“Take off your engineering hat and put on your management hat.” That sentence became infamous after the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. Here’s the backstory. The night before the launch had been extremely cold, and NASA engineers warned that the freezing temperatures could have damaged the o-ring seals on the Shuttle’s rocket boosters. They recommended postponing the launch.
However, political and media pressure for the launch was intense. Not least because the Challenger crew included Christa McAuliffe, a public school teacher who was central to NASA’s public-relations campaign. This is why those calling for a delay because of safety concerns were told, “Take off your engineering hat and put on your management hat.” In other words, the space agency’s public image was more important than an invisible and unlikely safety failure. The launch proceeded, and 73 seconds later, the Challenger exploded, killing all seven crew members.
The Challenger tragedy illustrates the danger of overvaluing public perception. The need to please an audience, to appear flawless, and to win the approval of others can lead us to downplay or ignore the less visible yet more critical aspects of our lives. When this posture is applied to our life with God, we can begin to think that looking righteous is more important than actually being righteous. This is the very definition of hypocrisy that Jesus addresses repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount.
For example, in Jesus’ culture, fasting was a mark of deep commitment to God. It was a holy practice for the truly devout. In a society where religiosity was rewarded, to be seen fasting gave a person greater status and prestige. That is why Jesus warned about the dangers of fasting in a way that catches others’ attention.
By the time of the Protestant Reformation, the same temptation existed. Martin Luther said fasting had become “a device for having people look at them, talk about them, admire them, and say in astonishment: ‘Oh, what wonderful saints these people are! They do not live like the other, ordinary people. They go around in gray coats, with their heads hanging down and sour, pale expressions on their faces. If such people do not get to heaven, what will become of the rest of us?’”
Today, I don’t think most people seek approval through flaunting their fasting. In Christian communities, we have developed different ways of making ourselves appear more righteous than others, and we have new symbols to display our devotion to God. They vary in different churches and communities. In some, it’s about displaying Jesus-branded merchandise, bumper stickers, home decor, or even tattoos. In others, it may be a yard sign, wristband, or laptop sticker that reveals your concern for a particular issue or cause. The details will differ, but the underlying temptation is the same. We want others to think well of us, our values, and our commitment to the things of God.
But all of this focus on our external perception and acceptance can cause us to ignore the deeper truths that need our attention. In too many Christian communities, people are rewarded for taking off their spiritual formation hats and putting on their image management hats. Sadly, this is even the case among those who ought to know better—the church leaders and Bible teachers. When this happens, we will both miss the deeper life of communion with God that Jesus calls us to, and we will minimize the warning signs of a personal or corporate catastrophe.
Daily Scripture
Matthew 6:16–18
1 Thessalonians 2:3–8
Weekly Prayer
From Martin Luther (1483–1546)
O God, graciously comfort and tend all who are imprisoned, hungry, thirsty, naked and miserable;
also all widows, orphans, sick and sorrowing.
In brief, give us our daily bread, so that Christ may abide in us and we in him forever, and with him we may worthily bear the name of ‘Christian.’
Amen
