A QUESTION OF FOCUS

If I was a doctor, I would want me as a patient.

No. Not because of the bountiful income stream I’d provide. Rather because I am very compliant kind of person.

If you tell me to do something – and you are a trusted authority figure – I will most likely do it. 

Take this pill three times a day? Done! Do 25 push-ups every morning? OK. What next? Eat three bowls of live crickets with milk? Whatever you say, doc. 

And this compliant behavior doesn’t stop with the medical professionals in my life. I am quite happy to follow the entire galaxy of rules of the road when I am driving my car. Well, all of them, that is, except for those pesky speed limits. I truly believe they function more like general guidelines than actual LIMITS to how fast a person should drive. 

Right?

When I cook (which, admittedly, isn’t very often), I am VERY compliant with the amounts and quantities specified on the recipe. If the final product of my culinary effort turns out to be disgusting, it wasn’t my fault. After all, I followed the directions!

In fact, I am so compliant that I am careful to make sure the basic “LATHER, RINSE, REPEAT” instructions on the shampoo bottle haven’t changed since the last time I washed my hair. Have I told you about the time my wife had to drag me forcibly out of the shower when I got caught taking those directions a little too literally and spent three days complying with them?

Yes sir. Mr. Compliant here. 

Which, in most situations, is thought of as a positive character trait. Compliant people maintain order in the world. They keep all hell from breaking loose and ensure “i’s” are dotted and “t’s” are crossed. 

The problem is compliant people rarely change the world. They (we) often become so focused on “getting it right” and following the instructions we don’t stop to ask if those instructions are good, or fair, or just. We need to be reminded that although Hitler made the German trains run on time and revived the German economy, he perpetrated unspeakable evil and death in the process.

Compliant people rarely make anyone scratch their head and go, “Huh??” 

They don’t break barriers. They don’t develop pioneering art or insights or technologies or schools of thought. 

The apple cart remains remarkably stable around compliant people. It is not the least bit upset.

Compliant people don’t catch you off guard with any spontaneous, unscripted moments. 

Don’t get me wrong… the world needs compliant people. I mean, where would we be if everyone decided to go all “free spirit” on city streets and highways? What kind of dinner would you expect from a cook who stepped into the kitchen and just “let it fly”?

My hero, Jesus of Nazareth, gives us the perfect picture of a person who is able to stand with one foot on the compliance side of the fence and the other firmly planted on the rebellious, “question everything” side. 

The perfect illustration of this ambidexterity is the story about his response to the religious authorities who tried to trap him with a trick question. I know they worked for at least a week on this stumper and were convinced they had him trapped in a corner even Houdini couldn’t wiggle out of.

When they were out in public where people could hear them, those authorities asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to pay taxes, or not?” I must admit; this was a particularly inspired question. They knew that most residents of Israel hated their Roman occupiers and deeply resented the taxes they had to pay to Caesar. On the other hand, they also knew that speaking out publicly against taxation would get Jesus arrested for treason or even worse. 

You know how the story ends, of course. Asking one of them for a coin, Jesus casually asked whose picture was on the coin. When they said, “Caesar’s!” he looked at them very calmly and said, “Well then, render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.”

Perfect! Jaws dropped. Hearts stopped. Crests fell. And the clever plotters tucked their tails and went home beaten.

The compliant rebel. The rebellious rule-follower. 

You see, the key to Jesus’ perfect answer was his focus. He did not focus on the Roman rules. He did not focus on the rebellious motives of his fellow Israelites. Jesus’ entire focus was GOD. There was never a moment when he was not focused on the question, “How can I – in this moment, in this situation – be an instrument of God’s mercy, justice, and righteousness?”

I wonder… what would life be like if we ALL (but especially me) used that question as our North Star every day?

Abundant blessings;