Defining Wicked: Nice vs. Kind.

 I went to the theater this past weekend with my daughter in love to see the musical movie adaptation of "Wicked." I had never seen the Broadway version before, so my only frame of reference was the original movie "The Wizard of Oz." I knew the musical was loosely based on the movie and that it featured two main characters, Glinda and Elphaba. Without any context, I never expected to be so moved. 

I remember when I was a child, long before DVDs and digital streaming, we waited for "The Wizard of Oz" to be shown on television. It would come on once a year and if you were not tuned in, you missed it until next year. I absolutely loved the music. However, my childlike mind found some of the players quite frightening. Frankly, I hated the flying monkeys. They terrified me. And of course, the Wicked Witch, was as downright scary as she was meant to be to all us 'munchkins.' 

From the first scene of the movie, it becomes clear that "Wicked" is a prequel to Oz. This story is going to reveal how the characters, good and evil, came to be the ones we knew as children. If you remember, the original movie starts in black and white. Much like my own childhood understanding of good and evil. As they transition toward Oz, a rainbow of color and shades become visible. With adulthood comes the understanding that not everything is always as it appears. Evil can lurk under the cloak of good.  As I sat in my theater seat, I was profoundly struck that the journey on the yellow brick road is downright biblical. We are all on a narrow path trying to get back home. Who knew that the prequel would start off with a deep philosophical and theological question?

Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? 

Wicked is the story about the difference between nice and kind. Galinda is nice. However, her character although endearing, shows us that niceness is performative. It is a helpful tool to remain popular but goes away when inconvenienced or offended. We see this in the Ozdust ballroom scene when Galinda has to sit with the reality that although she considers herself "nice" she is capable of doing something quite wicked. The scene is beautifully gut wrenching as it is a truth we all need to see in ourselves. Kindness involves acting in another's best interest even if it involves pain. It is synonymous with moral, generous and good. Leading up to this moment, we learn that Elphaba is actually the one who is kind. 

The irony is we know that it is Galinda that ultimately becomes the "Good Witch". But our whole understanding of good has just been turned upside down. How things look on the surface, (or skin-deep) are not always what they really are. Goodness ultimately is not just niceness. It is kindness. There is a huge difference. Jesus makes this point when talking to a man about the kingdom of God.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother. "Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Jesus is telling us something about the nature of God and ourselves. God is not just nice. He is kind. And we often fall short.

Jesus is saying, you can't just live by a set of rules and think that earns you favor with God. You can't do a bunch of "good" things and think that earns your salvation or his pleasure.   We are not called by God to be productive; that is performative. We are instructed to be fruitful; there is a profound difference. Behaviors and actions are fruitful only when they occur as an outflow and under the specific direction of the Holy Spirit because those are his qualities. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control." (Galatians 5) Only fruit-bearers produce for the Kingdom and only fruit will be credited to us as righteousness. " The apostle Paul stresses the importance of this distinction. " If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." (1st Corinthians 13:3)

I am learning God cares much more about everyday ordinary acts of kindness or instances to show fruit, than he does about grand gestures. Going on mission trips or building houses is good. But if how you treat your family, your neighbor across the street, or the people you encounter at work falls short, this matters more in kingdom development than merely doing nice acts for strangers. Of course, we are called to serve. But the motivation should be love and kindness led in the moment by the Spirit; this is authentic. The world is craving authentic Christians. When your faith appears performative, it kills your witness about who God is. I think this is why Jesus cursed the fig tree. "Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered." (Matthew 21) This passage always seemed confusing to me. But once you realize that when you see foliage the tree should be bearing figs, you understand his disgust. All leaves and no fruit. The appearance suggested the expectation of something good. But ultimately there was no fruit. It is a warning about false pretenses. God always cares more about the condition of your heart. 

The other result is that people can become projects. Galinda is even cheeky enough to admit this once she 'befriends' Elphaba. She tells her, " Now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project." Elphaba replies, "You don't have to do that." Galinda replies, "I know. That's what makes me so nice." 

The bible tells us that it is God's kindness that leads to change and repentance. I can tell you this is true. Kindness might allow something deemed as painful to lead to what is ultimately for your good.  I can say that during one of the worst events that I've endured, God was there in my every day showing me His kindness. Not niceness, but true kindness. And through that experience, I have learned to care less about how things appear and more about how they are.

As we left the theater, my daughter in law asked me which character I liked better. Glinda or Elphaba.  I couldn't answer. I felt so much emotion for each one that it was impossible to choose. Why? Because I saw myself in each of them. For most of my life, I was Galinda. As a life -long people pleaser, I was at times overly concerned with seeking approval; I was captive to performance. I thought for a long time I needed to be productive for God as well. Looking back, I realize so many times I fell short in demonstrating kindness. His kindness towards me has allowed me to see this and repent. And now, I find myself deeply relating to Elphaba. In letting go of what I thought were the desires of my heart, I have found freedom. "And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free. "   I choose kind over nice. 

Divine Intervention: Did you see it?

This week I celebrated another birthday. With years come reflection and I realized that I have now lived through a few monumental historical events. I am not speaking of my own personal history, although God has certainly worked in and through some incredible challenges in my life. I was thinking more globally.   I remember exactly where I was on the day the Twin Towers were attacked by terrorists flying airplanes on 9/11. I survived through a worldwide pandemic of the Covid 19 virus that literally shut down society as we had known it; we hadn't seen anything like it since the Spanish Flu nearly 100 years before. 

This past week seemed like we had again witnessed an event in real time that many in this generation had not seen...an assassination attempt on a United States President. Watching the events unfold and later the media coverage replaying the video over and over again, descriptions including one phrase were used repeatedly...  "It was divine intervention." 

What does that actually mean? Divine intervention is when God becomes actively involved in changing some situation in human affairs. The statement itself acknowledges a few given principles. First, there is a God. Second, he cares about his creation enough to intervene. And third that He inherently has certain characteristics of omnipotence (He's all powerful), omniscience (He's all knowing), and omnipresence (He can be in all places at all times).  It also begs the question, "Why would he choose to intervene?" Because doing so fulfills His purposes, is in line with both his character/nature, and can ultimately bring Him glory. The why is the part we as humans struggle with the most. Why is one person saved and another loses their life? Why if He can intervene, do bad things happen to good people? The bible tells us, we cannot always answer those questions here on Earth primarily because we do not possess the above-mentioned qualities of God.  Isaiah 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." For our faith to endure then, it becomes necessary to believe in the person of God and not in outcomes being the way we would choose. If you believe that He is good and that nothing He does contradicts his nature, you have to accept these questions aren't always able to be answered. And even more importantly, that our relationship with God can be built and refined through suffering. 

Divine intervention can occur in three forms. 1. The Extraordinary... something that defies logic or reasonable possibility...i.e.. an obvious miracle. Dare I say for some, undeniable? The fact that the bullet missed, grazing only his ear, simply because in that exact moment he turned his head to look at a chart during an unscripted moment in his speech seems extraordinary. Apparently making that shot from only 150 yards would have been easy for the average shooter; frankly, he shouldn't have missed. Yet, he did. The extraordinary are when God works DESPITE people.

The bible details numerous stories where God intervenes miraculously. For example, the parting of the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites, Jesus turning water into wine or raising Lazarus from the dead. 

2. The Ordinary. These are instances when God is working in the complexities of our everyday lives. They are intimate displays of his mercy. Since these are sometimes less obvious, one would say you have to be looking for them to see them. In my experience, these are where God works THROUGH people. 

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentation 3:23.

3. The Prophetic...When God intervenes in a single instance so powerfully that the act itself becomes not just the reason for faith, but the basis for it. The truth is for believers in Christ we have all dodged a bullet. God personally intervened on our behalf by sending his Son. Jesus didn't come to Earth to make people good. He came to make dead people alive. God intervened through Jesus to SAVE people.

 "Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our sin." (Ephesians 2:4-5). 

 The fact is without God's intervention, you are guaranteed to face death and eternal separation from God. It started when evil entered the equation back in the Garden of Eden. But that's when God's plan for redemption and restoration also began. The crazy part of his plan is that it also involves us. He doesn't need us to accomplish his will; but rather invites us to be part of it.  He has given us free will to participate in His purposes or not. We choose whether we accept his free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We choose whether we will listen to nudges in our daily life to turn this way or that. We choose whether we will acknowledge that we just received a touch from God or dismiss it as coincidence. More importantly we choose whether it changes who we are from that moment forward. Don't gloss over this last point. Divine interventions are meant to produce faith. Not stagnant belief, but faith in action. 

I couldn't help but to be reminded of a particular scripture when I saw the secret service diving on top of the President after he had been shot. Using their bodies to shield him, even to the extent that their lives could be sacrificed, was remarkable to watch. They performed their duty regardless of what they thought about his character. In fact, whether they liked the man was irrelevant.  Elsewhere in the crowd, a father did the same thing out of pure love for his daughter, and it did cost him his life. It is probably the most noble act. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13) Regardless of whether you believe in him, Jesus has already done that for you and for me.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8. 

So, do I believe we witnessed divine intervention this week?  For such a time as this, I do.  And if you chose to see it, the hand of God became visible for just a moment through both the extraordinary and the ordinary... even in the middle of our chaos.