If you’re a leader, you’ll be misunderstood.
If you care about people, you’ll be misunderstood.
Even if you serve people well, you’ll still be misunderstood.
If you’re like me, it’s terribly frustrating to be misunderstood. I have a deep need to be liked, so I have to fight against the urge to please everyone with my decisions. Whether as a leader, a neighbor, or a family-man, the risk of being misunderstood is constant.
But rather than being afraid of being misunderstood, we ought to accept reality, and face it with courage. Sure, we ought to do our best to keep things in context while being truthful and wise in our explanations. But if it’s laced with fear, you’ll undermine the trust you need to overcome the misunderstanding.
It’s courage, not fear, that overcomes misunderstanding.
That’s what we see in Jesus, as told by Mark in the gospel. After feeding the five thousand, Jesus had sent his disciples across the lake in their fishing boat while he went up into the mountains to pray. Late that night, as they struggled against the wind, Jesus came out to them on the lake. They were terrified by Jesus – how can he walk on water and why does the wind stop when he shows up?
They still did not understand Jesus. But that didn’t stop Jesus from being with them, speaking into their life, and giving them courage.
Jesus risked being misunderstood by his own disciples even as he worked to train them for his mission. It took courage for Jesus to teach them, send them out to preach and heal, to live with them, and then still be misunderstood. Sometimes they were still afraid of him!
“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
If it was difficult for the disciples to understand Jesus in the first century, imagine the challenges we face in the 21st century. We are separated by two millenniums and six thousand miles. Jesus is still misunderstood in America, even (mostly?) by Christians. That includes me.
So when we see how patient and persistent (and sometimes exasperated) Jesus was with his disciples when he was misunderstood, we can imitate him in regard to those who misunderstand us.
All people have power. Some know it and use it to their advantage, often at the expense of others well-being. A lot of us don’t think too much about the power we have over others. Which means we may not appreciate how we make others afraid of us.
Our desire to be understood could be another attempt to control and exert power over others. We would be wise to pay attention to the power we have (even if we think it is impotent or misunderstood) and how we use it in regard to others.
Jesus used his power to heal, to welcome, to embody the love of God, and to proclaim the forgiveness of sins for those who would repent.
Jesus used his power to transform lives, to set people free from fear in order that they may live a life of courage and trust in the God of Israel. And the whole time he risked being misunderstood. By his family, by his friends, his his disciples, by the religious and political authorities, by his own mother.
As you sense God’s call on your life to serve him in this world, your “yes” to the Lord may result in misunderstanding.
Like all important decisions, the greater the stakes, the greater the risk of misunderstanding. But when Jesus is calling you to follow him, we can hear his words to his disciples in every generation, every nation, every storm: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
What is Jesus calling you to do with your power?
What are the ways that Jesus has been appearing to you, inviting you to trust him with your life?
In what ways does Jesus make you afraid? What are you afraid of losing as you sense Jesus making himself real to you?
What kind of courage is Jesus calling you to exude as he invites you to join him in his work to heal the world for the flourishing of all?
