Hyperbole

Have you seen the commercial for Axe deodorant? Every time a young man raises his arms, sweat (supposedly) sprays out like a fireman’s hose. His only hope… Axe deodorant. Before you say, “Gross” or “How rude” –let me remind you that hyperbole, sarcasm and irony are the poster children of the postmodern age. Postmoderns respond to exaggeration because they feel they live in a sham world that has been hyped by commercialism and power hungry politics. Hyperbole exposes the shell games that were sold to them as truth. Deodorant ads that claimed all day power or multiple day longevity are deconstructed in the new and improved formula that can stop the flood of these lies. Axe (a strange name for something you put under your arm) establishes product integrity by overstating its effectiveness. Okay, but what does deodorant have to do with the gospel?

Nothing… but truth and hyperbole has everything to do with the good news. Jesus often employed hyperbole to underscore the sham world of the pretentious religious and the magnitude of the sacrificial life. The rich young man may have exited stage right but center stage spotlighted a camel trying to squeeze itself through the eye of a small needle (Matthew 19:16-30). Jesus tops it off with the ironic “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” The Pharisees and teachers of the law are exposed for hard selling the kingdom without actually using the product (Matthew 23). They eat and drink from vessels that are clean on the outside but filthy dirty on the inside. They are fancy looking boxes/caskets on the outside full of death’s reality on the inside. Jesus knew that the light of truth could be exposed when contrasted sharply with the dark lies of deception. Yes, hyperbole has everything to do with good news.

Now, I said that to say this… don’t mistake hyperbole as the champion that fells our self-righteous enemies and the poor struggling masses that are consumed by riches! Jesus’ exaggerations are aimed at the heart of both sinner and saint. We all have struggled with riches diverting our eyes from following Jesus. We all have battled being consistent with our faith and practicing what we preach. Maybe, the most important divine truth revealed in hyperbole is an invitation to laugh at ourselves as we are exposed to the magnitude of our folly! We all sweat… I doubt if any have ever sprayed like a water fountain but I’m sure some have felt like they have. Exaggeration reveals our feelings, our motives and the intensity of our struggle. Jesus smiles, invites us to laugh at ourselves and with a hyperbole nudges us back to the truth… to the good news that is found and founded in Him! And that’s no exaggeration! -DAN