The other side of the billboard

I am not a fan of church marquees.  Part of the reason is the traditionalist in me who feels the only thing that should be posted in front of a church building is a sign with the church name - and, if you must, worship times.  But the other reason is because more often than not, in an attempt to be cute or clever, they wind up coming across terribly offensive to the "unchurched" and even fellow Christians. I find myself cringing sometimes at the arrogant, haughty, non-compassionate message that is often conveyed.

Like this, for example:

This picture was taken by a friend of a friend while riding shotgun on an interstate near where I live.  Unfortunately, the sponsors didn't include a phone number or website to which I could properly direct my disgust.  Instead I can only refer to them as the IWPUTS ("idiots who put up this sign").

What amazes me is how IWPUTS could distort the message of Jesus so completely and thoroughly in just six words.  If it wasn't so incredibly off-base I'd almost admire them for their efficiency.  Almost.

First, the whole notion of "Jesus having your number" makes me think of some old-school Chicago gangster threatening to take out his rival or relative who went against the family code.  Jesus has your number.  Seriously?  How can anyone look at the four portrayals of Jesus through the eyes of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John and come to see anything remotely like this?  Apparently IWPUTS can.

Then there's the idea of "repenting NOW" - which goes totally against the essence of what the word really means.  Repenting is not the stuff of quick, emotional decisions at a tent revival meeting (or, in this case, cruising along at 70 mph).  Repenting, from a Biblical standpoint, is a process that involves a "turning from" and a "turning toward:" turning from the things that would pull us away from God, and turning toward God.  It is a conscious choice made after deep reflection and prayer - not something to be done immediately in light of a big bad Jesus who is out to get us.

Which brings me to my third issue with this marquee - and that is the fear.  This thing is dripping with fear of a God whose love (if it even exists) comes in a distant second to God's wrathful and hateful pursuit of our souls.  And it uses that fear to motivate or scare us into submission.  This kind of repentance is not about becoming part of the body of Christ and helping to bring about the kingdom of God on earth.  It's about avoiding punishment and - not mentioned but certainly implied - the eternal fires of hell.

I've written before in this blog about the dangers and downright unbiblical use of fear to motivate people in their spiritual walk.  There simply is nothing in the Bible that says this is a legit way to operate in the faith.  People are forever dragging out the tired-old "fear of the Lord" phrase that comes from scripture - but what they fail to see is that the Greek and Hebrew words are more accurately defined as "respect" and "honor," not being fearful of a vengeful and wrathful God.  Besides, for every "fear" passage there are at least one or two that unequivocally implore us not to be afraid.  Don't believe it's true?  Check out this guy on Twitter, who each morning tweets a "do not fear" verse.  I've been following him for close to a year and have yet to see him repeat anything.  How some have managed to twist the Christian faith into literally being afraid of a God who "has our number" is perhaps one of the great travesties of the institutional church.

I try to imagine myself as someone who has thought about becoming a "Christ-follower" but for whatever reason hasn't yet taken that step.  Perhaps they've seen some good the church has done in the past; some positives that people of faith have made in the world. Perhaps they're intrigued with some of the stuff they've heard about Jesus - the compassion and love and sacrificial giving.  Maybe they've even considered taking their friend up on the invite to go to church with them one Sunday morning.

I try to imagine myself as that person, cruising down the interstate one day, sun shining, birds singing - and then happening upon this sign.  They shake their head in disbelief and disgust; they feel their stomach knot up and discover that their grip on the steering wheel has tightened considerably.  Some (like IWPUTS) might call this "conviction" or "guilt," but they know better.  They know it's disgust and contempt at any God who "has their number" and uses fear to get their way.  And they know that if this is what Christianity's about, then it's not for them.

I shudder to think how many people have come to this conclusion after seeing this sign on the interstate.  And that infuriates me - because the fact of the matter is that IWPUTS does not speak for all of us. There's another side to the billboard, so to speak; another story you rarely find on church marquees or interstate signs. The "other side" speaks of a God who is not out to get us but one who is the embodiment of unconditional love.  The other side speaks of a God who does not force through fear, but empowers us to live through that love.  The other side speaks of a God who does not extend a pointed index finger from the heavens in condemnation and judgment, but one who extends an open hand, inviting us into the family of faith.  The other side speaks of a God who is just as offended at stuff like this as we are.

As much as I'd like to think otherwise, I'm afraid IWPUTS will continue doing their thing.  My hope is that the rest of us will see through this and choose instead to keep our eyes on the road that lies ahead. Trust me - there's better scenery elsewhere.

Comments

[Joe Lamp'l]

Excellent, simply excellent! You gave me a new perspective that makes total sense. Although as a Christian, I would have looked at the sign with the pointing finger and felt that it was a little over the top, the other billboard picture I have seen around these parts and didn't ponder the fear part. I just thought it was a cute play on words. But having read your post, I too would like to contact those IWPUTS and express my disgust as well! Thanks for an wonderful post!

[BelovedSpear]

Fear is just an implement of coercion, and if faith is coerced, it is not faith.

Good thoughts!

[Steve]

Joe, I think the creators of the "Don't Make Me Come Down There" billboard were trying to be cute & have a play on words. To be honest, when I first saw it it didn't bother me all that much. Then one day I was in the car with an agnostic friend (for the record, agnostics essentially believe there may be a God but we can never know it for sure), and he railed on the sign, specifically b/c of the fear factor. It took that incident to help me see things from a different perspective. People of faith just REALLY have to be careful with things like this.

[Christophe]

I have to disagree with you, I find this billboard to be a bit of a comic relief to the portrayed image of the Church. It is simply trying to make people smile, and maybe give a thought or two about religion. It is in my mind no way blasphemis against Christianity, nor is it seriously portraying a message. You are right though about messages being outside of a Church, and how people need to be careful, but on a billboard near a highway, I don't see any problem with it.