THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 16 May, 2020 02:58 PM
Jesus Was Not Nice — and You Shouldn’t be, Either
The Lamb of God was also known as the Lion of Judah for a reason
Sarah Cy
Dec 3, 2017 · 7 min read
Who do you think of when you think of the word “nice”?
Gandhi? Mother Theresa?
How about Jesus?
Most artists’ renditions portray Jesus as the sweetest, nicest-looking man, usually accompanied by lambs or children.
They’re not entirely wrong — Jesus is known as “the lamb of God,” and he did love to bless children.
But that does not mean Jesus was nice.
Jesus was more than “nice”
Christians love to proclaim: “God is love!”
They’re right. God IS love.
And in 1 Corinthians 13, love is described as patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not rude, selfless, not easily angered, and ungrudging.
“Nice” never shows up on that list.
But “Kind” does.
The difference between niceness and kindness is like the difference between tolerating and embracing, political correctness and love, appearance and reality.
Unlike niceness, which is focused on outward consequences (a desire to not ruffle feathers or to minimize conflict); kindness comes from inside (love for others and desire for their well-being).
Nice people donate money to a beggar. Kind people invite the beggar home for lunch.
Nice people ask you how you are. Kind people actually want to know.
Nice people do occasional “good deeds.” Kind people consistently love others.
Jesus was not nice — he was kind.
He touched the untouchables.
He told the disciples to “let the little children come to me.”
He ate meals with the rejects of society.
He declared “I have not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.” Especially to people who were sick, discouraged, beaten down, humbled.
If you were sick, discouraged, and beaten down, would you want someone to give you a pat on the back and a “good luck!” — or would you want someone to hold you, love you, and encourage you until you get back on your feet again?
If we’re really honest with ourselves, we don’t really want people to be nice to us, either. “Nice” is just what we settle for when what we really want is for people to be kind.
Jesus didn’t care about niceness — he cared about righteousness
Nice people don’t make enemies. But Jesus did. Lots of them. Because he cared about righteousness more than making and keeping friends.
For one thing,
Jesus had no patience for unrepentant, greedy men who took advantage of others.
When he saw moneychangers and merchants selling animals in the temple courtyard (probably at exorbitant, unreasonable prices), he “made a whip, drove them from the temple area, and overturned their tables” (John 2).
This was not a fit of uncontrolled temper, however. Jesus didn’t run through the courtyard screaming and flipping cages (which would have injured the animals inside).
Instead, Jesus was totally in control: he took the time to make a cord with which to herd the larger animals out of the courtyard. He overturned money-changing tables and ordered the people to take their birdcages out (so the birds would not be injured), and barred them from coming back in to exploit the temple visitors.
He didn’t care that he was inconveniencing and offending people or messing up their business. They were the ones who were wrong, for desecrating a holy space by daring to use their unsavory business practices on humble travelers who only wanted to worship God. And he wasn’t afraid to call them out and stop them.
Jesus also had no patience for religious hypocrites.
He criticized the Jewish religious leaders for holding on to empty traditions while ignoring their fellow human beings’ very real needs.
He demonstrated through his example how true religious leaders ought to behave, how they ought to care for those under their authority.
Some of the things — actually, a lot of the things — he said to these oppressors could not be described as “nice” in any way.
But Jesus didn’t care about being nice. He cared about righteousness, about waking the religious leaders up to their cruelty and hypocrisy, and giving them a chance to repent and do better.
At times, people can be won over with gentle words. At times, they need a smack on the head to see sense.
Jesus did both.
When Jesus was “mean”
During his three and a half years of ministry, Jesus touched and healed social outcasts. He defended women who were being criticized by arrogant men. He raised the dead.
But he also got a lot of people mad. So much so that they eventually killed him.
We tend to forget that when we are surrounded by so many sweet Jesus pictures.
From a young age, most children are taught to “be nice.” Which includes everything from being polite (say “thank you,” don’t ask awkward questions, don’t talk about religion or politics during dinner parties) to saving face (your own and others’).
We forget it is possible to act “nice” outwardly while secretly hating or deriding a person in your heart.
We do it all the time, either because we want to look good in spectators’ eyes, or because we want to avoid conflict.
But Jesus was not afraid of what people thought, nor was he afraid of conflict.
He had no qualms breaking the status quo, pointing out people who were doing or saying wrong things, and confronting arrogant religious leaders who were hurting the people they were supposed to help.
He also didn’t care about being politically correct.
Many times, after healing someone sick, Jesus would say “go and sin no more, or else something worse might happen to you.”
He knew that sickness and infirmity are often a result of a person’s sinful choices and lifestyle. He had compassion for such people, but he didn’t hesitate to warn them against returning to their previous harmful ways.
No one likes to hear that they are wrong. Not now, not back then. But Jesus was willing to tell people when they were wrong because he loved them more than he cared what they thought of him.
What Jesus stood for
Jesus stood for the kingdom of heaven, for truth, for repentance and salvation, forgiveness and hope. He came to tell the truth, to heal the sick and wounded, to save lives.
If he had to step on a few toes to do it, he was willing to do so, even at the expense of being perceived as “not nice.”
Remember, this is the guy who called the Pharisees (the Jewish elite): “Whitewashed tombs! Snakes! A brood of vipers!” (Matthew 23).
I don’t know about you, but those do not sound like “nice” words to me. They sound like fighting words.
No wonder the Pharisees wanted him dead.
Why you shouldn’t be nice
If Jesus had been “nice,” no one would have crucified Him.
But He also wouldn’t have had any power to save humanity or change the world and the course of history.
Those who followed him also had the same problem. Almost all of Jesus’ disciples were killed gruesomely for sticking to their principles against the flow of culture.
Today, this is still the case.
People who stand up for truth, hold on to their principles, and confront wrongdoers must be prepared to face a backlash.
If you stick to righteousness at the expense of “niceness,” be prepared to be insulted, mocked, demeaned, injured, threatened, maybe even killed.
So why not just stay “nice” and keep your head down, avoid all that messy stuff?
It’s been said:
the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
And:
if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything
In a post-modern world where political correctness is king, and everyone’s “truth” is equally valid no matter how contradictory, we have fewer and fewer people courageous enough to stand up and fight for what is right and just and true.
If this continues, we will fall — not just individuals, but entire groups, our entire society.
Being nice comes with a price. One we cannot afford.
It is impossible to be nice, all the time, to everyone, no matter what. We shouldn’t even try.
Let us not be nice. Let us be kind. Let us stand up for righteousness. Let us be like Jesus.
Call to Action
If we really want to be like Jesus, we can’t settle for “nice.”
Don’t just be “nice” to people — be kind, by lending a helping hand or calling them out when necessary.
Be brave, by standing up for righteousness and not allowing your desire for approval or aversion to conflict keep you from speaking up and doing what needs to be done.
Never sacrifice your principles in order to act, or appear, nice.
You may — in fact, you will — attract opposition if you do this. Jesus did, after all: He was killed for not being nice.
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 16 May, 2020 03:08 PM
People forget the false teaching Pharisees were the “nice” ones. They were only trying to SAVE Israel from this Jesus who, if he stayed alive, would’ve allowed the Romans to completely destroy Israel” YEAH!! See John 11:48
“If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation”
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 16 May, 2020 03:13 PM
Oh, my apologies!! I shoulda written a disclaimer and a caution at the start of this thread.
I’m sure some Unitarian Universalist “Christian” is gonna read about the real Jesus, the Biblical one, and get all offended when he finds out Jesus actually made a whip and for angry!!
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 16 May, 2020 03:21 PM
I’m sure some can’t believe Jesus actually made a whip and got angry!! He did it because people had perverted his Fathers temple. Jesus took the TRUTH seriously.
Since universalists hardly read the Bible, l need to explain to them that righteous anger, like Jesus had, isn’t sinful.
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 16 May, 2020 03:37 PM
Believe it or not, there really are uninitiated people who think ALL arguments are wrong, ALL anger is wrong, ALL judgments are wrong. But the Bible makes distinctions between man’s anger and righteous anger and so on.
People think wrongly on this way because the Bible is just not important enough for them to study! Instead they just spout their ignorance and unwittingly condemn biblical teachings without the slightest due consideration.
It’s time for serious Christians to study the Bible and stop listening to universalists who think the Bible is just so hard to understand that NOBODY knows for sure what it says!!
Why do some people think “nobody knows for sure what the Bible says” and we must “decide for ourselves what it means to us”???? Well, it’s because they are a product of the kind of incoherent thinking that is inspired by false teaching!!
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 16 May, 2020 03:54 PM
Littlest David's posts rarely quotes God's Word and is full of his own human reasoning:
**WE ARE BORN AGAIN THROUGH THE LIVING AND ENDURING WORD OF GOD** 1 Peter 1:23
Deuteronomy 18:17-19: The Lord said to Moses, "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among your fellow Israelites, and I will put My words in His mouth. He will tell them **EVERYTHING** I command Him. I Myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name!!"
John 14:21-24: Jesus says, "Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me... Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching, My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make Our home with them.. Anyone who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me!" {See Deut 18:17-19 above}
Luke 6:46-49: Jesus says, "As for everyone who comes to Me and hears **MY WORDS** and **PUTS THEM INTO PRACTICE**. I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid foundation on rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears **MY WORDS** and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete!"
I Peter 1:23-25: You have been **BORN AGAIN THROUGH THE LIVING AND ENDURING **WORD OF GOD**!! All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the **WORD OF THE LORD STANDS FOREVER**. And this is the **WORD** that was preached to you.
Matthew 24:35: Jesus says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but **MY WORDS WILL NEVER PASS AWAY**!"
I John 2:3-5: We know we have come to know Him {Jesus} if we obey His commands. The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. But if anyone **OBEYS HIS WORD**, God's love is truly made complete in him!
Matthew 4:4: Jesus says, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on **EVERY WORD FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD**!"
Luke 8:15: Jesus says, "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the **WORD**, retain it, and by perseverance produce a crop."
John 17:17: Jesus prays to His Father, "Sanctify them by the Truth, **YOUR WORD IS TRUTH**!"
Acts 20:32: Paul says, "Now I commit you to God and to the **WORD OF HIS GRACE**, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified!"
Romans 10:17: Consequently, **FAITH COMES FROM HEARING THE MESSAGE**, and the message is heard **THROUGH THE WORD OF CHRIST**!
James 1:18; He chose to give us **BIRTH THROUGH THE WORD** of Truth!!
I Corinthians 15:2: By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the **WORD** preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain!
2 Corinthians 4:2: We do not use deception, nor do we distort the **WORD OF GOD**!
Ephesians 1:13: You also were included in Christ **WHEN** you heard the **WORD** of Truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Ephesians 2:17: Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the **WORD OF GOD**!
Colossians 1:25: I have become its servant by the commission God gave to me to present to you the **WORD OF GOD IN ALL ITS FULLNESS**!
Colossians 3:16: Let the **WORD OF CHRIST** dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom!
I Thessalonians 2:13: We thank God continually because, when you received the **WORD OF GOD**, which you heard from us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the **WORD OF GOD**!
Acts 17:11,12: Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and **EXAMINED THE SCRIPTURES EVERY DAY**... As a result many of them believed!!
Psalm 118:147,148: I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in **YOUR WORD**! My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I might meditate on **YOUR PROMISES**!!
2 Timothy 2:15: Do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who **CORRECTLY HANDLES THE WORD ** of truth!
2 Timothy 3:15,16: 4:1,2: You have known the **HOLY SCRIPTURES**, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. **ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED** and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: **PREACH THE WORD**!! {**WHICH IS THE ENTIRE NEW COVENANT AND NEW TESTAMENT**!!}
**DOES GOD"S WORD SAY THAT **ADDING** OR **TAKING WORD'S AWAY** FROM GOD's WORD IS AN UMPARDONABLE SIN**??
Revelation 22:16,18,19: "I, Jesus. have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the Churches.... I warn everyone who hears the **WORDS OF THE PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK**: If anyone **ADDS** {Like Quiznos and Kristofer} anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this Book {Including **ETERNAL HELL**} And if anyone **TAKES WORDS AWAY** {Like Quiznos, Kristofer,and KJVonly} from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the Tree of Life and in the Holy City {The New Jerusalem}, which are described in this book."
John 16: Jesus says, "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the Truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify Me because it is from Me that he will receive what he will make known to you!"
And holy spirit inspired the 8 writers of the 27 books of the New Testament to write everything Jesus told him to write!!
THE GREAT COMMISSION: Matthew 28:18-20: Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on ***EARTH*** has been given to Me {Not some RC Pope}. Therefore go and make disciples of *ALL NATIONS*...teaching them to **OBEY EVERYTHING** {The entire NT} I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very *END OF THE AGE*!”
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 17 May, 2020 01:28 PM
Unfortunately, there are some Scripture in the New Testament that you will never hear preached, such as:
I Timothy 2:9-14: I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with excessive braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and fukl submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man, she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived, it was a wman who was deceived and became a sinner.
I Corinthians 11:14-16: Does not the very nature of things teach that if a **MAN HAS LONG HAIR** it is a **DISGRACE** to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? If anyone wants to be contentious about this {Like LittlestDavid} we have no other practice--nor do the **CHURCHES OF GOD**!**
Unfortunately many of the modern churches rock and roll singers and musicians have Satanic **LONG HAIR**!!
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN A SWEET “NICE” LITTLE “JESUS” ARE GONNA HATE ME MORE
Posted : 17 May, 2020 01:47 PM
Richard, if you see fit, I’m willing to see if we can somehow resolve our differences over doctrine and such or in some way try to form an better debate relationship.
I know you’ve called me a liar many times and perhaps I may have misrepresented you in some cases but l never intended to do that.
As you know, some time back I became aware, at least on 2 occasions, of misquoting you and l tried to repost my errors and make corrections.
I’ve read your testimony and from that I think you might be Christian but I believe you hold some false beliefs. I’m sure you believe I hold some false teachings.
Regardless, if you find it in yourself, I would like to see if we can find a better way to communicate on this forum. You don’t have to agree with me on everything. But whatever the case, at least we can try to find a better way to vigorously disagree. If want to reject my offer, that’s ok too. Either way, Best regards, Dave
