There is a popular account in Mark 2:1-12 about a time four men broke through the roof of a house to get their crippled friend to Jesus. There were large crowds, and many obstacles (including a roof), but these men would not be stopped. They had to get their friend to Jesus. They broke through a roof to get him there. Why? Because they understand their friends desperate need for Jesus. A need he didn’t just have because He was crippled, but because he was human. This is something too many of us forget today.
Our society today teaches us to be nice. We shouldn’t witness because that isn’t nice. We shouldn’t say that accepting Jesus is the only way to be saved because that isn’t nice. We should accept all things as good so all people can believe they are good. As Christians we have become weak, and afraid to defend the truth. Part of the reason for this is most of us have friends or family who are not saved, and we don’t want to admit they’ll go to hell if we don’t do anything about it. We don’t think about it, pretend it’s not true, and when someone dies we know never accepted Jesus we pretend they get to spend eternity with Him. It’s nice to think this. It’s nice not to offend. It’s also stupid.
Being nice is stupid. I don’t know of a better way to say it. This niceness we allow to exist is actually a deadly tool created by Satan to keep us from witnessing to the truth. We all need Jesus. By sitting back and pretending otherwise we aren’t being nice. We’re being extremely mean. We are deciding that it’s better not to offend someone than to save them. We’d rather let someone go to hell than speak up. We pretend things are okay when we know they’re not. We have a crippled friend, but we don’t get how important it is that we get that friend to Jesus. We instead convince ourselves our friend really isn’t crippled. Does this help? Does this save our friend? Of course it doesn't. We hurt those we love this way. We aren’t helping those we love at all by pretending a sin isn’t a sin just because we don’t want them to go to hell.
I feel like I need to make this clear. This whole idea that there are other ways or one can go to heaven because they’re a good person is not a nice idea. It’s a dangerous idea, and one used by Satan to convince us there is no real need to witness. We need to cast off this lie, and understand the true urgency of the matter. We can’t allow our own laziness to condemn those around us, or let anyone lie to themselves anymore. We might as well look at someone who can’t walk when we do this, and pretend they can walk. Don’t let anyone think it’s nice to believe everyone goes to heaven. It’s not nice. This lie does those who can be reached a disservice.
If we love others we won’t pretend their sin is okay because we don’t want them to go to hell. We won’t condemn them, but we also won’t let them be condemned by this nice lie. If we want to help them we’ll admit the truth to ourselves, and try to make sure they see the truth before it’s too late. We’ll be like the friend of the crippled man, and admit the need for Jesus. We’ll work hard to get those we know who are figuratively crippled by their rejection of the truth to Jesus. We’ll cast down the fake good thoughts. They only harm. Honesty is far more helpful than being nice. We must admit that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. We must be concerned and grieved by those who will suffer because they won’t accept that truth. We must know that truth, and speak it. Speak it loud. Speak it proud. Be bold. Be honest.
We must remember what four men with a crippled friend understood. All people need Jesus. Being nice wouldn’t have gotten their friend healed, and forgiven of his sins. They had to get their friend to Jesus because only Jesus could heal him. If we love our friends and family we need to work hard to get them to Jesus. We need to stop being nice, and start being honest. We need to cast down lies, and lift up the truth.
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