SUPERHEROES

Apparently, there are 20,049 superheroes and villains out there. Who knew? I kinda lost track after Superman and Transformers and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but dude, maybe you did too.

Anyway, we love our superheroes. We want to be like them. We have an insatiable desire to be better than we currently are. To transform.

And that’s a good thing.

One of my beefs with Christian Nationalism is that it doesn’t go far enough. There’s a strong desire to uphold the Ten Commandments, which is absolutely honorable. “You shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, covet.” (For the full list, see Exodus 20:1-17) Who can argue with that? What if theft dropped to zero and nobody told lies (even our presidents)?

But there’s more to Christian ethics than that.

Phil. 2:3 “In humility, value others above yourselves.” What if the Europeans who sought religious freedom in the “new world” had treated native people that way?

Matt. 5:39-40 “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” What if we were truly that unconcerned with our own rights?

Matt. 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” What if we actually did that?

To me, living this way is hard. I don’t know about you, but I need constant transformation in my heart to be the person I want to be. But I think there are superheroes in our midst and we just don’t notice. They’re usually kind of quiet. They don’t normally wear capes or leap over tall buildings in a single bound. They just have their priorities straight. (See the verses above.)

They are my heroes.