What are you worth?

The Prince of Peace? Really?

As I have been sharing, God had me in Matthew chapter 10 for much of the early part of last year and it really confronted the way I had been seeing the world and my place in it.

I really identify with the disciples who thought the Messiah was going to bring a political Kingdom with political power. It is easy for Christian mission to fall into the trap of wanting to bring Christendom (dominion by Christians) instead of Christ and His Kingdom.

I would love to “win”, to “get there”, to “overcome”, but it turns out that perhaps that’s not part of the plan:

29-31″What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.

32-33″Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?

34-37″Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over me, you don’t deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don’t deserve me.

I find it helpful that Jesus starts this passage about conflict by affirming my worth. So often when I get into a fight it is about me, and not the Kingdom.

I am continually surprised about the strength of venom that can come from some Christians towards people who threaten their world view. I wonder whether the strength might actually come from a fear; a fear which Jesus addresses up front before talking about conflict.

Before stepping into a conflict of values it is fundamentally important to know you are o.k., otherwise it will be your o.k.ness that the fight becomes about instead of the values.

Then he says something like, “If you are really going to live the way I live, then you can expect a lot of people not to like it because it challenges the very foundations they have built their lives on. Don’t be surprised by this, and don’t expect to convince everyone that you are right. Just stay with me and it will be o.k.. There is nothing they can do to you.”

Again this passage challenged the part of me that wants to win.. to convince everyone that the way I see the world is the right way of seeing the world. Jesus is point-blank saying it doesn’t work like that…

Instead of writing a book like “how to win friends and influence people” Jesus seems to be teaching us “How to lose friends and alienate people”.

Its challenging isn’t it!

More tomorrow.