We’ve gotten an enormous amount of feedback on this post from last week.
Most of the feedback was good.
And the stuff that wasn’t, well that’s okay too.
I’d rather be criticized than ignored.
My greatest fear is being insignificant, not being misunderstood.

It was the first time I ever made some staff approve an entry before I posted it.
A pastor friend of mine asked me if I needed a bodyguard afterward.

I knew it was strong, and I knew it wasn’t very nice.
But I think being nice is overrated.

Jesus wasn’t really nice, if you think about it.

He spoke always truth. He spoke always life.
But nice wasn’t in His purpose statement or job description.
It wasn’t His specialty. It doesn’t best define what He was all about.

Sometimes He was livid. Sometimes He was tender.
Compassionate? Absolutely. Friend of sinners? No doubt.
But I don’t think nice adequately describes the nature of Jesus.

I don’t think people who heard Jesus speak, if asked to sum up His message, would have quantified and typified it as nice.

Yes, He was kind. And usually encouraging.

But sometimes the most encouraging thing you can do is tell it like it is.
To rock someone’s world with the truth, for the glory of God.

I had a refreshing conversation with a friend recently. I told him some hard things about what he needs to do to get to where he needs to go. About some changes he needs to make.

What I said to him wasn’t nice.
But he hugged me and thanked me 3 times for having the guts to call it out.
He said it was a defining moment in his life.
I’m glad I was more concerned about spurring him on than being nice.

“Yeah, but can’t you just say hard things in a more positive way?”

Sometimes you can. Sometimes Jesus did.
Then sometimes He let it fly.
His hot button? Religious hypocrisy.

Nice is mild. Nice is neutral. Nice is safe.
Jesus was none of these.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to use the concept of righteous indignation as an excuse to fly off the handle every time someone looks at me funny or disagrees with my position.

But when it comes to defending Jesus or His Church, watch out.
When it comes to helping to make the body of Christ better, Proverbs 27:17 will be my guide.
The intention will be love. But the tone will be intensity.
And it’s best for all of us.