Are you a Wannabe? It used to be nobody wanted to be a wannabe. Maybe in 5th grade you begged your mom to buy you a pair of MC Hammer pants because you saw some of the 8th grade boys wearing them and you wanted those 8th grade boys to know that you were just as cool as they were, so you Hammer danced yourself to school expecting all the kids to start singing “Can’t touch this oh oh oh” but instead David Eddy[1] calls you a wannabe and you spend the rest of the day trying to find a way to make your Hammer pants look less baggy because the last thing you wanted to be was a wannabe.
It used to be no one wanted to be a wannabe that is until the Michael Jordan Gatorade commercial came out. The commercial began with Michael Jordan dribbling the basketball through defenders and making a series of incredible shots and a man started to sing, “Sometimes I dream that he is me. You've got to see that's how I dream to be. I dream I move; I dream I groove, like Mike. If I could Be Like Mike. Like Mike. Oh, if I could Be Like Mike.” I don’t know if the commercial sold any Gatorade but suddenly being a wannabe was cool. Kids like David Eddy were on the playground wearing red #23 jerseys practicing dunks shots with their tongues sticking out of their mouths.
Truth is we are all wannabes. That’s why we have role models, mentors, and idols. We have people we look up to for their talent, skill, and ability; people who have personality traits we admire, character we respect, and charisma we envy. We see people who have successful careers, healthy relationships, and fulfilled lives and we read their books, listen to their podcasts, watch their Tiktocs because we are wannabes. We wannabe be like our role models, mentors, and idols because we wannabe better versions of ourselves.
Today saint Paul encourages all of us to be wannabes. But instead of being a wannabe so that you might better yourself, saint Paul challenges you to be a wannabe so that you might better others. Saint Paul challenges you to “become all things to all men so that by all possible means I [you] might save some.”
Just in case there might be some old negative grade school connotations lingering in your mind, It might help to start your journey into wannabeism by considering the biggest wannabe of all time. I am of course referring to Jesus. Jesus was a wannabe (the kind of wannabe Paul is challenging you to be). Jesus was not a havetabe. Jesus was not a needtabe. Jesus was a wannabe. Jesus was not a wannabe because He desired to be a better version of Himself. Indeed, there is no better version of self than Jesus. Jesus didn’t have and flaws to fix or weaknesses He needed to work on or areas in His life He needed to improve. There are no role models, mentors, or idols to whom Jesus can look to better Himself. Jesus already is the best; there is no one better than Jesus.
Which is why I say, Jesus was not a havetabe. Jesus was not a needtabe. Jesus was a wannabe and the person Jesus wanted to be was… you. In Hebrews 2:14 we read, “since the children have flesh and blood he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” In verse 17 of the same chapter, we read Jesus was “made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Jesus became one of us. He was born of a woman just like you were. He has flesh and bones just as you have. He grew in wisdom and stature just as you did. He got overwhelmed with sorrow, He became hungry, He got tired just as you do. Jesus became like you in every way, even to the point where He was tempted in every way just as you are. Jesus shared in your humanity; Jesus became like you in every way so that He might save you. Jesus was a wannabe not that you might better Him, but that He might better you.
Paul recognized Jesus was a wannabe. Paul appreciated how Jesus the wannabe had made him a better person and by better, I mean Jesus converted Paul from a dead sinner to a living saint. Paul appreciated what Jesus had done for him and Paul wanted to tell others what Jesus had done for them. So, naturally, Paul set out to be a wannabe, just like Jesus.
Paul wrote about his journey into wannabeism in verses 20-22. In verse 20 Paul wrote “20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.”. Paul knew better than most what it was like to live “under the law”. Paul was circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, and, in regard to the law, he was a Pharisee. Paul lived not only under God’s moral law, but he had lived under the ceremonial law and more than that he had lived under the Rabbinic laws of men. However, after had his “come-to-Jesus” moment on the road to Damascus, Paul realized that the laws of men were meaningless, and the ceremonial law had become obsolete now that the Messiah had come. Paul was free from the law. He could eat bacon for breakfast, read Essop’s fables in the afternoon, and go for a walk on the Sabbath. However, Paul knew that many of his fellow Jews did not yet understand this freedom. So, Paul willingly chose to put himself under the law, even to the extent that when he was on one of his missionary journeys Paul had his young assistant Timothy circumcised. Paul volunteered to obey laws that did not apply to him so that he would not offend the Jews and therefore be able to share the gospel with them. Now that I think about it that might show Timothy’s commitment to wannabeism more than Paul’s, but you get the point. Paul didn’t need to be like the Jews, he didn’t have to be like the Jews, he wanted to be like the Jews so that they too might be saved.
To an extent being a wannabe Jew was easy for Paul. The Jews were, after all, his people. However, Paul writes about his commitment to wannabeism in verse 21. Paul wrote, “21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.” The ones not having the law were the Gentiles; that is everyone who wasn’t a Jew. The Gentiles of course had the law of God written on their hearts like everyone else. Today we call the law written on our hearts our conscience. Though the Gentiles had consciences, they were completely oblivious to the ceremonial and Rabbinic laws of the Jews. That is not to say they were without obligations. Their pagan practices were full of rituals and sacrifices. Paul traveled throughout the Mediterranean teaching the Gentiles that the pagan gods they had carved out of wood or stone were false gods and as such had no power over their lives. However, Paul recognized that the Gentiles had spent so much time worshiping these false gods that anything associated with their former worship practices just felt wrong. So, out of concern for their conscience Paul decided that if there was meat being sold in the market that was in anyway associated with the worship of a pagan god, Paul would not eat it. Paul was willing to adapt his diet so that he would not offend the Gentile and would therefore be able to share the gospel with them. Again, Paul didn’t need to be like the Gentiles, he didn’t have to be like the Gentiles, he wanted to be like the Gentiles so that they too might be saved.
Being a wannabe Gentile was perhaps more effort for Paul. The Gentile way of life was drastically different than his own. However, we really see Paul’s commitment to wannabeism in verse 22. There Paul writes, “22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” You can find powerful, influential, and wealthy people in any and every culture. Such people existed among Jews and Gentiles alike. Such people could possibly have something to offer Paul in exchange for the gospel. But lest we think Paul was a wannabe of only the powerful, influential, and wealthy listen to how Paul describes the people he wanted to be. Paul says not many of them were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. Rather Paul describes them as foolish, weak, lowly, and despised. Now as a minister of the gospel Paul had the right to expect compensation just as a vintner expects to eat grapes from his field and a shepherd expects to drink milk from his sheep. However, Paul knew these people had nothing of value to offer. So, Paul gave up his right to be compensated and asked nothing of them so that he might not embarrass them and would therefore be able to share the gospel with them. Yet again, Paul didn’t need to be like the weak, he didn’t have to be like the weak, he wanted to be like the weak so that they too might be saved.
Paul truly became “all things to all men so that by all possible means I [he] might save some.” Paul became a wannabe not so that he might better himself but that he might better others. How about you, are you a wannabe? Do you want to be? If you wannabe a wannabe like Paul then there are four things you should know.
First know yourself. Know that, in Jesus, you are free. Like Paul, you are “20… not under the law”. You are free from peer pressure, you are free from obligation, and you are free from judgment. You don’t owe anybody anything. You don’t have to go out of your way to help anyone. You don’t have to benefit your fellow man in any way. You don’t have to be a wannabe, but you can be, if you want to be. Because of Jesus you are neither a havetabe nor a needtabe. Salvation is a gift that has already been given to you, there is nothing you have to or need to do. Because of Jesus you are free to be a wannabe.
Second know scripture. Know where you can and can’t be flexible. Like Paul, you are “21… not free from God’s law but are under Christ’s law”. In scripture there are things that God commands you to do. Likewise, in scripture there are things that God forbids you to do. You will want to know what these things are so that when you are being a wannabe you don’t sin. As a wannabe you will want to be as flexible as possible. You will want to adapt to culture and custom so that people are comfortable around you and are willing to hear what you have to say. You will be flexible within the boundaries of adiaphora, that is matters in which God has neither commanded nor forbidden, but there is no flexibility where something has been commanded or forbidden by God. As a wannabe you will want to know the scriptures so that you can be as flexible as you can be.
Third know people. Paul made it his business to know people. If you want to be a wannabe you will want to make getting to know people, your business. You will want to understand their fears, worries and concerns. You will want to know what makes them happy and brings them joy. You will want to know about the past that has shaped them, the present that impacts them and the future they hope for. To know all this takes time and effort. You will have to ask a 1,000 questions and then listen to a 1,000 stories. It will also require patience and perseverance. You are going to get to know people who are stubborn, entitled, and arrogant. You are going to get to know people who are rude, crude, and offensive. You are going to get to know people who are needy, selfish, and inconsiderate. These people will test your patience and perseverance but these people are the kind of people you are going to want to get to know if you want to be the kind of wannabe that seeks to better others with the power of the gospel.
Finally, know blessing. Paul tells us the reason he became a wannabe was so that he might “win as many as possible”; so that he might “save some”. Paul became a wannabe not that he might better himself but that he might better others. That is not to say there is no benefit to being a wannabe. In verse 23 Paul writes, “23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” You will receive blessings as a wannabe. First and foremost, you will be expressing your gratitude to God for the salvation you have received from the savior who wanted to be like you. You will also be fulfilling your purpose of making disciples of all nations. And you will have the privilege of seeing the gospel work in the lives of others. You will have a front row seat to the power of the gospel that converts lost and condemned creatures into the dearly loved fully forgiven children of the heavenly Father. You will see temptations overcome, relationships restored, and fruits of faith being produced as they grow in the grace of the gospel. When you become a wannabe, you do it so that you might better others, but you should know there are blessings for people who are the kind of wannabes Paul is challenging you to be.
Because of Jesus, I know you want to be a wannabe. Therefore, let us be the kind of wannabes that seek not to better ourselves but rather let us be the kind of wannabes that seek to better others. Let us be all things to all men so that by all possible means we might save some. Amen.
[1] Truth be told David Eddy was generally kind to me and today I consider him a good friend. Sorry David. LOL