highlights a book urging you to choose the opposite like George Costanza did on one episode of
. Also, check out the
(core competencies).
Wait...what? Seinfeld and the Sermon on the Mount?
The author of
Choosing the Opposite begins, “What if every instinct, every decision you’ve made up to this point, has led you further from where you really want to be?” And with that, Tammy Melchien launches page one with a
Seinfeld episode! (You’ll appreciate this book.)
The author continues, “I’m Gen X, and I’m a teaching pastor, so if there’s a spiritual principle to be gleaned from the classic TV sitcom
Seinfeld, I’m going to find it. Which is why the more I think about what it’s like to follow Jesus, the more I’m reminded of one specific episode.”
Remember this one? “On the show, most things in life go wrong for lovable loser George Costanza. ‘My life is the complete opposite of everything I want to be,’ he complains. ‘Every instinct I have, in every aspect of life, be it something to wear, something to eat—it’s all been wrong.’”
View this 5-minute clip from Seinfeld:
George does the opposite in this 5-minute clip from Seinfeld, Season 5, Episode 22, “The Opposite.”Tammy Melchien adds that
Seinfeld “…is meant to be absurdist. After all, it’s a show about nothing. This isn’t the kind of thing that makes sense in the real world.” Agree?
“Well, suspend your disbelief for a moment,” she adds, “as I suggest something that may seem just as absurd: I’m not sure whether Jesus is a
Seinfeld fan, but I believe he is calling us to embrace our own George Costanza moment.” Counterintuitive?
“What if every instinct, every decision you’ve made
up to this point, has led you further from where you want to be?
“What might happen if you did the opposite.”
Yikes! Now I’m hooked! What possible relationship will Melchien contrive between
Seinfeld and the Sermon on the Mount from
Matthew 5-7?
“God-Flavors” and “God-Colors.” Would “choosing the opposite” make sense today? Was Jesus really serious when he encouraged his followers to be salt and light? Melchien thinks so. “As salt, we are to bring out the ‘God-flavors’ of the earth. As light, we are to bring out the ‘God-colors’ of the world.” (Think about those descriptions from
The Message.) Then this:
“Our role as salt and light is to reveal the presence of God and the availability of his Kingdom, which means we impact the world not by becoming something great but by making Jesus greatly known.”
You’re Busy. I know. Who has time to read yet-one-more-book on the Sermon on the Mount? Haven’t we read enough books and heard enough sermons? (
More blah, blah, blah maybe?) Wait...
About 30 percent into the book—I wondered: Keep reading? Is she just preaching to the choir? Does Tammy Melchien actually choose the opposite
herself—as Jesus taught? (
Apparently, not all the time.) She describes a moment in 2020 “…in the throes of the COVID-19 Pandemic”—when she ordered a to-go dinner from Chili’s. “… at the time, they were one of the few restaurants with curbside pickup—and I am a sucker for getting food without having to get out of my car.”
Fast forward—where's the food? Waiting and waiting (and grumbling)… she finally went into the restaurant. “Most of the people in the waiting area were remarkably calm.
Everything about my body language communicated that I was not. Finally, after 50 minutes of waiting, my food arrived. I grabbed the bag, didn't say anything to anyone, and left the restaurant in a bit of a huff.“That's when I remembered what was on the face mask I was wearing: the words
Community Christian Church. And I felt the Spirit’s conviction.”
She confesses, “It’s not like I threw a tantrum in the restaurant, but in a situation when I had the opportunity to be a person of grace, I chose to be a person of self. I tried to imagine what it would be like to walk back into that waiting area—after my visible display of irritation—and ask,
‘Could I tell you about the difference Jesus has made in my life?’ If I were the woman who worked there (or the super chill Uber Eats driver who didn't seem to mind waiting), I would not have been interested in what the church lady had to say.”
Oh, my. The author admits, “I didn't bring out any ‘God-flavors’ in Chili's that evening. I didn’t give any evidence that ‘God-colors’ were present. Instead, simply because my barbecue ribs were late, I diminished my influence. I tossed flavorless salt into the world.”
Yikes! Her transparent disclosure reminded me of the rude airline traveler who pushed ahead of me at the United counter some years back because, he said, “I have a plane to catch!” (Duh!) And honest—on the back of his t-shirt in large print:
“Men of Integrity.” (Those Promise Keepers shirts should have come with a training manual.)
But…if you’re like me—affirming the “upside-down” theology of the Sermon on the Mount (“Really good content, Jesus!)…and quick to point out the flaws in authors, pastors, and fellow passengers…
…but less self-aware to see how Matthew 5-7 relates to me—my actions, my attitudes, my heart—then join me in reading
Choosing the Opposite, not once, but twice.
While reading this book, a friend shared a song with me—a perfect companion to the author’s commentary on Jesus’ invitation to the humble fishermen to come down to the lakeshore. “Come, follow me.” She writes, “But though the invitation was straightforward, the implications were incredible: he was asking them to travel from one reality to another, not just with their bodies, but with their hearts, souls, and minds.” (
Think about that.)
ENJOY THIS SPECIAL SONG:
Listen to “Pescador De Hombres: You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore” and picture Jesus with you on the sand with your little boat. What will you do? Fish or follow?And by the way—don’t think that the author’s humor and rather short book (just 178 pages, plus notes) will let you off the hook.
Choosing the Opposite is deep and wide. Like Dallas Willard's counterintuitive wisdom on pearls and pigs, the author's "terrible addition" to Matthew 19 (Jesus and children), and six "radical" insights: "This is what this opposite approach to relationships looks like."
Oh, my.
TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for
Choosing the Opposite: How the Sermon on the Mount Helps Us Rethink Our Assumptions, Recalibrate Our Instincts, and Rediscover the Way of Jesus, by Tammy Melchien. Listen on
Libro (4 hours, 55 minutes). And thanks to NavPress for sending me a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:1) The author intersperses stunning quotes from others, such as Dallas Willard and
John Ortberg. Describing the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of earth, Ortberg says of the latter, “And that kingdom is junked up by sin.”
QUESTION: Are you expecting something more from the “kingdoms of the world” than God promises? 2) Need to prepare a thoughtful staff meeting talk? Use Tammy Melchien’s three-point outline from her book’s subtitle: “How the Sermon on the Mount Helps Us
Rethink Our Assumptions,
Recalibrate Our Instincts, and
Rediscover the Way of Jesus.”
QUESTION: What assumptions do we have about you and me being broken (“junked up by sin”) that impacts how we treat each other, per the Sermon on the Mount?
SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic BooksYou have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!Book #30 of 99: HumoristsFor your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #30 of 99 in our series, “Second Reads.” The big idea:
REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.
Humorists:
From Hogarth to Noel Coward
by Paul Johnson (Nov. 23, 2010)
Fifteen Funny Folks! Paul Johnson (1928-2023) profiles 15 humorists in this book, including Benjamin Franklin, G.K. Chesterton, Toulouse-Lautrec, W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, James Thurber, Noel Coward, and others. He includes Groucho's famous line, "I don't want to belong to a club which would have me as a member."
• Reviewed in Issue No. 321, April Fool’s Day, 2015!
•
Read my review.
• Order from
Amazon.
• Management Bucket #10 of 20:
The Hoopla! BucketLO! & LOL: ABRAHAM AND SARAH. Paul Johnson says "the Old Testament contains 26 laughs, which do not form any particular pattern or expand our knowledge of why people laugh. The first occurs in chapter 17 of the book of Genesis, and is the first time a case of laughter was recorded in words, about 1500 BC." (It's when God appeared to Abraham. "Lo! Sarah, thy wife, shall have a son!" Read Johnson or Genesis for the punch line!)
Note: I’ve reviewed numerous books by Paul Johnson (all memorable), including
Jesus: A Biography from a Believer.
CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN
Read Chapter 10, "The Hoopla! Bucket," for a "Flipchart Affirmation eXercise" (F.A.X.)—a creative way to bless your team members at your next weekly staff meeting.
IMPORTANT NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived here at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon.
Issue No. 658 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Oct. 3, 2025) features a new book coming Oct. 7—describing the four seasons of a CEO. The “...
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