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Niceness or Godliness—Which?
by Ralph I. Tilley
Have you noticed? The church is undergoing a strange kind of change. Niceness is increasingly replacing godliness.
What was once characteristic of authentic Christianity has fallen prey to a subtle shifting of standards. Niceness is now acceptable; godliness is no longer essential. We're content with Vanna White Christians while being repulsed by John the Baptist believers. We gravitate to saintlets who are naturally pleasant, never offensive and always agreeable.
Too often our pulpits and pews are occupied with nice people instead of godly people. Nice people go to a nice church to hear a nice pastor pray a nice prayer and preach a nice sermon in order to encourage the congregants to have a nice day and a nice week, so that they might be nice to each other.
It's true, God calls no one to act in an unnecessarily offensive, objectionable manner. Crudeness certainly is not synonymous with Christlikeness. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Love . . . is not rude" (1 Corinthians. 13:5). Christians are to be of all people considerate, well-mannered and thoughtful.
But something has happened. Comments regarding fellow Christians are frequently sprinkled with these observations: "He's such a nice person." Or, "She's such a nice woman." Let's set the record straight: One can be a nice person without being a godly person. On the other hand, one can be a godly person and on occasions—of necessity—not act in a nice manner. It's godliness, not merely social niceness which should mark the people of God.
Now for some definitions. Webster's definition of "nice"—as used in the context of this article—means to be "pleasant or agreeable." "Godliness" according to the NIV Study Bible ". . . implies a good and holy life, with special emphasis on its source, a deep reverence for God. . . .
A genuine reverence toward God that governs one's attitude toward every aspect of life" (notes on 1 Timothy 2:2 and 2 Peter 1:6).
The contrast is clear. Jesus was consistently holy, but he was not always pleasant and agreeable. I'm sure the average Pharisee didn't think Christ was nice. Nor the Gadarene swine herdsmen, the temple desecrators, King Herod, the rich young ruler, the devil and demons. And sometimes even His own followers were struck by His severity.
Christ set the standard.
What does the Bible say about godliness?
Godliness is Identified with Holiness.
The Apostle Paul wrote that one of the reasons prayers should be offered for those in authority is so Christians could live "lives in all godliness and holiness" (2 Timothy 2:2). Again, Peter links the two and says believers are under obligation to live holy and godly lives: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming" (2 Peter 3:11-12a).
As a people who have purified themselves from "everything that contaminates the body and spirit" (see 2 Corinthians 7:1), mature Christians are to be observedly godly while not necessarily always nice.
Godliness is to be Pursued.
Paul urges Pastor Timothy to "train yourself to be godly." Later in the same epistle he exhorts his son in the gospel to "pursue . . . godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7; 6:11).
Godliness engages the will, it requires self-discipline. The believer cannot cater to the "flesh" and please God at the same time. Godliness requires the subordination of natural appetites, passions and desires to the will and Word of God. The difference between King Saul and King David lies here. One sacrificed godliness on the altars of convenience and pride, while the other characteris-tically hungered and thirsted for Yahweh all the days of his life.
Godliness is not given to us in a package; it must be the set of our sail, moment by moment.
Godliness is Associated with Contentment.
There were those in the early church, just as there are in today's church, who identified wealth as a fruit of the Spirit. Paul said: Not necessarily so. On the contrary: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" (1 Timothy 6:6-8). The believer is not to be acquisitive, materially discontented, preoccupied with purchasing, investing and saving. He is called by God to be a good steward, using his gifts and abilities and resources to the glory of God.
It would be well if all of us could testify with the Apostle Paul: ". . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11-13).
Godliness is Not of Our Own Making.
While it can be said with some degree of truth that a man may be a self-made mechanic, a self-made farmer, or a self-made painter, it it never true that anyone of God's children is a self-made saint.
Although God must have the cooperation of one's will in order to make him or her into a godly person, it is never our holiness and godliness. It must remain deeply rooted in our subconsciousness: Whatever holiness has been imparted to us, it has indeed been imparted. How arrogant and contemptible for any believer to ever take the slightest credit for God's grace at work in his life. Let the pottery forever glorify the Potter, never forgetting he was nothing but a useless lump of clay when discovered. The servant of the Lord is never worthy.
We would do well to follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Peter. Lest anyone think the crippled man's healing came as a result of his or John's own godliness, he quickly deflected the credit to God: "When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. . . . By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong" (Acts 3:12-13, 16).
Let the church be the church. Let her standard be godliness for her people and not mere niceness.
by Ralph I. Tilley
Have you noticed? The church is undergoing a strange kind of change. Niceness is increasingly replacing godliness.
What was once characteristic of authentic Christianity has fallen prey to a subtle shifting of standards. Niceness is now acceptable; godliness is no longer essential. We're content with Vanna White Christians while being repulsed by John the Baptist believers. We gravitate to saintlets who are naturally pleasant, never offensive and always agreeable.
Too often our pulpits and pews are occupied with nice people instead of godly people. Nice people go to a nice church to hear a nice pastor pray a nice prayer and preach a nice sermon in order to encourage the congregants to have a nice day and a nice week, so that they might be nice to each other.
It's true, God calls no one to act in an unnecessarily offensive, objectionable manner. Crudeness certainly is not synonymous with Christlikeness. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Love . . . is not rude" (1 Corinthians. 13:5). Christians are to be of all people considerate, well-mannered and thoughtful.
But something has happened. Comments regarding fellow Christians are frequently sprinkled with these observations: "He's such a nice person." Or, "She's such a nice woman." Let's set the record straight: One can be a nice person without being a godly person. On the other hand, one can be a godly person and on occasions—of necessity—not act in a nice manner. It's godliness, not merely social niceness which should mark the people of God.
Now for some definitions. Webster's definition of "nice"—as used in the context of this article—means to be "pleasant or agreeable." "Godliness" according to the NIV Study Bible ". . . implies a good and holy life, with special emphasis on its source, a deep reverence for God. . . .
A genuine reverence toward God that governs one's attitude toward every aspect of life" (notes on 1 Timothy 2:2 and 2 Peter 1:6).
The contrast is clear. Jesus was consistently holy, but he was not always pleasant and agreeable. I'm sure the average Pharisee didn't think Christ was nice. Nor the Gadarene swine herdsmen, the temple desecrators, King Herod, the rich young ruler, the devil and demons. And sometimes even His own followers were struck by His severity.
Christ set the standard.
What does the Bible say about godliness?
Godliness is Identified with Holiness.
The Apostle Paul wrote that one of the reasons prayers should be offered for those in authority is so Christians could live "lives in all godliness and holiness" (2 Timothy 2:2). Again, Peter links the two and says believers are under obligation to live holy and godly lives: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming" (2 Peter 3:11-12a).
As a people who have purified themselves from "everything that contaminates the body and spirit" (see 2 Corinthians 7:1), mature Christians are to be observedly godly while not necessarily always nice.
Godliness is to be Pursued.
Paul urges Pastor Timothy to "train yourself to be godly." Later in the same epistle he exhorts his son in the gospel to "pursue . . . godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7; 6:11).
Godliness engages the will, it requires self-discipline. The believer cannot cater to the "flesh" and please God at the same time. Godliness requires the subordination of natural appetites, passions and desires to the will and Word of God. The difference between King Saul and King David lies here. One sacrificed godliness on the altars of convenience and pride, while the other characteris-tically hungered and thirsted for Yahweh all the days of his life.
Godliness is not given to us in a package; it must be the set of our sail, moment by moment.
Godliness is Associated with Contentment.
There were those in the early church, just as there are in today's church, who identified wealth as a fruit of the Spirit. Paul said: Not necessarily so. On the contrary: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" (1 Timothy 6:6-8). The believer is not to be acquisitive, materially discontented, preoccupied with purchasing, investing and saving. He is called by God to be a good steward, using his gifts and abilities and resources to the glory of God.
It would be well if all of us could testify with the Apostle Paul: ". . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11-13).
Godliness is Not of Our Own Making.
While it can be said with some degree of truth that a man may be a self-made mechanic, a self-made farmer, or a self-made painter, it it never true that anyone of God's children is a self-made saint.
Although God must have the cooperation of one's will in order to make him or her into a godly person, it is never our holiness and godliness. It must remain deeply rooted in our subconsciousness: Whatever holiness has been imparted to us, it has indeed been imparted. How arrogant and contemptible for any believer to ever take the slightest credit for God's grace at work in his life. Let the pottery forever glorify the Potter, never forgetting he was nothing but a useless lump of clay when discovered. The servant of the Lord is never worthy.
We would do well to follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Peter. Lest anyone think the crippled man's healing came as a result of his or John's own godliness, he quickly deflected the credit to God: "When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. . . . By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong" (Acts 3:12-13, 16).
Let the church be the church. Let her standard be godliness for her people and not mere niceness.
