We have heard it said, “If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
Life experience has taught me the truth of the saying. When I was young, the back pages of comic books were slathered with ads for all sorts of amazing things like x-ray glasses and sea monkeys. In reality, the x-ray glasses used an optical illusion that made everything blurry when you looked through them and the sea monkeys were short lived brine shrimp. None of the items purchased from those back pages lived up to the hype, and the sellers never issued a refund.
As I grew older, I learned to assume advertisements overpromised, and that the product would underperform. I was never disappointed. I learned to do this with people, too. Politicians, clergy, and even friends- it was always safe to assume a person would make mistakes and fall short of their ideals.
I’m not the first person to come to this conclusion. Back in the 1st century, St. Paul wrote “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) So this is not a sparkling new revelation, but rather an old truth, dusted off and re-presented.
What is new is how we’re applying this everyone-is-flawed filter to our modern narratives. A solid contemporary example is found in Amazon Prime’s The Boys. The series is set in alternate reality modern America where superheroes are real. Four men and one woman (the eponymous Boys) investigate the lives of the most prominent heroes, a group called The Seven. Viewers witness the heroes and the Boys committing evil: murder, assault, drug abuse, slander, blasphemy, and much more. All this is presented in a matter of fact manner- “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and this is what you do to survive.”
The Boys is an adaptation of Garth Ennis’ comic book series, and it actually tones down the source material. Ennis is open about the fact that he does not like superheroes. He is equally open about his atheism and hostility to Christianity.
Ennis’ opinions are his own, and they aren’t new or surprising. What’s different and notable is the fact that he’s receiving an audience. The Boys is Amazon’s newest hit. Executives have not released viewing statistics, but they affirm it is currently one of the most watched series in the history of Amazon Prime streaming video. I think it’s safe to say we’re talking about millions of people watching this material and declaring “This is good!”
This isn’t good. Specifically- the idea that everything and everyone is corrupt and rotten, and that there is nothing truly good in this world, is awful. True- humans are flawed. True- evil exists. And true- we should not hide from that reality. Pollyanna and her Glad Game are just as unhealthy as Ennis’ approach. That said, the popularity of The Boys shows us how far our expectations have fallen.
We expect for our leaders to fail us. We expect for our religion to disappoint us. We expect our families and loved ones to hurt us.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
God became man and dwelled among us. This means God knows us intimately. He knows our struggles. He knows our pain and suffering. He is not far off. He is not a watchmaker who set the world ticking and stepped away. He is here. And He loves us.
Consider the Kingdom that Jesus promised us. A Kingdom in which there is no pain or grief- in which…
the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
together their young shall lie down;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the viper’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the peoples—
Him the nations will seek out;
his dwelling shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11:6-10)
Also consider His conduct after the Resurrection. His persecutors were still alive and active in Jerusalem. Jesus clearly had the power to go and take any kind of retribution He desired. But He did not. He did set things straight with St. Peter (John 21:15-17)- but even that was done gently, in love.
At this point, you may ask, “If God loves us, then why does evil exist?” and “Why don’t we have that kingdom now?” These are good, valid questions. I have no quick answer. The beginning of an answer is found in questioning a foundational assumption- that love equals absence of pain. Or that love means feeling good. There are moments of sublime, amazing pleasure in a lifetime of love. But love also brings pain and discomfort. Because loving someone means being fully present to them- mind, body, and soul. It means desiring the best for the beloved, regardless of the consequences for the lover. It means seeing the beloved’s ugly parts and continuing to be engaged and present. God demonstrates this kind of love for His creation throughout Scripture and in the lives of His saints. If we’re going to love one another, as God has commanded us, then we’re going to suffer. We’re going to see ugliness. We’re going to hurt.
Another piece of the answer is found in the fact that it’s God’s kingdom, and not ours. He will establish it when it is right and just. And it’s worth the wait. While we’re waiting, keep in mind that, “created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.” (CCC 1934) In other words, we all have a deep, lasting, intrinsic worth that never goes away. There are no worthless people, and everyone is worthy of loving and being loved.
God wants us all in His kingdom. True, we may not all get there, as C.S Lewis famously wrote:
There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say so God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened. (Great Divorce pg. 75)
Which do we want?
Ennis’ vision of the world, the one shown through The Boys, is not accurate. God made the world and saw that it was very good. (Genesis 1:31) Jesus came into the world, not because we are horrible and need a spanking, but because He loves us and wants us to be with Him for eternity. There is so much goodness in this world- so much right. But we miss it by expecting muck and brutality. Love God. Love your neighbor. And look up, not down.
Michael Bertrand
Michael served as a priest in the Episcopal church for 11 years. He and his family were received into full communion with Catholicism in 2016. He currently works nights at an 30 day Alcohol and Other Drugs (AoDA) rehabilitation clinic in Monona, Wisconsin.