No More Mr. Nice Guy

So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by their God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves”… Remember me, O my God, for good! (Nehemiah 13:25; 31)

Such an account leaves quite an impression on us. Nehemiah saw a great evil in his eyes. The Israelites were intermarrying women from foreign nations. It became so bad, that “half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people" (Nehemiah 13:24).

It wasn't really a problem of having children with different shades of pigmentation. It was not just a problem of cultural corrosion. Nehemiah singled out what he was unhappy about: It was a problem of losing their mother toungue.

During those times, the Word of God did not have the luxury of multiple translations in different languages. The Word was written in Hebrew, taught in Hebrew, studied in Hebrew, and spoken in Hebrew. The Word was bound as a sign on their hands. Placed as frontlets between their eyes. Taught to their children when sitting in their houses, when they are walking by the way, when they lie down and when they rise up. Written on the doorposts of their houses and their gates (Deuteronomy 11:18-20). The presence of God was lived out and transmitted through the “language of Judah”.

If someone does not know the Hebrew language, there was no way for that person to know God, or learn about Him. Even if there was a way, it would be very difficult. Imagine trying to talk to your children about God in a language that you are not familiar with. The subject of God is already not easy in itself. Talking about it in French isn’t going to help.

Nehemiah saw what was happening. He saw that the passing away of the Hebrew toungue will also mean the passing away of the presence of God in their lives. And he did not just declare an edict or make a policy from the palace to remedy the situation. He made it personal and took it upon his own hands.

Sometimes, we want to take it easy on people, especially those in the family of God, out of compassion and humanitarian reasons. Even when we see our brothers and sisters erring greatly against the Lord, we feel that is more convenient to play Mr. Nice Guy. The Bible begs to differ. Sometimes, being Mr. Nice Guy is not being nice at all. How can allowing evil for the sake of being nice be considered any good at all? It's not even good for the brother himself.

The next time we feel like playing nice in the face of erroneous sin among our brethren, we can look to Nehemiah. He contended with them. He cursed them. He struck some of them. He pulled out their hair. He made them swear. And in the end, he turned to God and said “Remember me, O my God, for good!” He wasn't ashamed of what he did. Because he knew he was doing the right thing.

If the kingdom of God matters to us more than our label as a non-offensive guy, then we will do the right thing. Check out what Jesus said to the hypocritic scribes and Pharisees:

“Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33)

Jesus abandoned the Mr. Nice Guy tag to do what needed to be done. Nehemiah did too. What about us?