“Whatever anyone else dares to boast about – I am speaking as a fool – I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.” (2 Corinthians 11:21b-23)
I have mentioned before about finding my theology in unexpected places. A recent copy of the ‘Metro’, picked up on a bus journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh, put a smile on my face and a theological challenge on my heart. It concerned a gentleman called Craig who is a fan of the now discontinued ‘Still Game’ comedy. He and his wife attended a theatre show in Edinburgh that was based on the comedy. Arriving at the theatre, they discovered there was to be a charity auction before the show of memorabilia, including paintings of the cast by a local artist. Craig took a liking to a painting of the cast which the auctioneer initially offered at £50.
Craig, however, had never been to an auction before and mistakenly believed that the point was that the auctioneer is the one who is committed to giving to the charity and that the bidders are competing to drive up how much the auctioneer has to donate. Craig – to the auctioneer’s delight – enthusiastically shouted out “£650!” When the auctioneer asked for any advances on this generous figure, Craig responded with a shout of “£850!” His wife was astonished but recovered her wits enough to shout that he was bidding against himself and would have to pay. But in his enthusiasm and excitement, and buoyed by the laughter in the theatre, Craig pushed on to “£1,000!” before he finally understood, and his wife could silence him and explain to him how an auction works.
By this point the auctioneer had declared the painting “Sold to the generous bidder!” Craig had constantly outbid himself to reach £1,000 for a £50 painting. To give him his due, once all was explained, he stumped up the £1,000 and with good grace accepted an honorary title from the ‘Metro’ of ‘Clumsiest Husband of the Year’ and agreed to their front-page story headlined, ‘I’m a Bid of an Idiot!’
If you’ve read this far then I hope you now have a smile on your face. But you may still be wondering, “So, where does theology come into this? What’s the point?” Simply the notion of outbidding myself in the name of a generosity that will benefit others. Paul told the Corinthians that whatever others might claim, “I am more” and “I have done more.” Few of us could match his list of imprisonments, floggings, dangers and hard work. When I think I’ve given what I can for God in a day, my fifty-pounds-worth, can I outbid myself and give more? Can I be more and do more? And then outbid myself again and give yet more? And when I feel I’ve done enough to benefit those in need around me, can I out-bid myself and do even more for them? And can I meet the commitments I make in my enthusiasm, even once the personal costs become clear? Can I press on and only stop when my Master calls ‘Enough’?
Let’s outbid ourselves each day in the Lord’s service.