EXTREME EXTREMISM!!!

Anybody remember the band “Extreme?” You know, that band who transformed college campuses everywhere by giving “that guy” with an acoustic guitar, a realistic shot at attracting girls who were way out of his league simply by strumming “More Than Words” in a public place. I am guessing you hear the song in your head as you are reading this sentence. Sorry about that. They were also known for lending their lead singer to Van Halen in a triumphant attempt to produce VH’s worst album (sorry, that really had nothing to do with my point.)
While the band was undoubtedly popular, I’m not sure even diehard fans would call their music extreme. However, the name got your attention. The late eighties and early nineties birthed this obsession with “EXTREME” everything. EXTREME fun, EXTREME sodas, EXTREME potato chips, EXTREME deodorant!! The X games were formed around this time. The EXTREME marketing trend lasted way too long, and has gone far beyond just advertisement. It has pervaded our culture, shaped our public discourse, perverted our newscasts, and seems to be the common denominator in all forms of media. “The country is more divided than ever,” is what we hear on a regular basis. We cannot hear nuance or an appreciation for the questions and struggles of our intellectual opponents because we are NOT engaged in a unified struggle for truth! We are in a struggle for personal attention, market share, and money. No matter your opinion on its content, have you turned to NPR lately? Its quieter, subdued, less sensationalistic, and maybe even… boring. The great sin in our culture is not being wrong, but being boring.
As I prepare for this week’s sermon, I have been reading 2 Timothy. Paul warned us. We will long for what we want to hear. It will be interesting. It will sound appealing. It will be full of arrogance, flash, pop, and wow! And… it will be devoid of power.
We love the extreme because it is not only entertaining, but it allows us to check out. We need not think. We need not engage others. We need not wrestle with truth. All we need is the right person who has already done these things for us. A politician, pastor, parent, or even an impersonal “ism” that serves as the glasses through which we view only what we want to see. There is no humility in the EXTREME. Anyone not in our camp is the enemy to be shouted down.
Was Jesus EXTREME?! Not in the way you or I might think. He did not have “talking points,” strategies, or formulas. He engaged everyone for where they were. He spoke the truth of the kingdom, not his feelings (evidenced at Gethsemane and on the cross.) I would suggest that what sets Him apart is that He is the most BALANCED man who ever lived. Balanced by the scriptures, and by His Father’s desires. He often walked away from arguments. He lived humbly, not arrogantly. He spoke gently to those who were broken, and forcefully to those who had broken them. He was GOD in the flesh!! Yet, He boldly proclaimed His inability to do ANYTHING apart from what he had seen His Father do! Our power is dependent on humbling ourselves, confessing our need, and believing His truth no matter how unappealing, irrelevant, difficult, paradoxical, or boring. No matter how loud we shout at one another, God is still God and we are not. Read the scriptures for yourself. Trust. Obey.

Father, humble us and give us courage to trust your truth no matter how unpopular. Glorify yourself in our humble boldness.