We live in a time that has tended to
reduce holiness to merely being nice and agreeable. In this manner of
thinking holiness tends to be variously thought of as: getting along
well with everyone, being kind, agreeable, helpful, likable, generous,
pleasant, mild mannered, amiable, good humored, middle of the road, even
tempered, placid, benevolent, friendly, forbearing, tolerant,
thoughtful, and the like. It can all be summed up by saying that
“so-and-so” is “basically a nice person.” And thus the goal seems more to be nice than holy.
If you think this isn’t so,
listen to how people talk at funerals. “Wow, Joe was a great
guy!….We’re all gonna miss his jokes….Joe liked everybody! Joe would do
anything for you!” Now all this is fine. But did Joe pray? Did Joe raise
his kids in the fear of the Lord? Did Joe set a moral example that
summoned others to holiness? Maybe he did but people don’t usually talk
about that at the wake service. All that seems to matter is that Joe was
a “great guy.” But the goal in life is not just to be a great guy, it
is to be holy.
Now, none of the qualities listed above the previous paragraphs are wrong or bad.
But the problem is that we have largely reduced holiness to these sorts
of qualities, to being “basically a nice person.” Oh sure, holy people
will be known to pray and that sort of stuff but God forbid that some
one might exhibit righteous anger or rebuke sin. No, that wouldn’t be
nice at all! It’s wrong to upset people isn’t it? And thus we tend to
limit what holiness should be like.
But true holiness, while it does not seek a fight, does not easily fit into this world’s schemes and categories.
It tends to run against the grain and upset the status quo. Jesus could
surely be kind, merciful and forgiving. But he was also holy. And true
holiness does not compromise the truth, does not go along to get along.
It does not remain silent just so everyone can be happy and unoffended.
Jesus did not end up on the Cross because he was “basically a nice
person.” He spoke the truth in love. He prophetically denounced
hypocrisy, duplicity, sin and injustice. It is true he also blessed
children and repentant sinners found refuge in him and a strong
advocate. But Jesus was no fool, and he didn’t just go around slapping
every one’s back and being nice. Jesus was holy. And holiness is hot to
the touch. It is not easily endured by the tepid and worldly minded.
They killed him for it.
Too many Christians have substituted niceness for holiness
and hence endure almost no hostility from the world. Too many
Christians think that getting along and being popular is their main
task. Having enemies is somehow “unchristian.” Never mind that Jesus
told us to love our enemies (which presupposes we have some). No, having
enemies is surely a sign that we are not getting along with people and
that is not very nice (err….”holy”).
Now this attitude is deadly to living a prophetic Christian witness.
Of course the word “witness” is Biblically tied to the word “martyr.”
Martyrs do not end up dead by being nice. They usually end up dead or at
least persecuted by running afoul of the world’s norms and priorities.
And when told to be nice and go along to get along, they declined and
continued as an irritant to a world that demands compromise with evil,
approval of sin, and silence about faith. But this is our call, not to
be nice, to be holy. Holy means “set apart,” “distinct from what is
around it.”
There is a place for niceness and ordinary human kindness.
But the point is that holiness cannot be reduced to this. There are
times where holiness demands that we speak out strongly and
unambiguously. True holiness will lead us increasingly to live in a way
that others will often find an irritant. Perhaps our radical simplicity
and generosity will prick their conscience. Perhaps our deep devotion to
God will cause them to feel uneasy. Perhaps our moral positions will
offend their politics or worldly ethics. Our mentioning of a day of
judgment that looms may incite their anger. And so forth…. We do not
seek conflict, but conflict finds us. The world demands that we back
down and be nice, that we get along better.
Holiness is not of this world.
True holiness brings an increasingly radical transformation that makes
the recipient seem to be a foreigner in this world who speaks with a
strange accent and has foreign ways. He does not fit into simple
political distinctions, does not conform to worldly categories. True
holiness ignites a fire in the recipient and fire changes everything it
touches. In the end no one remains neutral to a truly holy person.
Either they complain of the heat or draw warmth, but no one is neutral.
Holiness is a lot more than being nice.
