"The most important thing about a man is not what he does, it is who he becomes."
- Dallas Willard
Possibly my favorite trailer of all time is from the Superman origin story, Man of Steel. Even hearing a few bars at the outset of revisiting this two minutes of video magic made the hair on my arms stand up again. I used to think it was because it was part of the opening of every talk I gave on glory in front of the 1,100 men that have attended the four-day weekends I help host. But I now know it is the result of something far deeper.
Of the many things that stir me, one line is burned into my memory. When a young Clark, already super but not knowing how to administer his power, saves a bus full of school children, he is exposed. He is offering his power and glory before his appointed time. He is carrying an extraordinary gift that could be completely undermined if not administered when and how it is intended.
His father says, “You have to keep this side of yourself a secret.”
Both superheroes and supervillains have power. It is the administration of the power and motive behind its’ offering that determines if they are good or bad. And sometimes even good things can be bad.
A few examples:
I knew a leader who aggressively found opportunities to do good and support all kinds of things he believed in…to mask the reality that he hated himself and was trying to earn approval from his God.
I knew a leader who was a young superstar, way ahead of his time, who built and impacted thousands…driven by a fear of failure and needing to receive the affirmation of others since he didn’t know it from his God.
I knew a younger me that held all types of ministry roles that intersected with thousands of lives…motivated by a fear of the world, a need for control, and fighting a sense that the tragedy of his life had already disqualified him.
How could doing something inherently good, not be good? Motive always tells the tale.
In the biblical narrative, we see picture after picture of Jesus accomplishing good, but apparently passing by the opportunity to do more. We see him heal, restore, and do the miraculous, working hard to keep it a secret. He ends many of those interactions with a simple, “The time has not yet come…”. The time has not come for him to reveal himself as the anticipated one. To take his place as the great healer, restorer, and reconciler.
His mission is to point back to the source of the power. To model for his followers how to do the same. He only does what the Father tells him (and when he tells him to). He is not a superhero, but super connected and offering the administration of power and authority at God’s hand.
And he made some audacious claims along the way. That we have been granted the authority he carried. We are seated in a similar place as him. That we would do even greater things than him. That we were glory-bearers intended to model what God is like to the world and administer his power at his hand. The plan was not to keep showing up like so many re-makes in the Superman anthology. His plan was to model for us so that we could offer the same in our restoration.
I am trying hard to reject self-determination and accomplishment. I want to become more the kind of man that offers power, authority, justice, mercy, honor, and love with no other motivation than God’s direction. This slow but steady journey is changing everything.
Consider
What good things are you doing?
Why are you doing them?
Do you think a simple question of what you are supposed to do and when you are supposed to do it might be the necessary filter for everything?