November/December 2002
Kickers 101
by Steve Brown
I once told a Jewish man, who had been called a "Christ killer" by some seriously misguided Christians, that I was so very sorry for what Christians had said about him. He waited for me to say something else and, when I didn't, he said something that really surprised me. He said, "Steve, I want to thank you for what you said, but more than what you said, I want to thank you that there was no kicker."
I asked him what he meant by "kicker" and he said that a "kicker" was a hidden agenda. "Sometimes," he said, "I get the feeling that the only reason Christians even talk to me is to get me to be a Christian. I've heard the same thing before, when you said that you were sorry for what Christians have called me, but after that there was always something else -- a kicker. You were just sorry for what had been said, and that was it. So, thank you."
I've thought a lot about what my Jewish friend said that evening, and I think God was speaking a message I needed to hear through him. (God does that sometimes.)
What follows is a course in kickers -- Kickers 101, if you will.
Before proceeding, it is important to define terms. A kicker is the "essence" of the motion that causes the pain -- as in a foot being applied to the posterior with force. A "kickor" is the one who administers the kicker. A "kickee" is the one being kicked. Frankly, I have been both a kickor and a kickee and am, thus, an expert on this subject.
There are three basic types of kickors. Of course, there are a great number of variables within each category, but that is not the concern of this particular lecture and, besides, those categories will be covered in my forthcoming book, Kickors I Have Known and Loved and its sequel, How to Kick Back.
First, there are covert kickors. This is what my Jewish friend was talking about when he thanked me for not having a kicker. In its pagan variety, you will find this under "bait and switch" schemes as in, "Sorry, we just sold out of five thousand dollar Mercedes, but let me show you some of the other fine automobiles we offer." Or as in, "I wouldn't bury my dog in that casket. Let me show you some caskets that are befitting the dignity of your departed and the love that you had for your loved one."
One expects that sort of thing from pagans -- but not from Christians. That's why, when we do it, it is such a surprise and works so well. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "We are quite frank and open in our ministry. We use no hocus-pocus, no clever tricks, no dishonest manipulation of the word of God. We speak the plain truth and so commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God" (2 Corinthians 3:12; 4:2, The New Testament in modern English, J.B. Phillips).
| We are loved without condition, forgiven without exception and free without any bonds except those of love. |
When friendship evangelism has more to do with evangelism than friendship, we can lose both. When we love people because of what they can do for us, it isn't love; it's manipulation. When we feed the hungry only because, once fed, they will listen to the gospel, we betray the very teaching of the One who had compassion on people because -- well, just because he was compassionate.
Secondly, there are not only the covert kickors -- there are also the pompous kickors. These are the folks whose self-righteousness makes you feel guilty. It gives you the same feeling you would have upon finding that you had a piece of spinach hanging from your teeth at a formal, afternoon tea for the Queen of England. These are the kinds of people who make you feel guilty for living.
Pharisees talk about God a lot, pray (often with tears), and are very, very serious about religion. I have always been drawn to that kind of person but, can we talk? I never liked him or her very much. I told Jesus about it and he told me that he didn't like them much either. Luke tells us that when the Pharisees came to Jesus looking very religious and pious, Jesus "perceived their craftiness" (Luke 20:23, NJKV).
The kicker, of course, is that you find out they're faking it. You find out that they are not nearly as spiritual as they look. You find out that there is a limit of one Messiah to each universe and they certainly aren't it.
Thirdly, there are fraudulent kickors. These are the folks who give it with one hand and take it away with the other. Its pagan variety is often found in a strip joint, or a shopping mall or on a pornographic website. There are all kinds of promises (e.g. happiness, freedom from restraint, riches, etc., etc.), but those promises never deliver.
The Christian kickor is not dissimilar to the strip joint variety; it's a promise without fulfillment. You know the statements where good stuff is given with one hand and taken away with the other: "You are saved and kept by God's unconditional grace... but don't overdo it." (If you can overdo it, it's not grace.) "God loves you... but don't let it go to your head." (If you can't let it go to your head, it's not love.) "You're accepted and forgiven without condition... but don't try God's patience." (If you can try God's patience, his acceptance isn't unconditional.) "You're free... but only free to be obedient." (If I'm only free to be obedient, then I'm not free.)
Do you know what following Christ is all about? It is living your life in a fallen world without a kicker. Why? Because God lived his life in the world -- for us -- without a kicker.
Christians don't have to have a kicker. We are loved without condition, forgiven without exception and free without any bonds except those of love. We don't have to protect anything, sell anything or force anything. We don't have to be right; we don't have anything to sell; and we don't have to pretend to be anything other than what we are -- redeemed sinners who are loved without condition.
Do I live my life without a kicker? Are you crazy? As I've written this, I've thought of a dozen places where I've added a kicker. In fact, I'm probably one of the best kickors you've ever met. But Jesus is still quite fond of me, and I'm getting better the more I hang out with him.
And, not only that, I'm getting better about the kickee part, too. I'm learning to kick back. Luther put it this way:
There are some who have no understanding to hear the truth of freedom and insist upon their goodness as means for salvation. These people you must resist, do the very opposite and offend them boldly lest by their impious views they drag many with them into error. For the sake of liberty of the faith do other things which they regarded as the greatest of sins... use your freedom constantly and consistently in the sight of and despite the tyrants and stubborn so that they may learn that they are impious, that their law and works are of no avail for righteousness, and that they had no right to set them up.
In other words, "Don't let them do it to you."
He asked me to tell you. (Jesus... not Luther. Well... Jesus and Luther.)
-- Steve Brown