CHAMELEONS

August 29, 2024

Chameleons are fascinating creatures. They have eyes that act independently, long projectile tongues, and a swaying gait. But they are mostly known for their ability to change colors.

They may change colors when they are excited, change colors with fluctuating outside temperatures, or change colors to blend in with their environments and so camouflage themselves against enemies.

(The Marvel universe and the X-Men franchise both have characters – Chameleon and Mystique – whose superpowers are to impersonate almost anybody.)

Chameleons are amazing creations of God. But it isn’t necessarily a compliment when someone calls you a chameleon.

A “social chameleon” is someone who adapts their behavior, speech, and / or appearance to fit in with different social groups or situations. While these adaptations can be helpful in certain social situations, this shape-shifting social ability is often linked to moral or ethical compromise and to manipulation. Definitely not good! We don’t want to be manipulative, and we sure want to stay away from moral compromise.

But in my Bible reading this morning, I was struck by the Apostle Paul’s eagerness to be – without using the word – a chameleon.

When he wrote to the Christians in the church at Corinth, he told them that he presented himself differently to different groups of people. He altered his presentation according to the tastes and cultures of the people he was with.

For instance, when he was with fellow Jews, he behaved Jewishly. He dressed like a Jew, ate like a Jew, and kept Jewish customs. (Read Acts 21:15-26 to see him do this.)

When he was with Gentiles, he ate with them, went to their homes, interacted with them on their turf, and talked to them about things they were familiar with. (Read about Paul’s time in Athens where he did exactly this; Acts 17:16-34.)

And his imitation of chameleons went beyond ethnicity and culture. When he was with people who suffered with various weaknesses, he presented himself as weak. (See 1 Corinthians 2:3 where he reminded them that he had done this when he was in Corinth.)

He made it his aim to not bring something to an interaction with another person that would be off-putting – and he made this his aim for a very specific reason.

As he wrote in the passage for my morning reading, his chameleonism was purposeful. It was so that he might “gain Jews” (v. 20), so that he might “gain those who are without the Law” (v. 22), and so that he might “gain the weak.” (v. 22) It was purposefully evangelistic.

Paul became [22]…all things to all people, so that [he might] by all means save some. [23] I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

In Paul’s decision to alter his behavior, speech, or appearance based on the person he was with, he wasn’t walking the road to moral compromise. We don’t suspect that he adopted Gentile sexual mores or that he followed Pharisaic legalism. He also wasn’t being manipulative.

He was simply seeking to pull down any unnecessary barriers to relationship and to communication. He was clearing away any and all cultural distractions. He was doing all of this so that he could make clear the good news: God gives the gift of eternal life to sinful people when they believe in Jesus.

Since my morning reading, I have been wrestling with the “How?” question. How do I need to alter my behavior, speech, and / or appearance SO THAT I can better relate to the person God allows me to be with SO THAT there are no unnecessary barriers to my telling them about Jesus?

On any given week, you and I interact with a wide-ranging group of people. Young and old, conservative and progressive, male and female, wealthy and not, people from all sorts of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and those from different religions, too.

Would you join me in wrestling with what needs to change SO THAT we can make better connections with these wildly diverse people? Would you join me in asking God to give us all a heart willing to be a Jesus-centered chameleon for the sake of the Gospel?

Yours…His,

Dave