Monty Python, Reverence, and What Matters Most!

It feels like everyone my age either grew up with a dad who loved the Monty Python movies, or hated them. My dad claims he hated them, but I remember staring at the TV with a puzzled look on my face while knights rode around saying odd things - so I don't know what to believe. 

One Month Python film we definitely did not watch in our house was, “Life of Brian.” 

The film tells the story of Brian Cohen, a young Jewish-Roman man born on the same day as—and next door to—Jesus and subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.

It caused quite an uproar. The original investors dropped out, angry Christians picketed outside the US premiere, and a long list of countries banned the film altogether.

Today, the whole thing is laughed off as yet another example of stuffy, overly sensitive-Christians who can’t take a joke. Mocking Jesus and Christianity hardly moves the needle today, but one religious group has taken a different approach.

Key member of the Monty Python troupe, Terry Gilliam, highlighted the difference in a telling quote. He said, “We would say nothing negative about a Muslim ’cause we’d get a fatwa after us. But your Jews, your Christians, they’re easy to push around.” 

Are we easily pushed around? Should we stand our ground? What’s the right approach to irreverence outside the church? 

The first question to answer is: what is reverence, and why does it matter?

Webster’s dictionary defines reverence in a clumsy, beautiful way: “profound adoring awed respect.” 

Needless to say, giving God “profound awed respect” is of the highest priority. The consequences of failing to do so are significant. 

Writer and theologian, AW Tozer, wrote, “the history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God.” 

So when God is mocked in culture, as is often the case, and if it matters this much, how do we respond? 

Do we threaten violence like some Muslims do? Do we become angry and self-righteous, shaking our fingers at those who dare to belittle our creator? I don’t think so. 

Reclaiming reverence begins with an examination of my own heart. Am I in awe when I behold my maker? Or have I lost sight of who He really is? 

If we want the world to take God seriously, it starts with us. Too often, we make casual jokes about scripture and share irreverent memes. Our prayer times are awkward and our church services are overly corporatized, and devoid of the Holy Spirit. 

Nothing expands our view of God, and sends us to our knees, like Paul’s powerful words in Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” 

More than His power, and His glory, it’s God’s grace that should produce unending worship in our lives. And this is not a one-time thing. The natural drift of the human heart is away from reverence. A high view of God is cultivated through a commitment to the spiritual disciplines. 

We will only change the world’s view of God, by the way we view Him. Our deep respect for our creator should produce extraordinary love, courage, and faith, and this will be the best argument for reverence outside the church. 

We need to invite those around us to meet the person who changes everything. 

Whether you are a Monty Python fan or not, let their controversy be a reminder for you the way it was for me: God is no joke; it is in the best interest of everyone to take Him very seriously, and if I want the world to care, it has to start with me.