Australian Thoughts at the Weekend
Susan Lehmann
Give Them A Go
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men." (Luke 2: 14 KJV)
"Give them a go" or "give them a fair
go" is recognised in Australia and may be recognised in other places as
meaning "give people a fair chance to prove themselves". It is said
to be an Ozzie thing to give everyone a "go". Australian traditional and
collective wisdom
says very man and woman are worth a chance to prove they are fair dinkum.
The
proof will be in the activity, and the words. Success will result in
acceptance
and commendation as a "good bloke".
In practice 'giving a person a go' means that they are not
judged on the basis of group characteristics but are related to as
individuals
on the evidence they personally are given the opportunity to demonstrate. In
a
positive example it is like saying Salvationists are perfect saints,
therefore
any Salvationist I meet will be a perfect saint. In a negative example, it
is
like saying bandsmen give more importance to their playing than praying,
therefore any bandsmen I meet will not be a person of prayer. You can see
how
wrong both these examples are in practice.
Sadly, we have for many years judged people by group
characteristics. It is not always the case that people are "given a go" and
a
"fair go for all" is now entrenched in legislation. This Australian
(National) and (Australian) State legislation prohibits discrimination
(makes
it illegal not to give everyone a "go") on the basis of the following
attributes--
(a) sex;
(b) relationship status; (c) pregnancy; (d) parental status; (e)
breastfeeding;
(f) age; (g) race; (h) impairment; (i) religious belief or religious
activity;
(j) political belief or activity; (k) trade union activity; (l) lawful
sexual
activity; (m) gender identity; (n) sexuality; (o) family responsibilities;
(p)
association with, or relation to, a person identified on the basis of any of
the above attributes.
So people are warned they need to watch carefully their
actions and their words towards others. They are warned by the legislation.
They are warned also by employers, employees,
advertisements and sometimes even the victims that "a fair go for all" is
entrenched in legislation and there are penalties for those who transgress.
I am sure that many outside Australia recognise similar
regulations and laws in their own country. I am sure, too, that in those
countries, as in Australia,
many see these laws as an imposition and want to maintain a right of freedom
in
speech and action regardless of the hurts and worse to others.
What would be the result of considering this type of
legislation in our relationships with others in the church and the wider
community? What should be our attitude as Christians?
There is much in the Scriptures which shows conflict between
people. The Old Testament has many records of wars and battles where the
result
is victory for God's people. It would be easy to come up with an attitude
that
to be on God's side is all that matters and that no one else matters at all.
In fact, it seems at times that to show that someone was
against God was to show that they did not matter. In fact, by the time of
Jesus
coming, there were those who were clearly not "of God" and so were outside
the
consideration of the most religious. We can think of people like lepers, the
lame and the blind, tax collectors (publicans), and Samaritans and other
people
not Jewish.
We are reminded often, particularly at Christmas and Easter,
that the world was right for Jesus' coming. As we look at the record of
Jesus,
we see Jesus setting patterns of thinking and behaviour which challenged the
thinking of his day. The choice of his disciples would have caused many to
wonder. He chose amongst them, Matthew (aka Levi), a publican. As a
publican, he
was a tax collector for the hated Roman Government. Jesus was willing to
give
him a go. Jesus was even willing to accept opportunities to socialise with
Matthew's friends. They were a dodgy team, too. The religious people saw
that
they were a pretty unacceptable group of individuals.
Jesus also chose fishermen. Now, fishermen are pretty
ordinary folk. The success of their business was seen by others as relying
on
brute strength and long hours rather than skill and wisdom that comes from
learning from accepted and knowledgeable masters (Rabbis). In some societies
they would be seen as "rednecks" or battlers from the wrong end of town.
This is discrimination by the rich against
the poor. The better professions against the ordinary job. Jesus not only
chose
them, but he persisted with them and even, it was said, loved them in the
purest of ways.
Jesus, too, seems to accept women. He had two women friends
at Bethany. He
loved to go to their house and enjoy their hospitality. On one occasion one
even washed his feet with expensive perfume and dried it with her hair.
There
was no women in those Jesus named as disciples or 'the twelve" but people
noticed his interaction and acceptance of them.
Briefly, too, we notice how Jesus regarded children. He held
them with the highest regard. Who cares about the children? The attitude
was their day would come. One
day they would be "of age" until then they were of no real importance. Until
then they were only the "future" of this great nation. It was far better to
concentrate on the "now" generation.
We have already considered Jesus and Matthew, the publican. There
was another publican who is named in the story of Jesus. His name was
Zacchaeus. Now what do we know about Zacchaeus? He lived in Jericho. He was
a little bloke and he climbed
a sycamore tree to see Jesus from above the heads of the crowd. He was a
publican. He took more taxes than he
should have and made himself rich by robbing people in this way. Jesus
stopped
at his house. Everyone knew that Zacchaeus was a sinner. Jesus coming to his
house and turned on the guilt and he said he would give half his goods to
the
poor. Also, if he had robbed anyone he would give them back four times as
much
as he took.
Yep, so he was a robber! You see everyone knows that publicans
because of the absolute power of their position have the ability to take too
much in taxes and line their own pockets. They all did it. Wrong! Did you
notice the word "if" that Zacchaeus
uses when speaking to Jesus about these accusations. Australians have a
saying
that says "If I am wrong I will walk backwards to Burke". Burke is or was
considered the end of the road way out beyond the black stump. It seems to
me
that Jesus is listening to a man protest his innocence. Zacchaeus is saying
he
has robbed no one but if the auditors find he has he will pay them back four
times as much as he took. (Luke 19)
Jesus tackled more discrimination beside Jacob's Well in
Samaria. Again, it was a woman. She reminded him that their relationship was
governed by race. Or was it religion? Jesus and the woman spoke about both.
Jesus told her he knew about her relationships. She was much married
(divorced?)
and now living with a "partner". There
are lots of room for discrimination against her. How ever Jesus accepted
her.
She accepted him as the Messiah and told others about him and they also
believed because they saw and heard for themselves (John 4).
Jesus also related a story about a Good Samaritan who cared
for others when others chose not to assist. Jesus reminds his questioners
that
the Samaritan is a neighbour and not to be discriminated against. (Luke 10).
There are many times in Jesus life where it is recorded he
broke the accepted standards of relating to people. He reached out to touch
and heal lepers. He
turned to the sick and diseased rather than the well. He associated with
sinners rather than those who considered themselves righteous.
In Matthew 15 and Mark 7, Jesus talks about the things that
make a person unclean. He says it is not what the person eats that makes
them
unclean as that soon passes through the body. Jesus reminds them that it is
what comes out of the mouth from the heart of a person that makes them
unclean.
It is from the heart that there comes a list of sins like killing, adultery,
other
immorality, robbing, lying and slander.
It is also in Matthew 15 that there is the story of the
Canaanite woman who came to Jesus for healing. Jesus says to her I am here
for
the lost sheep of Israel.
She says even the dogs get crumbs from the master's table. I am sure Jesus
had
a great smile on his face as he commended her faith and healed her.
Jesus often invited people to "have a go" and prove they are
fair dinkum. The rich young ruler seemed so "acceptable" but Jesus put him
to
the test. He failed and both the young man and Jesus were sorrowful. (Luke
15).
Jesus looked not on the outside appearance but he looked at their heart.
Jesus
knew who was "fair dinkum".
Jesus called us to be lovers and not judges. I am sure we
could go on and on looking at Jesus' example and listening to his words
about
not judging people and accepting them as they are. May be you would like to
suggest some other examples?
Love I ask for, love I claim,
A dying love like thine.
A love that feels for all the world,
Saviour, give me a love like thine.
The
Salvation Army Song book Chorus Number:
83
[Listen: http://www.gowans-larsson.com/BOTL/Theyshallcomefromtheeast.html
]
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
Both the rich and the poor,
the despised, the distressed,
They'll sit down in the Kingdom of God.
And none will ask what they have been
Provided that their robes are clean;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
To be met by their Father and welcomed and blessed,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.
The black, the white, the dark, the fair,
Your color will not matter there;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
Out of great tribulation to triumph and rest
They'll sit down in the Kingdom of God.
From every tribe and every race,
All men as brothers shall embrace;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west.
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.
Author: John Gowans
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 170
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