Better Late Than Never

And now we exhort you, brethern, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a Christian.

There, I said it. I didn’t want to say it, but I had to.

I had planned to write about something entirely different for this first blog post of 2021. But, the events of the past 48 hours have constrained me to redirect my attention.

This past Wednesday evening, a monochromatic horde of rioters stormed the United States Capitol in protest of and in a brazen attempt to disrupt the certification of our newly elected president.  As I watched the mayhem unfold, my blood pressure rose with each passing minute. I wondered how they were able to penetrate so deeply into one of the most sacred precincts of our democracy without anyone trying to stop them.  But mostly, I wondered how differently things would have turned out had the perpetrators been brown or black (we already know the answer).

Later that evening, as the votes were tallied and the election was finally certified, my anger began to simmer as I watched certain Senators still clinging to the lie that the outcome of the election was ever in question.

And then, my simmering anger began to boil as so many of our current President’s enablers finally began to concede that yesterday’s action was the inevitable result of the kind of narrow, bigoted leadership that Mr. Trump has exercised and the incendiary rhetoric he has employed over the course of the past four years. Finally, he was challenged, reprimanded, and held accountable. Even Facebook and Twitter jumped on the bandwagon.

I was angry because it has been quite obvious for a loooonnng time that Mr. Trump appears to lack several of the essential qualities necessary for the office, including humility, selflessness, and candor. I was angry because I was wondering what took all these folks so long to see what Ray Charles could have seen. That recognition was past past PAST due.

If I wasn’t a Christian, I could allow my anger to dominate my thinking, infiltrate my emotions, and worse, influence my actions. If I weren’t a Christian, then I could easily dismiss all of these Johnny-come-latelies as self-serving cowardly hypocrites. Two weeks before the end of his term, so many of you have been suddenly converted, and now you realize how dangerous Mr. Trump’s s leadership is (and has been)?

 But then, I remembered the thief on the cross.

Actually, referring to him as a thief is an understatement. He was much more than that. During the last week of his earthly life, Jesus was crucified. In biblical times, crucifixion was a penalty reserved for sedition against the Roman state. It was designed as a deterrent. The not so subtle message being sent out was “this is what happens if you mess with Rome.”  Jesus was crucified (partly) because His enemies convinced the political authorities that He was a threat.

Two other men shared His fate that fateful afternoon. Mark 15:27 and Matthew 27:38 says they were thieves, which is the word lestes in Greek. In Luke 23:32, they are referred to as “malefactors”. That word is kakopionos meaning “evildoer”.  It’s one thing to be a thief. It is something entirely different to be an evildoer. The former is bad. The latter is far, far worse. These men who were crucified with Jesus had not only committed evil actions, but they were both evil men. One action does not a character make. But their character was clear. One of them recognized the errors of his ways, and as he was dying asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus accepted his plea, and told him “Today, you shall be with me in paradise.”

I wish that story wasn’t in the Bible.

But it is.

And there are moments that I wish I wasn’t a Christian.

But I am.

And as a Christian, I must always believe in the possibility that through the power of the Gospel, human beings can change. This text suggests that even after a lifetime of evil, a few moments in the presence of Jesus can melt the hardest heart, and forever alter one’s destiny.

That means that however angry I may find the recent conversions, I must believe that it is better to be right, do right, and stand for right late rather than never. Those who are willing to change can always do so. Psalm 51:17 says a “ willing and contrite heart He will not despise.” If I am willing to change and have realized the negative consequences of my previous error, God will honor my willingness, and give me another chance.

As a Christian, I must be patient with those who are late to the party.

And if you are Christian, you must be as well.

To be honest, I like warning the unruly more than I do comforting the feebleminded, supporting the weak, and being patient with all men.  Did that say all men? Does that mean all the people you dislike, disagree with and find utterly repulsive? Yes!

Allllll men (and the word man in Greek included women...it means humanity).

Most of us are past due on something.

But thank God that anybody can change: no matter how late, how old, how wrong, or how repulsive they are.

Even you.