Head First

One of my favorite lines in one of my favorite scenes of scripture was uttered during the dramatic encounter between the Apostle Paul and King Herod Agrippa that is recorded in Acts 26. During that encounter, Paul recounts his salvation experience with such power and perspicacity that the king replies with the felicitous phrase “you have almost persuaded me to be a Christian.” Unfortunately, the phrase uttered was better than the man who uttered it. The King did not release Paul from prison, nor did he become a Christian.

Agrippa is the biblical poster child of the “almost club.” This is the group of people who are forever in the vestibule of life. They lack decisiveness, commitment, and courage. As a result, they fail to maximize their gifts or realize their potential. These are the people who “almost” got married, who “almost” started a business, who “almost” joined a church, and who “almost” went on vacation. In Dante’s Inferno, he imagines that the punishment of those who refuse to take a stand (for either good or bad) is that they are condemned to run around in circles for eternity. If Dante is right, Agrippa is somewhere in that circle running around in circles.

I was reminded of Agrippa earlier this week when I started reading a new novel written by Robert Harris. Interestingly, the novel is entitled Agrippa. But the subject of the novel is not the Agrippa in the scripture. The subject of the novel is Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. This Agrippa was the Roman general, childhood friend, and longtime ally of Octavian Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor. The novel explores their relationship and the transformation of Rome into a global empire. One of the fascinating discoveries that I made while reading the story is that the Agrippa in the scriptures was named after and in honor of the Agrippa of Rome. His father Aristobulus wanted to curry favor with the Emperor to secure his status. So he named his son after the Emperor’s closest ally. But even more fascinating than that was my discovery of what the name “Agrippa” means.

In Greek, the name Agrippa means “feet first.” The Roman Agrippa was called Agrippa because he was born feet first. His mother died during his birth, and he was forever thereafter labeled as a mother killer. Part of the reason that he became such a feared warrior was that people had heard that he had killed his mother in order to march out of the womb and into the world. (Nowadays, we refer to this kind of birth as a breech birth). How Agrippa was born was how he lived. He was always in a hurry, had little patience for theory or premeditation, and had a bias for action. He was always feet first.

There are many people who share that tendency. They are “feet first” people. They move first, and think later. They are all action, and no planning. They cut before they measure. They are courage personified and energy multiplied. As Alexander Pope put it, they often “rush in where angels fear to tread.” I would put Jesus’s disciple Peter in this category. One night Jesus met his scared disciples during a storm and invited them to join him for a walk on the water. Peter was the only disciple who got out of the boat. Peter was a “feet first” kind of guy.  

But I am inclined to think that lasting success belongs to those who move with their heads first. In Proverbs 4:26, the Bible advises us to “ponder the path of your feet.” Another version of that scripture says “Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.” Still another version says “Consider well and watch carefully the path of your feet, and all your ways will be steadfast and sure.” Whichever version of that scripture you prefer, the lesson is the same: the wise look before they leap. They go head first. They think. They ponder. They plan. They strategize. They anticipate. 

So here’s my question for you today: are you a “feet first” person or a “head first” person?