Maverick

When I read scripture, I cannot help but be intrigued by the maverick character.

Two such dudes that stand out in this category are Elijah and John D. Baptist. (I like how he’s the only geezer who has his own gimmick in the Bible, to the extent that it made sense to have that as his surname.)

What marks both of these characters as mavericks is their position with authority. They were hugely respectful, indeed reverential to authority. True story. Both Elijah and John had such a fear of their ultimate authority that they dared not disobey when He ordered them to obey. This made them bold in confronting lesser authorities who looked to ride roughshod over the laws of their ultimate authority.

How else can you take on not just the king but the prevailing religion of the day with hundreds of priests? How else can you be so outspoken about the illicit relationship of the top guy in town in your call for righteousness? How else can you do these things risking your freedom, reputation and very life?

Compare that to the status quo in both scenarios where the religious parties of the day were happy to be complicit to the scheme of things without kicking up a fuss. Scandal would be condoned, injustice would not be questioned, and there is not a thing they would do to upset whoever was in the rule.

Sometimes in Christian circles a similar mindset can be apparent where little is done to challenge the discrepancies and injustices of the system around us. That can be as much in the very same Christian circles as well as the society at large.

This is because it is easy to do what it takes to fit in. We often use the ‘meek and mild’ Jesus routine to cover for our quietness. We should live unspotted in the world. We should look after our own business, etc. Of course that cover is somewhat blown by the episodes of this meek and mild Jesus having little trouble being a maverick Himself. Why did the religious rulers get so upset with this guy to the point of taking the opportunity to kill the guy?

I hurt hearing the stories of such shenanigans going on in our Christian circles with a culture of silence that waits until some nasty things happening before we begin to address something that should have been lovingly and firmly addressed before.

It takes a maverick element – which is only a way of looking at an element of the prophetic function that irritates and highlights the dysfunction and won’t accept the way things function as it is until God’s real order is followed.

The maverick is not for mayhem and inconvenience out of fun. The maverick highlights his God’s way remains different to our own and so we have Him to aim for. Especially when our way misses His significantly.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden