Upside Down

In Acts 17:7, a group of Christians is given a remarkable, if backhanded, compliment. Paul, Silas and their compatriots had carried the gospel of Jesus Christ into a new city. As usual, their entrance attracted the attention of some and the hostility of others. It is reported that an observer in the latter group pointed out that

“these that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason has received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, One Jesus.”

That means that Paul and his compatriots had earned a reputation. They were known as men who “turned the world upside down” wherever they went. What a compliment!

Christians and churches are rarely complimented. Usually, they are criticized, caricatured, or calumniated—if they are paid attention to at all. A friend of mine was recently assigned to lead a historic church that is located at a busy intersection in a major city. The church has been in the exact same location for over two centuries. Soon after his arrival, he began to attend community meetings in the neighborhood. When my friend announced that he was the Pastor of the said church in one of those meetings, someone walked up to him afterwards and said “I didn’t even know that that church was still open.” That is a sad commentary. But it is a lamentably precise portrait of so many churches and so many Christians. We are there, but not there. Present, but not accounted for. Visible, but not impactful. At the intersection, but only in the way.

Our calling lies in another sphere and our destiny points toward a different shore. We are called to turn the world upside down. In his book The Anti-Christ, Friedrich Nietzsche argued that what made and makes Christianity such a revolutionary force is that it is based on what he called a “transvaluation of values.” At its root, the message of Christianity turns the values of the world upside down. It does so because by putting the Creator on the cross, it sends out the warning that the apparent loser may be the winner in disguise. Caesar was an emperor sitting on the throne; Christ was a criminal dying on the cross. Caesar was worshipped as a King. But his reign was and is always short. Christ is king of Kings, and he shall reign forever and ever! Hence, Paul and his compatriots introduced values and practices that were “contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.”

If there is another King, then there is another way. If there is another King, then there is another round. If there is another King, then there is another move. And if there is another King, then everyone has a another chance. That kind of message will turn any city, any country, and any church upside down. We do not have to accept things the way they are. As Christians, our assignment is to turn our worlds upside down.

So here’s my question for you today. To what status quo have you surrendered? To what state of affairs have you acquiesced? To what or to whom have you thrown you hands up in defeat and despair and muttered under your breath “that’s just that way it is?”

I don’t know what kind of talk that is, but it is not Christian talk. Christians turn the world upside down.

25 years ago, I was assigned to lead a church in the midwest. After a few weeks, one of my mentors called me and asked how things well going. For the next hour, I vented. I eagerly shared my catalogue of complaints, my litany of grievances, and my docket of frustrations. When I was finished, there was silence on the phone for at least a full minute. Then my mentor bust out laughing, and said something to me I will never forget. He said “that’s why you’re there.” And then he hung up.

Whenever things are going wrong in whatever environments you find yourself, and you are to tempted to complain, surrender, or quit, remember why you are there. God put you there to turn things upside down.  That’s a compliment worth getting.