I’ve seen this meme pop up a few times. It’s usually in the context of not following the progressive liberal narratives of our day. For the follower of Jesus there is certainly something to be said for this. When many around us are bowing to the golden statues of the Nebuchadnezzar’s of our day, we need to be modern-day Daniel’s.
But I’d like us to think a little more about that guy in this meme. All those extending their arm, “Heil, Hitler” are falling in step with Nazi ideology. An ideology that saw Germany as the superior nation and sought to exterminate any who were not part of the Aryan master race. It was a survival of the fittest. It was German nationalism at full throttle, breaking the bones of any who were vulnerable.
It’s true that power was transferred to the Fuhrer, and their extended arms is an act of subjugation, it’s not quite so simple as to say that they are actively giving up their freedoms and laying them at the foot of the emperor. This man, with arms folded, refusing to “Heil, Hitler” is not merely a lone lemming, standing upon his own character and principles, refusing to follow the crowd. It’s more than this, or at least it should be.
I suppose it’s possible that someone captured this photograph when our hero was day-dreaming and was only moments away from extending his arms. He may not have been heroic at all. But there is One who was heroic, who exemplifies what this picture is going after, and His story is certain.
Jesus stood against the religious system of his day. Yes, he didn’t bow a knee to Pilate or Herod or any of the secular rulers, but his sphere of resistance was predominately found within religious circles. He stood against the Pharisaical temple-system. A system which feasted upon the vulnerable rather than fighting for them. They were those who “devoured widows’ houses” (Luke 20:47). Jesus sharply stood against them in Matthew 23. He was a dissident. Diane Langberg explains:
A dissident is one who disagrees…We defined a system as a people standing together. Jesus sat apart from those who stood together in his day. It is quite a picture isn’t it? In the same manner and spirit of Jesus, all Christians should be dissidents in the corrupt systems of the world, including in our own beloved institutions. (85)
Stand with Jesus, against them all, to the glory of God for the sake of the vulnerable. That’s what I hope we see whenever we see this meme. That’s what it means to “be this guy”. It’s not about fighting for my own perceived rights, it’s not about fighting against one political party whilst bedding another. Christians must stand against every corrupt system and never be co-opted to party. Ever.
Be that guy.
Stand with Jesus.
Stand with Jesus against corruption.
Stand with Jesus against corruption to the glory of God.
Stand with Jesus against corruption to the glory of God for the sake of the vulnerable.
Be that guy.
