A Different Beat
“To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other:
We played the flute for you, but you didn’t dance;
we sang a lament, but you didn’t weep!
For John the Baptist did not come eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” – Luke 7:31-35, CSB
“Those who are really wise (the children of wisdom) will pronounce right the right way, whether it be ascetic or social.” -Leon Morris
“Wisdom’s children are those who, like John and Jesus, align themselves with God’s purpose as this is revealed in the person and work of Jesus.” – Joel B. Green
One of the implications of the text of Luke 7:18-35 to which I wanted to turn our attention is this: living for God will often confound others. In other words, being on mission for God will not only put us crosswise to the world in rebellion to Him, it will also create friction for us. People have and always will misunderstand those who live for God. This is why, in both John and Jesus’ lives and ministries, there were far more detractors than genuine followers. The ways of God often surprise and amaze humankind but, their differences don’t often create popularity. Instead, they are accused of excess and extremes or are ridiculed as those who refuse to ‘go along to get along’ with the winds of popular culture. This teaches us two things which we must learn.
First, it teaches us that living on God’s mission will often put us on the ‘outside’ of popular culture. We don’t belong here and the more closely we follow Jesus and the purpose God has for us in Jesus, the more we will feel the awkward. We just won’t fit the mold (nor are we supposed to!). They want us to dance and we won’t. They want us to cry and we won’t do that either. In fact, what often brings them joy is to us sorrowful.
Second, this living on mission for God can confuse those who should get it. Jesus and John both drew critics from circles where we wouldn’t anticipate. It was the ultra-conservative religious types that didn’t accept them and leveled the harshest criticism at them. In a culture that loves controversy and has turned critique into an artform, we have to be prepared for ‘friendly fire’. As an aside, let’s be slow to criticize someone else. Maybe we don’t know all the information, maybe we don’t understand the mission God has them on. Whatever the case, it should not be our regular practice to speak ill of other Christians or pastors or churches or denominations. Especially, if our criticism is public rather than private or our own attempt to boost ourselves while degrading someone else.
Of greatest importance in all of this is the central lesson Jesus taught, wisdom will be vindicated. Criticized, yes, but vindicated. Here’s the hard part: wisdom’s vindication will often be a long time coming. John literally lost his head. Jesus died on a Roman cross. But, in the final reckoning, they were both vindicated. Not by popular culture, but by God. His is the smile we must live for. His is the music to which we must tune our ear. If we do, we will be rewarded with the wise as children of the King.
Questions for further discussion/life application:
Being unpopular can have a variety of implications. (exclusion, ridicule, avoidance, loneliness, et al) For you, what is the most difficult part of being on an awkward status with the world? How does the Gospel help you in that pain?
Reflecting on your story, how has God helped you in being unpopular in your journey? What (if any) redemptive moments have emerged from you not being like everyone else?
What sources of encouragement do you need to run with endurance the path of wisdom? Where do you look when the weariness seeks to overwhelm?
A song for seekers: This is Our God