Just be nice. This is a very popular slogan in our culture, and it is evident that many people swear by it. The thinking goes something like this: it does not cost you anything to be nice to everyone, so you may as well do it. While the logic can be understood, this philosophy falls short. Just think of Robin Williams. From the outside, a comedic genius filled with positivity. On the inside, a soul fighting the constant attacks of sadness and depression. This is why just being nice will not suffice. Not only does it promote hiding one’s own true feelings and exchanging them for a fake smile, but it leaves the soul feeling unsatisfied with a false concept of good news.
The good news is not that if you are nice, you will go to Heaven. Rather, the good news is that dead sinners are made alive through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:5-9). Even someone who does not believe that there is any ultimate meaning in the universe can be nice. Yet, what is the motive? If someone is nice in order to attain a reward, that is not genuine. It is simply the means to an end. On the other hand, if someone goes out of their way to actuate sincere love, that is truly virtuous.
“THE GOOD NEWS IS NOT THAT IF YOU ARE NICE, YOU WILL GO TO HEAVEN. RATHER, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT DEAD SINNERS ARE MADE ALIVE THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS.”
This all ties into the fact that everyone has a religion. It is only a matter of which one we follow. People will often say just to be nice, but what is the objective standard putting legs on that claim? Without a moral law-giver, there can be no moral laws. That includes being nice. What makes being nice better than being callous if not for a moral standard?
As you can see, the gospel of being nice is a false gospel. Just think of the speech of our Lord Jesus in a passage like Matthew 23:27-28. This is not an incident where being nice was the motive. That is because the most powerful motive through all of redemptive history is love, and not niceness (John 3:16). True love involves discipline and correction just as parents who truly love their children will discipline and correct them (Hebrews 12:5-9). Such acts are not without a purpose; they place the ultimate good of the children over the temporary ease of doing nothing.
None of this is to say that you should not be nice, going around being callous to everyone. After all, who wants to be around a sour person all of the time? However, we must realize that being nice is not our ultimate ethic. Even so, the world does a lot of tearing down to people, so we must pursue to speak life and not death (Proverbs 18:21). Speak life; not for the sake of being nice, but for the sake of uncorrupted love that we are to exemplify after our Heavenly Father (1 John 4:7-8).
