I saw a recent ESPN poll which labeled Tim Tebow as America's favorite athlete, and I thought this odd. On one hand, sportswriters and athletes are constantly demeaning him, while on the other hand many people are fascinated and excited by him. While I suspect he got a large amount of votes simply for being outspoken about his faith, I also suspect he got votes because he's a nice guy. Everyone talks about how likable he is. How competitive. How hard working. It's a rarity in athletics and the world of celebrities.
This got me to thinking about how people view good. How they view the 'nice guy'.
I get the feeling that people don't generally like watching athletes, or performers, who think they're God's gift to the earth. People, again, generally speaking, seem to root for nice guys and underdogs... humble guys.. hard working guys. I haven't encountered too many people who are like "I love the way that guys points at his name on his jersey when he scores" or "I love how that guy struts after an interception" or "I love how that lady threatens her competition". No, generally people cheer for the nice guys/gals.
Maybe I'm way off, and maybe it's just me...but if I'm not, then this certainly seems like an odd tension.
Why? Well, the VAST majority of people seem almost completely incapable of sustaining acts of selflessness and humanity. I use celebrities and athletes as an example simply because they are at the pinnacle of wealth and power in our society, but I was struck recently by an article talking about the most charitable celebrities. I don't want to judge without having ALL of the details, but from what the article described, the most charitable celebrities seemed to give pretty minimally, and largely to causes unrelated to the suffering of the world. There are certainly exceptions, but they are just that....exceptions.
But this isn't just a problem among those with wealth, status, and power. It's a human problem which is simply more easily seen in those who are constantly in front of a camera.
Generally people don't like to see women and children abused, the weak oppressed and hurt, and property destroyed... but, when it benefits them, or when they feel threatened, most people are often completely willing to inflict this kind of pain and destruction. Need proof?
A simple example is seen in Stanford's 1971 Prison Experiment. The experiment was designed to test human nature by placing ordinary people in sudden positions of power or submission. Some were guards, and some were prisoners. It was intended to be two weeks in length, but was stopped after just six days because those overseeing the experiment found out that the guards were "were escalating their abuse of prisoners in the middle of the night when they thought no researchers were watching and the experiment was 'off.' Their boredom had driven them to ever more pornographic and degrading abuse of the prisoners." In fact, the guards were reportedly upset to find out the study was terminated prematurely.1
So, experience shows us that most all of us will, when given power, abuse it. We see it in politics, in the business world, in neighborhood associations, and in schools. If this is the case, then why do we ever cheer for the 'nice guy'? Why not be consistent and cheer for the one in power?
I mean, basically, it sounds to me like we want to see good done, and we even want to do good, but we are often incapable of sustaining, it. When it comes down to it, most of us value ourselves enough that while we love to see good done, we also put our needs and desires above everyone elses; even harming them in the process. Why?
I believe it comes down to our very nature. We all experience an assortment of insecurities, fears, pride (believing WE know the way things ought be done, or that we are deserving of more), and feelings that we are unlovable. These feelings drive us to prove to ourselves, and to those around us, that we are strong and valuable. Unfortunately, in our efforts to prove this we often end up hurting those around us, and thus putting them in the same situation in which we find ourselves (fear, insecurity, and unlove).
Mankind is a revolving door of pain infliction. We are either receiving, or dealing out, pain and insecurity 24/7.
So, people clearly desire good. This desire is seen in who we cheer for, what we approve of, and who we vote for. However, because of this selfish nature, people are largely incapable, or undesirous, of pursuing good with any amount of consistency.
So how do you overcome this?
Well, for the most part you don't. Sorry to be a killjoy, but if you believe that self-preservation is a necessary evil, then you're going to do, well, evil. This is why, philosophically speaking, you cannot live this worldview and still look down on those who do evil to benefit themselves. After all, they're only doing what they feel necessary in order to pacify their insecurities and fears. They genuinely believe they know the best way to get the job done, and they're doing it. Alternately, they can't react in disbelief if someone more powerful does the same to them. This is obviously a simplified view of things, and people will likely argue for a utopian society in which we all do good and thus live harmoniously, but it's not a reality. People don't behave this way. And if you know that others will cheat, hurt, and oppress you, then you're likely going to do it first as a form of self-protection.
However, as a Christian, you've got to know that I believe that there is a better way. I believe that God made the world to function in a harmonious relationship; mankind with God, and mankind with mankind.
The bulk of the above is basically a description of sin; our inability to trust God with our fears and insecurities, and our belief that we know best and can run our lives better without God. Our efforts to find love and significance apart from the one place it can truly be found (in God). Jesus answers this by His work on the cross. This work ensures that our evils are not held against us, and because of His extravagant love for us, we're able to live in peace and confidence. Christians, despite their behavior, have no reason for fear, pride, and insecurity. We are free to love the world without fear of consequence or loss of power.
Obviously this is the condensed (and potentially incoherent) version of something which could fill a book, but I don't feel like writing a book today.
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