Happy are the troublemakers

Happy are the “pushers”: for they get on in the world.
Happy are the hard-boiled: for they never let life hurt them.
Happy are they who complain: for they get their own way in the end.
Happy are the blasé: for they never worry over their sins.
Happy are the slavedrivers: for they get results.
Happy are the knowledgeable men of the world: for they know their way around.
Happy are the troublemakers: for they make people take notice of them.¹

This is probably a fair assessment of how the world works and sees things.

God's assessment of what is good and who will get on in life is beautifully and wonderfully "weird" in comparison:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

God is the god of the underdog.


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Notes
1. J.B. Phillips, When God Was Man (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1955) p.26-27

Mercy Monster

Jonah 4:1-3 is both comic and remarkable, and not just because Jonah is a sulky grump.

...That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Jonah says he ran away from God because God is merciful! Usually, when stories about "gods" are told, people run away from them because they are scary, violent monsters. Think about this guy for a minute:

Rarrrr!

I can only imagine what Baal and Molech would've been like. Like Stay Puff, they'd leave a trail of destruction.

But, in contrast to these gods, as much as they bring desolation, the God of Israel leaves a trail of ... grace.

Weird maths

If you’re expecting to serve now so that in God’s kingdom you’ll be lifted up on shoulders and paraded like a World Cup winner, then you’re going to be disappointed.

When Jesus said “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mat.9:35), he wasn’t giving directions about how to eventually get the praise we crave. He was giving a description of what it means to be great: in God’s opinion, being a servant is great.

It’s not: Be last so you’ll be first.
It’s: Last = first.

Being a servant is not a means to an end; it's the end in itself.