Recently a long time pro wrestling announcer noted how hard it has become to be a villain truly hated by the fans. The bad guys used to be able to draw heat very easily by cheating. And there were plenty of rules to break. One could punch his opponent with a closed fist. They could throw someone over the top rope. They could grab a handful of trunks while pinning someone. They could do any of these things (or many others) and the crowd would hate them for cheating.
But much has changed. All of these things are now legal in wrestling and so doing any of them does not guarantee that the fan will consider the one who does them to be a villain. In fact many fans now cheer the very things that used to be considered evil.
Does this sound familiar? It seems to me that here art is imitating life. Many of the things that used to unquestionably make you a villain in life no longer do so. Deeds considered debaucherous in the past are now thought of as ways to facilitate fun. Things that used to be mourned with shame are now celebrated with parties. Things that used to make you a villain in life now make you a fan favorite. Many now cheer the very things that used to be considered evil. There are very few things left in American culture that are against the rules. And so we are left with very few villains. Most everyone is assumed to be a good guy or gal.
And why should we be concerned as God’s people? Well because if everyone is assumed to be a good guy, we will start to assume the same about ourselves. We will do many sinful things and not really be alarmed. We will think the liturgy’s characterization of us as poor miserable sinners is way over the top. And when we think of ourselves as good guys and gals, we will not feel any great need for One to come and save the day.
The rules (the law) were given by God so that that which is sinful might be recognized as utterly sinful. And this not as an end to itself but rather so that us sinners might know that without God’s help we would be lost forever. For in that state, when the Savior came to us, we rejoice. We know that we are bad guys and gals without question and rejoice in the One who comes to save us.
This is why we must continue to proclaim the law with all of its ferocity. This is why we can not change the rules so to speak. For every time we start to call evil good, we also begin to convince ourselves and others that we are fine without Jesus. And that is the lie that kills eternally. We need villains in order that we might rejoice when the good guy Jesus wins the match and sets us free.
We must continue to have rules in order that we know who the villains are, namely ourselves and all other humans. And we must know who we are so that we rejoice in who Christ is. He is the good guy beyond all comparison.
Signed,
A Villain
Excellent article and very relevant to present day declining America, and applicable to some churches which no longer distinguish between right and wrong to attract more members. “Come to our church,” they say, ” where you can have Jesus AND your sins at the same time. Forget those old fashioned, orthodox and traditional things like repentance, sanctification, striving to imitate Christ. We are progressives. You can remain in a sinful lifestyle, and in fact, we will celebrate it with you. We do not care about your theology. Just join us in our happy congregation, where we incorporate secular humanist philosophy into only the parts of the Bible we like.”