4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. The writer, the apostle Paul, says to "let this mind be in you" - this is the mind of Christ. It's a mindset that's less concerned with our own power and position, but concerned about how we can be compassionate and effective witnesses for him. One of the great literary characters of all time said these words, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view–until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
Jesus put on human form, He became a man, and we are told that because He was tempted in all things, as we are, He can be a source of help to us when we are tempted. He identifies with us in our weaknesses, so we can be partakers of His strength. He enables us to see other people through His eyes.
As we approach Holy Week and the commemoration of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, we can be inspired to think about the One who gave His life for each of us, even though we don't deserve it. Romans 5 gives us a picture of the significance of Christ's sacrifice:
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I had the opportunity over the weekend to view the superior performance of "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival - a stage adaptation of the classic novel by Monroeville's Harper Lee.
Readers of the book and viewers of the movie or play are taken in by the depth of the characters, including the idealistic attorney Atticus Finch and his inquisitive children Scout and Jem, and throughout the stage play, you have the wonder about the mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley, who appears near the end of the performance in a daring, life-saving feat.
And, you can pick up on a strong faith element that can be instructive to our lives today - over 50 years after the book's release in 1960, the lessons of the Great Depression in the South can haunt and help us.
Author Mark Litton wrote a book called, The Mockingbird Parables, which explores some of these compelling aspects of the literary classic. In a post on the "CNN Belief Blog", he writes:
The novel has been described simply as the story of one man’s stand for racial justice, but we cannot ignore the other valuable messages–including Christian ones-for today’s culture of distrust.
From Wall Street to Washington to Main Street, it seems our decisions are governed by what is financially, politically, and socially expedient. Our faith is more of an afterthought than a guiding force.
The many lessons of Lee’s novel can lead us back to a restorative way of making choices by following these four principles:1. Try understanding others. The theme is revealed in lawyer Atticus Finch’s memorable explanation to his daughter: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view–until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
The Christian faith originated with a God who moved into our neighborhood, who “climbed into human skin and walked around in it,” and who truly understands and connects with humanity...
2. Live in the here and now. Lee’s novel challenges us to remember that our faith should impact our actions today.
A heroine of the novel, Miss Maudie, remarks that she is thankful that the town has at least one man (in Finch) with the conviction to do the right thing. But she also laments that “there are some men who are so worried about the next world that they have never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the streets and see the results.”...
3. Embrace and encourage idealism. ...Don’t many of us grow older and just accept the injustice, the poverty, the hurting people, the oppression and sin around us as “the way it is”?” So did many of the adults in Maycomb, the fictional town where the book is set...
4. Be guided by faith, not circumstances. Christians could also stand to remember the racism of the “good church going folks” of Maycomb, that the protagonist of the novel calls it a “disease,” and be wary that the same types of religious folks were actually responsible for the crucifixion of our Jesus.
Atticus Finch is an example of someone who saw the best in people - daring to buck the social mores of the day and attempt to defend an innocent black man. In an age when justice did not come easy, if at all, to people of color, Atticus is a clear voice of justice - he can remind us that Jesus stands with the oppressed and He directs us to bring a sense of justice in our culture, even when it may not be popular.
Atticus even naively thought that the loathsome Bob Ewell, who clearly had framed Tom Robinson in a crime he did not commit, would not make good on threats that he had made. It has been said that while he championed good, he underestimated evil. Zack Boren writes on The Gospel Coalition website:
It is only Atticus, adrift in his world of unimpeachable lawyering, who fails to see Ewell for who he is, proclaiming in the novel’s denouement that he can’t conceive of a man who’d try to kill children. He should have seen it coming. Atticus’s attitude illustrates the limits of moral tolerance and the courage required to stand up to evil, demonstrated by Boo Radley.And, we are challenged by the words of the phrase that contains the title, "It is a sin to kill a mockingbird". The mockingbird here can caution us not to pronounce judgment on the innocent, a reminder to revere life, and to respect others. And, the word, "sin", is used by the author.
In an age when people want to redefine sin or explain it away, the moral clarity of this statement, and the sense of right and wrong displayed in this American classic can be inspiring for the way we relate to our culture.
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