“Where did all the good people go?”

4/12/18             Ryan  (video)        30's

That question is posed by singer/ songwriter Jack Johnson about the confusing times we live in. The traditional heroes of our culture are having their imperfections exposed and their achievements discredited, while the traditional villains are claiming victim status and being revered as overcomers, so that the roles of hero and villain are slowly being reversed.

Part of the blame for this belongs to the majority culture which for generations has tried to Americanize immigrants and minorities into a “melting pot” with national heroes in order to create a unified, homogenous nation. Instead, the goal should have been more like a salad bowl, each part with a different flavor to contribute.

Part of the blame in our churches may be the result of portraying various biblical characters as heroes to entertain our children, when in reality they were in many ways flawed individuals just like the rest of us.

Part of the blame belongs to our uncritical acceptance of media portrayals of good and evil, which Jack Johnson describes in his song “Good People” as “Station to station desensitizing the nation”.

In truth, our heroes are flawed individuals, and the villains often do have a back story. There are no perfect saints, and most sinners have at least some redeemable qualities. The problems came when we pretended there were stark contrasts, and a critical analysis has caused the pendulum of public opinion to swing too far in the opposite direction.

I’ve been thinking about this since a conversation with Ryan, a resident surgeon who has developed some serious doubts about the biblical concepts of heaven and hell due to his growing sense of the injustice of such an outcome. As a physician, he is trained to look for physical or sociological causes for dysfunction, rather than also acknowledging moral factors. This means “bad” people aren’t as bad as they seem, but rather victims of outside circumstances.

Ryan has also been rocked by his inability, despite the best training in medicine and scientific advances, to save his own mother at her bedside, or to save a young father under his care. As a doctor he would like to keep death at bay, or at least keep the good from dying young.

So if those we perceive as “bad” are only victims and the heroes only human, on what basis should anyone end up in either hell or heaven? Is the end of our existence really that black and white? Where’s the justice in that?

But I asked Ryan “If you do end up in heaven one day, will you then say that you are a better person than those in hell?” He said no, and he would be right.

In truth, there are no “good people”. Where did they go? They haven’t gone anywhere because they don’t exist! Of course I know Jack Johnson was singing about decent, law-abiding folk, but biblically speaking we are all condemned sinners in need of redemption. Justice would have us punished, unless God mercifully provides a sacrificial lamb on our behalf. And this He did in Jesus.

There has only been one perfect Hero in history, and there will only be one Hero in heaven. But inasmuch as different individuals are able to follow Jesus’ example of loyalty, faithfulness, courage, lovingkindness, compassion, and sacrifice, let’s celebrate the various heroes God has raised up in our midst, human and flawed as they are. And I think Dr. Ryan is one of them.

To see my conversation with Ryan, go to https://youtu.be/QpBWnBz3GJY on my YouTube channel.