I really enjoy football, as much for the drama around it as for the actual game.
One master operator in the drama over the last two decades or so has undoubtedly been my favourite manager of my lifetime: Jose Mourinho.
In one of his stints managing Chelsea (it’s alright if you have no idea what I’m talking about; I’ll press on anyway), he had a particular feud with Arsenal manager - Arsene Wenger. As part of their verbal tiffs in press conferences, Mourinho played the “I’m better than you” card by outright saying that Wenger was a “specialist in failure” due to the number of seasons the Arsenal manager had “failed” to win the major trophies.
I loved it because Mourinho was not committed to failure. He was committed to winning. Where others were talking about style and raving about individual flair and entertainment, Mourinho understood that the point of professional competitive sport in the 21st-century business industry was about winning. He knew what was what and applied himself accordingly.
We as a species have a problem. We have a sin complex, which likewise means we are geared to be specialists in failure. Wonderful failure for some. Glorious failure for some. Ignominious failure for some. Forgettable failure for some. Popularised failure for some. Either way, failure is in the system due to this sin complex. And what makes the complex all the more harrowing is our awareness of it to a degree but then a desire to distract from it, divert to other issues and even make up some stories giving the impression that it’s not a failure after all.
At this juncture, though, it’s probably only fair to put that into context. That context is having a recognition of good and that the source of good is God. From that point, there’s an acknowledgement that “successful” living is in accord with good from God’s perspective. It’s a relatively simple concept that says understanding our purpose in life is found in the source of our creation and then looking to align ourselves with Him. Sin has blocked that and has distanced us from that concept to varying degrees. Rather than that concept, we settle for a conceit. The conclusion from the conceit is always failure. Making us - specialists in failure.
The biblical narrative features a lot of flawed characters. Other than Jesus, there are few and far between characters who could suggest that they had a perfect life. Jesus, then, is the one who presents that life, and we only get a glimpse of it as recorded in scripture. There’s enough in that life and the mission he fulfils, though, that gives us incredible hope. It’s why I have a lot of time for what comes across in the writing of the Apostle Paul afterwards. He’s not boasting that he’s perfect, but he often shows that people have seen his character in his conduct, and he can ask people to critique him if he’s been anything less than blameless. Not faultless or flawless but blameless.
His life turned around to follow Jesus, and now he is in touch with the life that shapes and defines his character to such an extent that he can tell those who follow him to do so as he follows Christ. He can commend those who follow him to set an example to others so that they can stimulate Christ-like character. That is to say that Paul presents us with the hope that the gospel can turn our characters around from specialists in failure to specialists in righteousness.
It’s not just Paul who does that. The epistles come from people who encourage their listeners to stick to Christ and allow that character to bear witness in itself that the life of Christ is present in them. That life changes the appetite so that there’s hunger and thirst for doing and being everything pleasing to God. That life means the pursuit is no longer to settle for what the culture and environment define as acceptable as it shrugs its shoulders and turns a blind eye to wickedness. That life means pursuing what would delight our Creator because it sees us in line with His desires.
The values we operate by are not the same as those of the world - they reflect the Creator's wonder, majesty, wisdom and glory. We have the life that enables us to forgive. We have the life that allows us to excel in contributing good for the benefit of others. We have the life that enables us to endure, persevere and look up in hope in all circumstances because better is ahead. And that hope fills us with a pressing desire to portray the purity found in Christ as it affects decisions we make at all levels of life. Such is our focus on this life coursing through our veins that it’s no wonder our specialism becomes the paths of righteousness. Whatever specialism we had before Christ changed drastically. The all-consuming nature of following Jesus makes that difference. The Holy Spirit that lives in us and prompts us to those desires plays a great role in reaffirming that specialism. It’s not about a holier-than-thou attitude.
It’s not even about being a do-gooder. That’s such a surface thing. The paths of righteousness are about a deep and abiding relationship with God through the Son, which means all we desire is what pleases Him. It’s an appetite deep within us that shapes character and conduct.
Of course, it won’t sound appealing on the face of it. It sounds like the “fun” things we used to do; we don’t get to do them anymore. And the way some people present it, this looks like a life without fun, but that’s not the case. That drudgery business isn’t the heart of God. That’s why joy is at the heart of what God is all about. Our delight isn’t superficial and flimsy, easily blown away at the whiff of anything unpleasant. This delight is founded on Someone eternal in nature. And that’s the kind of joy that defines those who take this specialism in righteousness seriously.
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
