Ah, peace. We all want it and most of us think we don’t have nearly enough of it.
When I discovered this internet meme, three things immediately set my “spidey sense” tingling.
1. The creator of this meme believes the way to peace is good intentions and a pure heart. While lots of us have similar ideas about what makes up “good intentions”, I’m sure there are many points of divergence.
The ancient saying “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” is still around today because it’s true. Here’s just one sad, unfortunate example:
Dr. Spock, the author of a famous handbook on child rearing, recognized that babies throw up a lot and therefore recommended newborns be laid on their stomachs to sleep. Unknowingly, this would result in thousands of accidental smothering deaths. We now know that newborns should sleep on their backs until they can roll over for themselves.
An internet search will provide many more examples of good intentions gone horribly wrong. So I need to ask: Who defines what is good? And how good is good enough?
Let me offer a very radical, very out-of-the-box answer: the creator of time, space the universe and YOU defines what is good AND how good is good enough.
ChristianWeek.com suggests achieving goodness means being kind and decent, compassionate and generous, resourceful and studious, curious and concerned with addressing injustice.
As a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God), I’m delighted that these characteristics can be agreed on by pretty much everyone.
Here’s the controversial part: Jesus followers like me believe being good is absolutely NOT good enough. In one of the original-source biographies of His physical time on Earth, Jesus said “you must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” Oh boy. This isn’t looking good for me, you or anyone else on this planet.
2. What is a pure heart? Ideapod.com has this definition: It doesn’t mean having any faults, but rather without any hidden intentions. It’s not about always being right or perfect, but rather doing your best to do the right thing.
This is all very, very laudable. I’m just not ready to say that me, you or anyone else has achieved it.
No matter how hard I work at it, there are times when I do NOT try my best to do the right thing. Despite my best efforts, there are occasions when I absolutely DO have hidden intentions. This means I fall short of Jesus’s standard for this life and the life to come. Can you, with complete honesty, claim you are pure-hearted?
3. What is the “end of the day”? The tone of the meme suggests it’s the end of life. If you believe there’s something beyond 70+ years on this planet, then the meme is ignoring that. Given the words of Jesus about Heaven and what’s required to get there, is that a good idea?
There’s a lot to ponder here. I suggest the best way to start is to investigate the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. If He’s right and your eternal life is at stake, then nothing is more important than checking Him out.