Hype gets old fast. Listening to it is nerve-grating, scream-inducing, mind-numbing. I think Mark Twain said it best: ‘There’s nothing worse than somebody else’s good time.’ And yet, who can always avoid being the source of hype after experiencing something huge, incredibly exciting, or repetition worthy? (Apologies to Luc whom I called at midnight, January 14, 1990, to tell him I was now engaged to be married, not thinking he was asleep or that he had stumbled, in the dark, to the living room to answer the corded, plugged-in phone. He told me later he had stepped, bare-foot, on one of his boys’ toy trucks on the way, then, while groggily listening to my love-stoked hype, had pulled the phone off the cabinet onto his foot – oops). So, it might be added that hype can be a pain.
To this day, we are surrounded by it. Noisily, intrusively, inundated with it. Discerning essential information in the midst of the din is no mean feat. The kicker is that occasionally there may be something of importance worth capturing, so not paying attention could come at a price.
Paul, too, was guilty. He spilled much ink using every superlative he knew, pulling up every adjective, too, in an effort to describe the ginormosity of the bestest news he’d ever, ever, ever heard – really! No, really!(Sadly, there were no italics in Greek for Paul to employ. Maybe it was his verbosity that served as substitute). Not only was the Good News good, but he, Paul, was anointed and sent out as its Announcer-in-Chief. His motto was likely something like, ‘So many people to be told. So little time to tell them.’ (Jesus’ soon return was thought to be any day).
We’re 2,000 years further down the road and Jesus’ soon return continues to be ‘any day.’ The gap between the ‘told’ and the ‘need to be told’ is as large and daunting as ever. The ‘uttermost parts of the earth’ of Paul’s awareness was far smaller than ours today. The languages and people groups available to our radar are far more extensive, demanding strategies unique to the intervention of the Holy Spirit – and our listening.
But, back to my original thoughts about hype. What are we to do? The Good News is every bit as good as it was for Paul. The change it brings about in individual lives is as earth-shakingly beautiful. The love offered by the Father is as incredulous in our day as ever it was in Paul’s. God’s Word is eternally alive and powerful and effective. Our transformed (still being transformed) lives are lighted torches, way markers, pointing people to Jesus. Let’s be all that, but without inflicting pain at midnight. PD
