5-23-21 Going High
Quote: “When they go low, we go high.” – Michelle Obama
This is one of my absolute favorite quotes from one of our former President’s wives. It just screams the word class. Keep it classy is what she is saying. When someone hits below the belt and stoops to bitterness, hatred, and pure evil – she says we should aim high. Don’t stoop lower, go higher. Shock them. Instead of doing an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, make a conscious choice to either stay silent or choose the high road. Choose different. Keep it classy.
There are so many people in our history that have modeled this behavior for us. I think it’s important to know about these people so we don’t forget how it looks when we choose to make lemonade out of lemons, rather than serving sour milk.
Rosa Parks did not beat white people on that bus with a frying pan and say, “Get out of my way! I’m sitting here and there is nothing you can do about it!” No – she got on the bus, paid her fare, and sat down in a seat. Mother Theresa didn’t start out serving on the mission field. She was first a teacher and principal in Calcutta and then later felt called to a second vocation, what she referred to as a “call within a call”. She felt urged to leave the convent life and work directly with the poor – not by banging on government doors and demanding more resources for the poor. Instead she showed up on their home turf and served. She prayed over them, hugged them, and eventually lived amongst the sickest people in the land.
And Michelle Obama said this when she felt bullied: “Going low is easy, which is why people go to it. It’s easy to go low. It’s easy to lead by fear. It’s easy to be divisive. It’s easy to make people afraid… When I want to go low, it’s all about my ego. It’s not about solving anything. It’s about seeking revenge on the thing that happened to you. There is a bigger purpose out there. So when I respond to something, I have to think about that.” Amen sister! We couldn’t agree more.
Do you know who else was tempted to go low? Jesus.
He was dying on the cross. The crowd hated him. They thought he was a false prophet because their image of what they thought the Savior was supposed to look like was different. They expected a king of high stature living in a luxurious palace. Instead, Jesus came as a baby in a manger, born to a poor family, living amongst the people and humbly healing them or encouraging them. They were confused. But they were also very angry, hurling insults at him. It is recorded in Matthew 27 that they said things like this to him as he was on the cross: “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” and “He saved others but he can’t save himself!”
Right then, he had a choice. He could go low or he could go high. As Michelle said, he remembered the bigger picture. He knew he had a bigger purpose in life then just dying on that cross. He had to die so he could rise again and prepare a way for us to get to Heaven. So instead of hurling insults back, he does one of the most humble things a dying human can say. It says in Luke 23:24 that He looks up to Heaven and says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing.” He chose not to lead by fear or be divisive or pump his ego up – because he knew his purpose. He chose to go high. He forgave them as he was dying and being insulted.
Jesus is the ultimate example of choosing the high road.
The Bible says in Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Below the belt is harsh and leads to anger. Taking the high road is soft and brings peace.
Whatever situations come your way, whatever life throws at you, and whatever others do to you – remember the choice is yours.
Let’s always choose to aim high. Be classy.
