Nice

As a child, several times a day my mother admonished me to be nice. I have always done my best to be nice. Nice is good and I like nice. When looking for volunteer and paid staff, one of the characteristics that top my list is nice. I call it, “Plays well with others.” Nice is nice but nice is not the ultimate positive trait. 

We live in a culture where the most widely accepted but seldom verbalized definition of Christian is: A Nice Person. I must smile when I talk to a person who verbalizes that they do not believe that Jesus was really the Son of God and that he was certainly not born of a virgin and that Jesus didn’t physically rise from the dead and I say, “Then you are not a Christian,” and they get completely bent out of shape. “How dare you,” they say, “claim I am not a Christian? I am a good person.” I didn’t say they weren’t a good person, I said they weren’t a Christian. They also haven’t told me anything that would make me suspect they are Muslim. Some of the nicest people I have met didn’t claim to be Christian and some of the most unpleasant people I know declare a faith in Christ. 

Generally speaking, for the past 2000 years, a Christian has been consistently been defined as a person who places their faith in the reality of Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, and the risen Savior. For Christians, Jesus was seen as the way to God. About a century ago it became the common belief that all roads lead to God and it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe. 

Like many things in our culture, the definition of a Christian has shifted. Now this is more like it (fresh off the internet): “A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. “Christian" derives from the Greek word Christós (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach. There are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict. However, "Whatever else they might disagree about; Christians are at least united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance.” The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It is also used as a label to identify people who associate with the cultural aspects of Christianity, irrespective of personal religious beliefs or practices.” 

So, it seems I was wrong. According to modern definitions one can believe just about anything one wants and still carry the label “Christian” as long as one is considered nice. So, I wonder, does the God of the Bible qualify to be called a Christian in these days? Let’s look at the attributes of God described in scripture:

Infinite
Wise

Sovereign
Infinitude
Omniscient
Trustworthy
Loving (Contrary to some popular thought, being loving is not always being nice.)
Just
Immutable
Merciful

Eternal
Good
Gracious
Omnipresent
Omnipotent
Self-sufficient
Righteous
Capable of Anger
Holy
Almighty
King of Kings
Lord of Lords
Jealous
Wrathful 

In compiling this list of attributes I consulted many resources. Even so, I am sure this list is not exhaustive. But no matter where I looked, I never saw God described as nice. Some will, of course, say, “The God of the Old Testament is not the same as the God of the New Testament. You need to look at Jesus.” And there is no doubt that Jesus gave us a deeper and clearer view of God. After all, Jesus did say: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9) So, the question is, was Jesus nice? My answer is a resounding, NO. He was merciful, loving, forgiving, unreligious, powerful, kind (different than nice), encouraging, confrontational, insightful, an excellent teacher, a great friend, a loving son, courageous, blunt, funny, and many other things. But he could be anything but nice. Nice did not define who Jesus was. If you want to palm Jesus off as nice, I suggest you check with some of the people who had interactions with him. 

Jesus had a conversation with a rich man about how to become a part of the Kingdom of God. This rich man was a good guy. He kept all if the commandments, which is more than I can say for myself. Jesus did not say, “Way to go, you have it made.” Instead we read: Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:21-22) If Jesus had been a modern “Christian” he would have chased the man down and told him, “Hey, nobody’s perfect. You’re doing well enough.” That would have been the nice thing to do. But he didn’t. 

Or, Jesus talking to the religious people of his time said things like this. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:7-8) He called them a bunch of snakes. There is nothing nice about that. There is much truth and reality and righteousness in what he said but it couldn’t possibly be called nice. 

My point is that being Christian is much less about nice and much more about truth, righteousness, holiness and mercy. Telling someone the truth so they have the possibility of knowing and loving God is much more important than being nice. Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Sometimes telling the truth doesn’t sound nice. But if we are ever going to come to experience the true freedom that comes from knowing Christ, we are going to have to know the truth.  

Nice is great but it is not the ultimate good and it is not the definition of Christian.

 

Copyright © 2014, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved