"Complimentary, Complementary"
08-30-09
Have you ever sat on a bench in a major American city, closed your eyes and just listened to the sounds of the city? Sit in a downtown location and you will hear a lot of sounds. You will hear traffic, and snippets of conversations. You might hear music from a street musician, or a café, or a car stereo, or likely all three at once. You might hear a construction crew, or a delivery truck, or an emergency vehicle siren whiz by. For any of you who have lived in a big city, you know that after awhile, these sounds become commonplace, so much so that sometimes the city dweller doesn’t even notice or tune in to what (s)he is hearing.
A couple of summers ago, there was a sound on the corner of 14th Street N.W. in Washington, D.C., that took people by surprise. A local visual artist named Tom Greaves, displayed his Compliment Machine as part of a collection of art call the SitesProject DC. "Ding-dong," a chime would cut through the noise, followed by a pleasant voice saying to a passerby, "You create a brighter future," or "People are drawn to your positive energy." The compliments were enough to make even the busiest people put down their phone or their lattes for just a moment and pay attention.
"Tom Greaves originally conceived the piece as a comment on our "saccharine" culture in which, like on a kids’ soccer team, everyone is special and unique, nobody can be criticized and everyone gets an award. Some people hate that and others embrace it, but for Greaves the piece was less a judgment one way or the other and more about perception. "On the one hand, I think there are a lot of gratuitous praise and awards and trophies heaped upon people for barely showing up," Greaves said. "On the other side of that coin is the real human need for assurance and reassurance and to be complimented." The nature of the compliment and its effect would thus be, like most art, dependent on the ear of the beholder. "People can believe it or not," said Greaves about the hundred messages he recorded on an iPod Nano in his own neutral voice — kind of like the voice that warns you when the airport walkway is coming to an end — and set up to play from the box at random intervals."1
Greaves put out completely positive messages in hopes that at least some people would hear and internalize those messages. Perhaps life does imitate art. If we’re able to slow down, and if we take the time to listen to positive words, no matter where they come from, they can have an effect on us. We need to hear positive words. So many of the messages we hear today are negative…they effect our psyches….our self-esteem. Commercials remind us that we’re too fat, too poor, too unattractive, too whatever and that true happiness and validation come from the acquisition of stuff. The news media feeds us seemingly nothing but bad news about the world everywhere we turn. In the midst of all the negativity, we need to hear a positive word from someone who can give us the ultimate Good News about ourselves and our world.
In the letter of James, we are reminded to first be "hearers of the word…hearers of the word." We hear so many messages everyday, are we hearers of the word?" Do we hear the word like the construction crew in downtown Chicago, or do we hear the word…listen…internalize God’s word for our lives? James implored his readers to first be "hearers of the word" and, having heard the truth, to act on it (James 1:22-23). For James, that "word of truth" is a "perfect gift" from God, through which God "gave birth" to humanity as the "first fruits" of all his creatures (vv. 17-18).
In other words, the truth about God’s love for us has been with us from the beginning. That the Creator God has always sought to be in relationship with his human creations, and God continues to desire that relationship in spite of our actions. That sounds like the ultimate compliment to me. But like most positive messages it is a compliment that we need to hear over and over again. God loves you and wants to be in relationship with you. Therefore, says James, we are to be "quick to listen" and "slow to speak" (v. 19). We must learn to filter out the junk that bombards us on a daily basis and focus on that "word" of truth that God has implanted in us. We are good enough. We are loved. We are forgiven. We are called to do great things.
Here’s the thing…We have the option to either hear and believe the complimentary messages, or simply walk on by without acknowledging them at all.
There was no way to know the full effect of Greaves Compliment Machine. No one knows if a compliment had a life changing effect on someone or a momentary blip of awareness in someone’s life. One thing James wants us to know that the word of God as presented in the stories and poems and histories of scripture, and the complimentary and convicting "word" of God that we hear in the midst of world and community, is not meant for entertainment or temporary effect. James writes it is about hearing and doing. It is about being the listener, and reflector. It is about taking what you hear, internalizing it and then acting upon it. "Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves," warns James (v. 22). Otherwise, when we walk away from it we’ll forget it, like a person who forgets his or her reflection in a mirror or a pedestrian who hears a compliment and sloughs it off because he or she is too busy thinking about a morning meeting. God’s word isn’t merely random or perfunctory or philosophical. Instead, as the writer of Hebrews says, it is "living and active," calling for a response (Hebrews 4:12). When we "look intently" into the meaning of that Word, says James, and when we act upon it we begin to activate its transformative power in our lives (James 1:25). It’s then that we experience the true "freedom" and blessing that God intends for us and for the rest of the world through us"2
James’ theology is eminently practical. It is God’s word translated to real life. James reminds us to act upon what we hear. Do any of you work in sales? Or do any of you or have any of you worked for a commission? If you have, than the words, "just looking," are kind of like the kiss of death. "Just looking," really means "Go away, I have no intention of buying anything here." We "just look" when we are bored, or dreaming of something beyond our reach, or waiting for our spouse to get out of the dressing room. But some people spend all their lives "just looking" -- never willing to invest their energies or emotions or economic security in anything because of the risks involved. People who are permanently "just looking" drift in and out of jobs without ever finding a vocation; they drift in and out of relationships without ever daring to love; they drift in and out of communities without ever casting a vote or dropping anchor; and they drift in and out of the church without ever opening their hearts to the spirit of God or feeling the pulse of Christ's body. God is never just looking. God invests in each and every one of us. God wants us to hear God’s word of grace and justice and salvation. James says, first be a hearer of the word. Hear that word of grace and love and encouragement, and challenge, but also be doers of the word. We must internalize God’s complimentary messages and do something with them. The compliment of grace and truth that God showers upon us seems to be designed to always come through us on the way to somebody else. We are not call to "just look," but to be "doers who act."
A biblical faith finds plenty of precedence for action without a plan, but very little evidence of plans without action. Abraham didn't have a plan ... but he packed up and left home. Moses didn't have a clue…but he confronted Pharaoh with an ultimatum. Rahab didn't have a friend ... but she hid Joshua's spies to Jericho. Elijah didn't have a hope ... but he defeated all the prophets of Ba'al. Nehemiah didn't have a country ... but he rebuilt the Wall of Jerusalem. Mary didn't have a name ... but she bore the Son of God. John the Baptist didn't have a home ... but he made the wilderness his pulpit. Peter didn't have a backbone ... but he became the "rock" of the church. Saul of Tarsus didn't have a heart ... but Paul became the spokesman for the Gentiles. Jesus didn't do anything wrong ... but he suffered and died on the cross for our sake. Faithful Christians must be doing, not "just looking." The whole crux of faith is that we don't know every detail, every contingency, and every possible development that awaits us. But we do know who is in charge.
The God in charge has a word for you today and every day. Perhaps it goes something like this, "you are a positive energy in this world." Or "You make this world a better place." Or it may be as simple as, "you are infinitely loved." Thanks be to God. Amen.
Blessings,
Melissa
1 Taylor, Bob, "The Compliment Machine,"
Homiletics Online, July- August 2009.
2 Ibid.