In Eric Metaxas’ excellent book called Bonhoeffer, he chronicles the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, author, and pastor who was put to death by the Third Reich for being a part of an eclectic group of Europeans who conspired and attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler. After reading it, the story has troubled me ever since. Not that people were conspiring to assassinate Hitler. I get that. What troubles me is that a God-fearing, God-loving, highly respected pastor played a part in the plot. To be fair, it troubled Bonhoeffer too. He did not come to the conspiracy table lightly. He came via torment of conscience. After all, how could he, a consecrated devotee to Christ, passively watch as millions were put to death. He found this to be a holy discontent. To be clear, I believe that Jesus modeled an overtly non-violent faith in God and do not endorse Bonhoeffer’s conclusions in this specific matter. After all, Jesus came to die for people not to conquer them in battle. Nonetheless, I do admire the zeal, conviction and commitment of the man.
What is your holy discontent? Is there any evil in this world that stirs your soulish waters? Are there any godly causes that you can’t help but throw your life into? Who’s to say exactly why David picked up his trusty slingshot and ran to confront the bully Goliath, but I suspect it had something to do with a holy discontent. It is hard to know why the Samaritan stopped and helped, but I’d like to believe it was a holy discontent. And then there’s the Apostle Paul. The man ran on the fuel of holy discontentment. In Lystra, the Bible tells us, some men stoned him and dragged his body outside of the city proper. However, when the other disciples found him and he came to, he got up and went right back into the city. It’s hard to keep a good man down.
It seems to me that a hypnotic apathy has befallen the American Church, has befallen me. I know that there are days when I feel my eyes spinning like pinwheels. Why? I really don’t know, but I suspect that it has something to do with our collective “life on Easy Street”, “Don’t rock the boat”, “You deserve a break today” psyche. We Christians have drunk the cultural Kool-Aid of our day, and it’s killing us. Like a mega dose of Benadryl, this serum has sent the Church into a spiritual stupor, numbing our minds, neutralizing our bodies and deadening our hearts to the divinely compelling vision of the Great Commandment and Great Commission.
For Dietrich Bonhoeffer, it was unthinkable that German Christians would be swept-up into the fervor of Hitler’s diabolical worldview of Arian supremacy and nationalistic superiority over all others. Since finishing the book, I have stewed on the American Church, asking myself the question, “What is our comparable issue to the one the German Church of the 30’s and 40’s faced?” I could make arguments for lots of things but have no definitive conclusions. We all could identify many possible candidates. However, the point I’m trying to emphasis is not the problem of identifying the worldly issue but rather the problem of our seemingly apathetic, anemic response to all the issues.
3 Take Away’s from Bonhoeffer:
1. Know what you believe and why—Bonhoeffer knew God personally and God’s Word thoroughly and was able to recognize evil in his world at a time when many Christians were blind to it. Do you know what you believe and why?
2. Live in community—Bonhoeffer prioritized God’s family by seeking out the encouragement and accountability of Christian fellowship, knowing others and being known. He practiced a relationally interdependent life with fellow believers. Are you living in Christian community?
3. Be courageous—Bonhoeffer, although experiencing real feelings of fear and anxiety, courageously acted upon his convictions. He boldly followed God, trusting that his life was securely on the hands of Jesus. Have you courageously acted upon your convictions?