“Highly respectable poverty.” That’s a phrase David Brooks uses in his book “The Road to Character” to describe the attitude and upbringing of early civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph who refused the offer of donors to raise money to better he and his family’s living situation as his public notoriety grew.
Material wealth is certainly among the things Christians must be willing to do without, but I believe we can apply an attitude of highly respectable poverty to other forms of “wealth” which are equally tempting. One of the most alluring is the lust for power and position. Though social media can give modern folks an inflated sense of importance and power, the temptation to greatness certainly isn’t unique to our digital generation.
Jesus knew when His disciples needed their thinking challenged or corrected. One of those occasions is in Mark 9 when upon arriving back at their ministry base in Capernaum He asks them, “What were you discussing on the way?” The disciples’ silence is telling. They knew arguing about which of them was the greatest was not something that would please their Master. They were right!
I don’t see a lot of fellow Christians arguing about who’s the greatest per se, but we sure argue. We argue politics, we argue semantics, we argue doctrine, we argue strategies and styles, etc., etc... All this arguing leads me to wonder if such outer disagreements aren’t in fact being driven by unspoken individual feelings of great(er)ness in relation to other believers. And how easily these bickerings can start—one slip, one word uttered in frustration, one little moment of self-congratulation, one seemingly innocent corrective comment, one “I’m not looking to start a debate, BUT….” kind of post on social media. I wonder, would those “Just putting this out there…” kinds of posts not get made less and less if others (especially other Christians) didn’t get so riled up and give in to the urge to engage, no matter how irritating or inane posts like that can be?
We look at the “Who’s the greatest disciple” situation and want to know which knucklehead disciple started it on the walk back to Capernaum, and why. Was he bored? Was he frustrated by Jesus? by another disciple? Did he feel his concerns or position were worthy of more note within the group than they were currently enjoying? Was he basking in a private compliment by Jesus feeling sure this affirming word set him apart (indeed above) the others and wanting to make sure everyone else knew how he’d pleased the Lord? Maybe one of those is true. But really shouldn’t we wonder who made the second comment, the first rebuttal, the first rebuke, the first corrective comment? Couldn’t the whole kerfuffle have been avoided had not that second person gotten defensive and instead either changed the subject or, better yet, pretended not to even hear the first statement? Aparently this second person didn’t spend his quiet time that morning meditating on Proverbs 26:4 (“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself”) or Psalm 19:11 (“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”)
Truth be told, there have been plenty of mornings I didn’t meditate on those passages either!
The refining process in earthly life always brings out inner ugliness on our way to eternal gold. The road trip back to Capernaum was such a refining process. Jesus knew the disciples were up to mischief, but He let it continue, partly for them, and partly for us! When they got back, He corrected offender and counter-offender alike with tough love and set a child in their midst to remind them of the kind of heart that pleases Him and what true greatness in His kingdom looks like. In a lot of ways I believe our present confinement is a process of refinement. As we journey our road with Jesus during these testy, trying times, what are we discussing on the way? How are talking with one another? Are we looking for ways to serve each other through our interactions whether in-person or through the typed/texted word and assert the greatness of Jesus? Or are we somehow angling for our own greatness in the midst of a whole world of people trying to be on top?
“Highly respectable poverty” is an attitude that flows not so much out of a non-concern with material goods as out of a general self-perception more shaped by the supreme greatness of Jesus and the great value He ascribes to us as His chosen ones than upon any greatness we can gain for ourselves. The world needs a Church that embraces highly respectable poverty in every dimension of its life. We don’t have to be great when we have such a great Lord. We don’t have to make ourselves great through wealth or through words when we serve such a great Savior who knows and calls us by name! This kind of church is made up of these kind of disciples. And these kind of disciples have “highly respectable poverty” modeled for them by their servant leaders. That’s our calling!