The Truth about Realism

You have heard and you have said it haven't you, the little phrase, be realistic! That is a favorite phrase among culture. We must be aware of the nuances of the thought. When we tell someone to be realistic, sometimes we are telling them to give us a little grace. We are acknowledging that whatever the bar is, we cannot reach it and so need a little mercy or grace to get there. Sometimes we use that phrase as an insult. We make the charge to be realistic, but what we really mean is, you don't know what you are talking about. It is an underhanded attack on a person's ability to grasp and understand the situations of the moment. On another front, we will use the charge to be realistic as a way to control fanaticism or exuberance. If a person shows to much excitement in a particular area, we will often times tell them that they must be realistic. I am sure there are other examples that one could think of, but I think you see the point. Before I give any further thought, I need to clarify. There are times when we all need to be charged to be realistic, so I am not seeking to pooh pooh the charge entirely.

What reality is and what we perceive it to be is often not congruent. In other words, we take this common phrase and use it as a means to evading responsibility and in some cases action all together. As a pastor I not only see this in the people I shepherd both now and in the past, I see this in my own life. It is an easy card to play because the person to whom we utter that phrase immediately feels the indictment we have just made. We are in some sense telling them that they suffer from misperception. The concept of reality puts the accuser in the superior position because he/she is claiming to have something that the accused does not.

In all candor, we often times use the phrase "be realistic" as means to excusing ourselves from sin or any type of positive action. The person who sits in the pew will say, "I believe in God and I go to church, but I can't be a fanatic (out spoken, visibly committed to Jesus) about religion, I have to be realistic." The person caught in sin will say, "it is not as if what I am doing effects every body, and my actions are my business, we must be realistic and realize that we are not all perfect." In essence, the charge of realism becomes a means to excusing ourselves from being committed to God.

As I said a moment ago, what reality is and what we perceive it to be is often different. The reality is, we are in a bad way apart from Christ. The reality is, we try to rectify that feeling of separation with a great many things. The reality is, we are desperately thirsty for something real, yet many continue to drink from fountains of falsehood that keep them thirsty. The reality is, Jesus told us in the gospel of John that men are thirsty, and He gave us a remedy for it, Himself. The reality is, we try any number of things to quench a thirst that only Jesus can fill. Reality is the gospel and our deep need for it.

So, the challenge for us is clear...are we using the charge to be realistic as means to subverting the work of the gospel, or are we seeking to draw others to the fount of Christ?