Does The End Ever Justify The Means?

Does the end ever justify the means? In other words, does it really matter how you arrive at your destination as long as you get there? Does it make a difference in how you accomplish a goal as long as you achieve it? I realize for some the answer can be quite subjective and situational. But I think we need to be careful with such thinking, especially in matters related to the Kingdom of God.

Consider Jesus. He was given the name that is above all names (see Philippians 2:9-11). Salvation is found only in him (Acts 4:12) as he is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). John writes that Jesus spoke of himself as being “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) which is one of the six “I am” statements attributed to Jesus by John. Peter refers to Jesus as the “cornerstone” by which the church, the people of God, would be built (1 Peter 2:4). And the list could continue.

It’s important to remember that the path of Jesus, his road to our provision of salvation, his way to which all will bow the knee before him, involved suffering. Yes, he could have avoided the pain. He could have sidestepped the cross. Remember the temptations he faced in the wilderness? Were they not about avoiding the cross? “I’ll give you the world,” says Satan. “You just have to bow to me.” In other words, “There’s an easier way to greatness. No pain. No shame. And it’s quicker.” But Jesus refused. He trusted in the Father. The means by which he would be crowned King truly mattered. Why? Because to refuse the cross would be to reduce the Kingdom of God to the kingdoms of this fallen world.

So it appears that in regards to God’s Kingdom, the end does not necessarily justify the means. But what does this have to do with us? Well, for starters, there are no shortcuts. No quick fixes. We have to “take up our cross.” Our path to Christlikeness is not a quick sprint to glory but a marathon that involves suffering. But we are tempted, just as Jesus was, to sidestep the cross. We are told there is an easier way. And it’s true that there is. But it’s not the way of Jesus.

I believe the question of ends and means has something to say to us about how we do ministry as well, specifically evangelism. I personally feel it makes a difference in how we share Jesus with others. We can’t have the attitude of those who feel that as long as the gospel is preached, or as long as people get saved, then all is good. Such thinking has a tendency to lead to coercion and manipulation by which the dignity of humanity is stripped.

We must also consider crowds, budgets, and buildings. Not that these things are not important, but I’m not sure they should be the measure of effective ministry. Why? Because once again, they can become the end by which the means becomes anything but cross-shaped. We do “whatever it takes” to get folks through the door even if that means backing down from the sacrificial life to which Christ calls us. And this is not the way of Jesus.

What we are to do is to love our neighbor, embrace those in the margins, touch the untouchables, and suffer with the broken. We are to be humbly present to the working of God in the lives of others as we enter their world to freely give of ourselves. The is the means by which we share the gospel with others. It’s how we do ministry. It’s how we show the world the Kingdom…the Kingdom of the cross. And it’s what we call people to embrace. This is the way of Jesus. This is the path of true Kingdom growth.