only one who is good, and it’s God.
So, I mean, Jesus looked out and he said, look, there’s no good people, there’s only one who’s good. It’s God. I know people who I would like to call good people, but can I? I know there are pockets of good in all of us, and I think it’s like a preview, a foretaste, a share of the divine nature. A helping. But is anybody only always good? To Jesus, nobody’s good. Nobody’s truly good. Except for God.
But this book is supposed to take us beyond good to great.
So what’s my problem?
I think somebody’s response to me about all this would be, “Steve, you’re harping on semantics. We’re not talking about nobody’s perfect (and that’s clearly what Jesus was talking about—no one is perfect), but we’re talking about good as in, “It’s good, you know, but it could be better.”
My question to that is: When did good get a downgrade? When did being good become less than being great? When did being good become less than being perfect? When did being good become less than being right? Who came up with the phrase, “a good thing is the enemy of the right thing” (the right thing being the greatest)?
When did good get a downgrade?
Because clearly to Jesus, good was not second place. There was only One who is good. There are all kinds of people that do things right, that do things well, that do things beautifully, but to Jesus there’s only one who’s really, truly good.
Jesus didn’t say there’s only One who is perfect. Actually, in another situation he said, “You be perfect, for your heavenly father is perfect”. So he does expect that some can be perfect.
But good…
Good, Jesus holds in highest honor. Jesus reveres Good. He says, “There’s only one who is good. Why do you call me good?”
So my question to Chip is, “Why do you call me good?”
Saturday, September 29, 2007
why do you call me good?
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7 comments:
So, what about pretty good?
pretty good is good that looks good while it's doing it ;)
doing what?
I guess that depends on your outlook. I know some who think that even "good" is a judgment. The thing is, Jesus "went around doing good and healing". He didn't do what was best. He didn't do what was right.
Good is that thing you can do that needs no defense.
People will still accuse you because...they accused Jesus. But if you decide to go for good, the accusations will have to be that you did good, but you could have done better, or you could have done best. You never have to defend yourself when this stuff comes because there is no defense, and the accusations have no teeth...except the teeth I give them.
The other way it came at Jesus was, "By what authority do you do these things?" or "What makes you think you hve the right to do what you are doing?" You never have to defend yourself when this stuff comes either. That's why Jesus didn't. He did good. People complained. He moved on. He "passed through, doing good" is how Peter said it (Acts 10:38).
I really think Teddy Roosevelt was onto this with his Man in the arena quote.
Man in the Arena
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
from "Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
Most of the time people remember this as kind of a motivational rally cry or a macho creed. But what TR is really getting at is how Jesus lived. If you have 24 hours a day to live, and you spend 24 hours doing good, well then. What is there to critique?
Roosevelt also said "...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done."
And "...Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger." (1894)
That's the beauty of Jesus, the beauty of goodness to me. It's not that Jesus did everything right, nor that he did all the right things. He did neither. But he did all things well. He was grace.
Doing what is right and doing what is best are HIGHLY overrated. Just do good. And pass through.
He "passed through, doing good". What a phrase. If only it could be said of me.
Well, what is doing good? Yesterday a friend asked me to lie for her about something. Now lying is never "right", but sometimes it is good. She is in a tough spot and all the "right" paths are closed to her and the lie could mean the difference between life and death to her. So, though it may not be right to lie, in that case, upon prayerful consideration, it was good to say I would. I know that may seem strange, but I know the subtle nuances of the situation to know that for a fact. It turns out, she didn't need me after all. But the message she got was that I love her and that I would back her up when she needed me. That is good.
See, we talk about living by the book and, if you live by the book, lying is never a good thing to do, right? But I felt compelled by The Spirit to say I would. So what do I live from? I chose to trust my heart more than the book. That's the thing....if you live by the spirit, you do good. If you live by the book, you do pharisee. The book isn't "bad" but it isn't good when relied upon so heavily...it can become an idol very easily.
Many have told me that God would never ask us to go against his book? Really....hmmm. I see a lot of cases in there where people broke the law and it was, of God to do so.
The problem is that we are told to "judge for ourselves" but people have so much fear and doubt of themselves and the spirit that they cling to the book and every letter of the law...they want to play it safe...because what if they screw up?
I see the pharisees as fearful. They think Fear of the Lord is like cowering in the corner at a big mean daddy who is going to beat you for doing wrong. I see "Fear of the Lord" as not taking a boat over a waterfall.
But it is fear that keeps people doing right and i don't happen to think that Jesus died to have us behave as fearful slaves to the law.
Finally, someone gets it.
Oh, my! Don't say that...heaven forbid I become one of those people that "get it."
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