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A More Excellent Example For us
By Jesse Masai
"If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not crucify him. They would ask him to dinner, hear what he had to say, and make fun of it."
Thomas Carlyle, British historian (1795-1881)
In one of my favorite ancient Middle and Far East tales, a king - dissatisfied by the empty praise and counsel of his court poets - opts to probe the true opinions of his subjects by going against the grain.
Wearing torn stockings and ragged apparel, he disguises himself enough to slip out of his palace unnoticed and unaccompanied by any of his regular minders.
He mingles freely with the public, thereby - in his seeming poverty and simplicity - gathering intelligence concerning the true plight of his people and their attitudes towards him.
He then, legend goes, gets to make changes to his circle of close advisors and makes wise decisions concerning the country.
I have, admittedly, attempted to walk in his steps a number of times, with equally quality outcomes.
I read the story in lower elementary, long before I heard about and read the more popular boy who told an emperor that he was naked while everyone else was praising him on account of the supposed beauty of his new apparel.
In reflecting upon prevailing attitudes towards my gender in our times, I could not but help thinking about the occasional need for us to break out of the popular mould so as to understand both ourselves as well as the world around us better.
Around us everyday, nations and organizations are crying for genuine leadership, children seeking fathers, women true brothers and husbands, and God men who will mirror His image on earth.
In thinking about this, no one - in my mind - demonstrated the power of simplicity in penetrating popular culture and the marketplace of ideas more than Jesus of Nazareth.
In addition to the quote at the start of this short piece, I invite you to savor a few more about that gentleman of Galilee, the majestic King who abdicated His throne to become like the rest of us.
- Quotes about Jesus from the first millenium.
- Quotes about Jesus from the second millenium.
- Quotes about Jesus from the 20th and 21st century.
Observant men will have no difficulty casting their lot with the power of this example.
Thomas Carlyle, British historian (1795-1881)
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