"On nails and hammers" by Gregory Crofford for Tuesday, 7 March 2017
The Japanese proverb reminds us: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."
It's an interesting statement for those who belong to the community of Christian faith. We understand the necessity of sometimes being the nail that sticks out. Scripture warns us of the danger of conforming to the pattern of the world (Romans 12:1-2, 1 John 2:15). Jesus encourages us to follow a narrow road that leads to life and to avoid the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:14-15). And make no mistake: There's a price to pay if you're the nail that sticks out. Protruding nails attract hammers, pressure to "go along to get along." Moral compromise pounds on the door and threatens to kick it down.
This is nothing new for believers. When a bright light shines in a room, people can either let their eyes adjust; more often, they douse the light. Most of us realize - in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer - that there is a cost to discipleship.
That being said, sometimes I think that Christians needlessly invite the hammer, almost as if we're looking for a fight. It's an annual ritual in the U.S. in December to lament the so-called "war on Christmas." Does this invite mockery? People see Christians who in other lands are martyred for Christ. They see what genuine persecution is and can detect false equivalence a mile away.
But let's talk about what sometimes happens within the community of faith. With reference to "the world," our sermon has only one point: "Don't conform." Yet I wonder: How do we treat brothers and sisters in Christ who won't be squeezed into our cultural mold? Do we suddenly ourselves become the hammer, pounding down nails who stick out?
Make no mistake: We have a common goal which is to be like Jesus. Still, conforming to the pattern of Christ - while producing holiness - hardly results in uniformity. Some believers drink coffee, others tea, still others abstain from caffeine. There are Republican saints and Democratic saints, all who love God and neighbor (Mark 12:29-31). Certain Jesus followers sport long hair, tattoes, and a Harley. Others wear short-cropped hair, play golf, and drive a Prius. There are meat-loving Christians and vegan Christians. Some teach in public schools and advocate for public education; others prefer to teach their children at home. We're a motley crew. What beauty there is in diversity!
Paul recognized the value of diversity in the Body of Christ when he celebrated the various gifts that God the Holy Spirit has lavished upon us. He asks:
If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts of the body just like he wanted...You are the body of Christ and parts of each other (1 Corinthians 12:17-18, 27, CEB).
Natalie Goldberg tells of eating at a restaurant. Unsatisified with her waiter, she complained about him to another waiter. He replied: "I know he's odd, but if they dance to a different drummer, I say, 'Just let them dance' " (Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within [Shambala, 2005, 21]). How much contention in the church would we avoid if we took the attitude of that waiter?
"Lord, help those today who are suffering for the sake of the Gospel. Shield the blow when the hammer comes down upon them. And forgive me, God, when I have been a hammer, clobbering a brother or sister in Christ who is guilty of nothing more than following you as the person you made them and gifted them to be. AMEN."
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It's an interesting statement for those who belong to the community of Christian faith. We understand the necessity of sometimes being the nail that sticks out. Scripture warns us of the danger of conforming to the pattern of the world (Romans 12:1-2, 1 John 2:15). Jesus encourages us to follow a narrow road that leads to life and to avoid the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:14-15). And make no mistake: There's a price to pay if you're the nail that sticks out. Protruding nails attract hammers, pressure to "go along to get along." Moral compromise pounds on the door and threatens to kick it down.
This is nothing new for believers. When a bright light shines in a room, people can either let their eyes adjust; more often, they douse the light. Most of us realize - in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer - that there is a cost to discipleship.
That being said, sometimes I think that Christians needlessly invite the hammer, almost as if we're looking for a fight. It's an annual ritual in the U.S. in December to lament the so-called "war on Christmas." Does this invite mockery? People see Christians who in other lands are martyred for Christ. They see what genuine persecution is and can detect false equivalence a mile away.
But let's talk about what sometimes happens within the community of faith. With reference to "the world," our sermon has only one point: "Don't conform." Yet I wonder: How do we treat brothers and sisters in Christ who won't be squeezed into our cultural mold? Do we suddenly ourselves become the hammer, pounding down nails who stick out?
Make no mistake: We have a common goal which is to be like Jesus. Still, conforming to the pattern of Christ - while producing holiness - hardly results in uniformity. Some believers drink coffee, others tea, still others abstain from caffeine. There are Republican saints and Democratic saints, all who love God and neighbor (Mark 12:29-31). Certain Jesus followers sport long hair, tattoes, and a Harley. Others wear short-cropped hair, play golf, and drive a Prius. There are meat-loving Christians and vegan Christians. Some teach in public schools and advocate for public education; others prefer to teach their children at home. We're a motley crew. What beauty there is in diversity!
Paul recognized the value of diversity in the Body of Christ when he celebrated the various gifts that God the Holy Spirit has lavished upon us. He asks:
If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts of the body just like he wanted...You are the body of Christ and parts of each other (1 Corinthians 12:17-18, 27, CEB).
Natalie Goldberg tells of eating at a restaurant. Unsatisified with her waiter, she complained about him to another waiter. He replied: "I know he's odd, but if they dance to a different drummer, I say, 'Just let them dance' " (Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within [Shambala, 2005, 21]). How much contention in the church would we avoid if we took the attitude of that waiter?
"Lord, help those today who are suffering for the sake of the Gospel. Shield the blow when the hammer comes down upon them. And forgive me, God, when I have been a hammer, clobbering a brother or sister in Christ who is guilty of nothing more than following you as the person you made them and gifted them to be. AMEN."
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Image credit
Frabel at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Gregory Crofford
Frabel at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Gregory Crofford
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Tags: conformity, diversity, persecution Categories: discipleship, ecclesiology & sacraments
URL: http://wp.me/p1xcy8-1wC
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