So I have good news, and I have bad news...

...which do you want first?

In a recent scientific poll conducted by myself and my lovely girlfriend Ashley, we found that approximately 97% of Americans prefer their bad news to precede their good news. (We only polled like 34 people, and Ashley was the one who kept it from being a clean sweep for the bad-news-firsters, so you're probably going to have to give or take 5% or something.)

It just seems to make sense, doesn't it? The bad news first just makes the good news all the better. And really, is good news even good unless it is coupled with bad news? "We won the war!" must be preceded by, "We are at war!" "I didn't get a ticket!" must be preceded by, "I deserve a ticket."

And if you know anything about me and my illustrations, you will know that I am about to say...

The same goes for the Gospel!

The good news that "the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand" isn't really that good unless it's preceded by the news that, "there are a bunch of other man-made kingdoms out there that really aren't that great, but pretty much everyone's bought into one." The good news that "Jesus came to save you from your sins" isn't that good unless there's first the news that, "you're sinful as heck." The good news that "if anyone is in the Messiah, he is a new creation" isn't that good unless we first hear that, "anyone in Adam is an old, dead, wicked, still-born wreck of destruction." You get the idea.

Story time. We play this game at camp called "Cowboy, Chicken, Conqueror." It's fantastic. The gist is this: All the campers choose a partner. Partners split up, forming two circles which march around in opposite directions. The counselor shouts out "Cowboy!", "Chicken!" or "Conqueror!" and the last pair to meet up and form the appropriate corresponding action (such as jumping on your partner's back and flapping your arms for "Chicken") is the loser. It's great fun and really cool. What's even cooler is that there is a very similar game that 1st Century kids played. (No, this isn't me coming up with a bogus counselor story about the origins of our camp games. We wouldn't do that (*wink*). This is a true story. But take note, aspiring facilitators.)

The 1st Century version of the game was called "Weddings and Funerals." If they had played the game at Sea of Galilee Jewish Camp, it might have looked something like this: All the campers choose a partner. Partners split up, forming two circles which march around in opposite directions. The Rabbi either plays a wedding song on his flute or sings a funeral dirge. The last pair to meet up and perform the appropriate corresponding action of dancing or mourning is the loser. 1st Century camp games--awesome, right? (I really don't know if there was partner-picking or marching or any of that, but the rest is legit.)

Jesus actually mentions the game in Matthew 11 and Luke 7. Matthew 11:16-19 says, "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' For John [the Baptist] came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."

What's Jesus talking about? Let's start with John. John was sent as the forerunner to Jesus. He wore crappy clothes, ate nasty food, lived in the wilderness, and preached an unpopular message. People went to hear him, because they knew he was a prophet. But when they got out to the wilderness, he told them that they needed to repent of their sin. He told them that just because they were children of Abraham didn't mean that they were cool with God. He told them there was wrath coming. None of this is particularly good news, and all of it is good reason to mourn and repent. Did they mourn? Mostly not. John came to haunt people with their sin, and they said he had a demon.

What about Jesus, then? As he said earlier in the chapter, he came healing the blind, lame, lepers, and deaf. He raised the dead. He preached good news to the poor. He also called people to repent, but not because of the coming wrath, but because the Kingdom of the Heavens was at hand. This sure sounds like the prophesied Messiah! What better reason to dance than the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, the King? Did they dance? Nah. Jesus came to start a party, and they called him a drunk who ate too much and invited people they didn't like.

It's as if Jesus was saying, "What gives, people? What could be worse news than the sorry, sinful state you're in? And what could be better news than the coming of your Salvation from that sin? This is a game a kid could play, and you stink at it."

I want to leave you with four thoughts.

1) Am I mourning things worth mourning? Am I more upset about traffic making me late for work than that I had sinful thoughts about my brother or sister? More upset about my roommate using my body wash and leaving the lid open than the fact that I haven't prayed in a week? How about this--am I more upset that my neighbor is gay or that he's without Jesus and a slave to his sin? Which matters more? Think about it.

2) Am I rejoicing over things worth rejoicing? Do I do a little dance when I win a game of Risk but act nonchalant when I memorize a Scripture passage? Would I get more excited about my favorite quarterback winning a Super Bowl or getting saved? Am I happier when my unsaved friend asks me to go bowling or when he asks me a tough question about my faith?

3) When I present the Gospel (good news) am I remembering to include the bad news too? If the bad news is that we're a bunch of misguided but well-meaning folks in need of a little encouragement to do nice things and a good example of how to do them, is that really so bad? The corresponding "good news" of a solution to that would really only be sorta good. Rather, the good news of a better kingdom, freedom from sin, and a right relationship with God is only good (and only makes sense) in response to the bad news that we've sold out to a kingdom of darkness, we're slaves to sin, and God is our enemy.

4) The last part of that passage I cited says, "Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds." John's and Jesus' messages were shown to be wise because their deeds were consistent with what they taught. The fruit they bore was tasty. May we live likewise.

Christopher M. Cuffman

Coram Deo