nice guy

I have a confession to make... I am a nice guy. I say "thank you" often, I want to be helpful, I would prefer if none of you reading this never were offended by me and I will apologize for things that are not my fault. I like to be liked.

I also hold grudges when people can't tell that I am offended, dread conversations with people who might be upset with me, don't stand up and tell people to back off when they're wrong. I pretend everything is okay, even when it so very much not.

The funny thing about all of this though is that most people I really respect are not all like me. When I was a kid my heroes were Wolverine, Snake Eyes, the wrestler Ricky Steamboat, not exactly the greatest negotiators in the world! But they were just. They knew justice, they fought for justice. They sacrificed their safety what they knew to be right. As I got older I changed, but the heroes were just new versions of the same theme, replace the old list with Martian Luther King, Daredevil, Jesus Christ, William Wallace, again heroic people who are willing to lay out for justice. Sure, MLK and William Wallace practiced very different methods in their fight for freedom, but both risked in spite of their own relative comfort and both died at the hands of their oppressors. In fact the theme is the same throughout history, especially church history, some people need to step out of line and challenge the structures that oppress others and rob God his glory. This is how God uses people to change the world.

And I believe how God chooses to change our individual lives. Bus boycotts are heroic. So are blistering sermons against corrupt leadership. And so is swinging your sword in the right circumstances. I believe this is practiced everyday. When I choose to reconcile with a friend instead of just swallowing back my frustration, I think I am taking one step closer to becoming someone God can use. When I choose honesty instead of empty flattery, confession instead of justification, Godly conflict instead of avoidance... all of these are muscles that need to be developed.

These are the workouts that I am trying to practice. So invite all of my nice friends to join me. Are you also sick of having the desires of your hearts be so inconsistent with your day to day life? Do you feel like life should be an adventure and instead has become a chore? Let us join together is prayer that God can make us like his prophets, his people. Let us have the hard conversations and confrontations. Let us be radical in our love and forgiveness, but also in our honesty and forthrightness. People will get upset. Harmony will be shattered. But I also believe that our friendships will become deeper and our relationships will become more real. Is that worth it?

I'm betting that it is.