“What is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15b CSV)
In response to such a polarizing statement, how do we direct our paths? How do we determine our priorities? How do we live and lead? For me, Jesus is the archetype for my life—every aspect, every attitude, and every action I seek to model, to pattern, and to pivot around His words, character, and example. Jesus did not mince His words; He had no problem with radical candour. His concern was never offense or non-offense, but laying a foundation of truth—not truth shaped by consensus, power, or cultural trends, but truth as defined by the Creator.
In the statement from Luke’s Gospel, Jesus articulates truth as it relates to the Creator’s blueprint, juxtaposing a clash of convictions and kingdoms between what matters on terra firma and what matters in aether eternum (the eternal realm).
It is easy to be justified within our immediate surroundings—our terra firma—where the prevailing mindset often holds that “the end justifies the means.” But this assumption depends entirely on how we define the ‘end.’ If we consider only short-term outcomes, then immediate success, influence, or ambition may seem like justifiable goals. But when we step back and view our lives through the lens of eternity—aether eternum—we are led to an entirely different evaluation. The true ‘end’ is not our short-term gains, but our conformity to the imago Dei, the image of God in which all humanity is created. This reframes our ‘ends’ and our ‘means.’ Instead of seeking personal advancement, we are called to a deeper, more significant ambition—one that is inherently other-oriented.
At the time of writing, the concept of the ‘other’ is particularly newsworthy. The term ‘othering,’ describing the way people distance and dehumanize those outside their immediate circles, has dominated public discourse. People are wrestling with our response and responsibilities to ‘others,’ questioning inclusion, justice, and moral responsibility. We are reflecting on the distance between us and them that we should either be reinforcing or reducing.
In this current iteration of a historically cyclical conversation, Jesus’ words shift the conversation entirely. His words represent a profound re-constituting of the question. Rather than simply redefining who belongs in our circle of concern, He calls us to examine the foundation of our values themselves. What are the in-vogue principles and ambitions that our culture upholds as admirable—but that are, in God’s sight, deeply flawed?
True leadership does not exist to maintain the status quo; it exists to shape what should be. Our context, like every other in history, is crying out for those who will not toe the party line of what is highly admired by people in a dangerously self-aggrandizing micro-climate. Leadership is not merely about accepting what is popular but about pursuing what is true, honorable, just, and pure (Philippians 4:8). This is about both ‘ends’ and ‘means.’ Jesus envisioned a culture of leadership where ends and means are integrated within the values of the Kingdom of God.
We are invited to be stakeholders in this Kingdom and given the opportunity to advance a constitution based on ‘otherliness.’ Such a Kingdom requires that we do not capitulate to contemporary culture, but rather lead according to a different constitution—one shaped by humility (Luke 18:14, 1 Peter 5:6), preferring and prioritizing others, self-giving rather than self-gratifying.
To lead in this way requires a refusal to conform to the constructs of contemporary culture. This kind of leadership is not easy. It is costly. Jesus said that compliance with the culture of the Kingdom will cost us our comfort in the world. The history of the Church reveals the reality of this cost, from the New Testament to the modern day. The writer of Hebrews refers to those who bore great cost as “too good for this world” (11:38). The constitution of their lives and faith reflected the aether eternum as their ‘end’ motivation, and the self-giving imago Dei as their ‘means.’
As I reflect on what it means to lead in this way, I am challenged and humbled by those in the modern world who resist the pressures of their context and remain true to Jesus. Basil from the Nineveh plains is one such inspiration. He suffered the loss of all his worldly possessions on two occasions because of his faith in Jesus. Despite this, he spoke to me of his choice to love and forgive those who had persecuted him. Those who ‘othered’ him, he chose not to ‘other,’ but to love. He resisted using hatred and bitterness as weapons of mass destruction, choosing instead the power of powerlessness by turning the other cheek and blessing those who persecuted him.
Basil bears the marks of the imago Dei, bringing beauty in the midst of barrenness, joy in the midst of suffering. He is a standard bearer of the aether eternum, reminding us of the end but also the importance of the means of leadership.
When I think of Basil, I am reminded that my life matters more than being submitted to the ‘means’ of temporary gain. His example reminds me not to measure leadership by human applause, but by the ‘end’ of what is beautiful in the sight of God.
Sam Miller
Director of Strategic Relations
Open Doors UK & Ireland
