The Grand Adventure of Being a Ninja Gentleman

Lest anyone should accuse me of bringing Ninjas into the mix to satisfy my own whimsy, let me explain! Being a brother-in-Christ is a great privilege and responsibility...but also a tricky business. You need to be considerate and self-sacrificing, avoid suspicion, and give God the glory.

Now Jesus was the original ninja gentleman, telling us that when we make offerings, our right hand should not know what our left hand is doing. That's like having little ninjas on the ends of your arms. If you give offerings (or if you serve your sisters) in order to be admired and praised...welp, you've got your whole reward right there, everything you ever wanted. =\

We extend this idea. We are not in the brotherhood to get glory -- but God should get glory! So instead of trying to build a reputation for ourselves, we work on fading into the background and making HIM famous in the way we love our sisters. It is also a good way to curb our ambition -- a nice overreaction to our prideful desire for fame and acclaim.

Furthermore, ninjas creep around to avoid being creepers!

A lot of women aren't used to having men acting brotherly toward them. "Brotherliness" is not a new concept, but it has always been an uncommon one. Usually, we relate to a woman Romantically (or potentially so), or as Buddies, or else we avoid her entirely...but recognizing her God-given pricelessness and femininity, and treating her like a spiritual sibling? That's something else entirely!

A sincere brother is kind of a weird sight to see, and a lot of people are suspicious of him. Some Christian advisers even discourage guys and girls from being close friends at all (which makes sense if you don't factor in the Family relationship).

Maybe the suspicion towards nice guys is misplaced, but a lot of women feel it. If we can save them the trouble by becoming Invisible Ninjas of Christian Love, that's a bonus! Let's get our reward from God instead of our sisters' pretty smiles (which are another bonus).

Apart from suspicion, we also want to keep people from reflecting our niceness back upon us! For example, some girls have a really hard time accepting compliments (which is really sad!). If you try to build her up directly, she might think, "Awww, that's so nice of him to say! He's a wonderful brother"...but without actually taking a word of it to heart. I would rather build up my sister than build up her opinion of me! So I practice giving my sisters affirmation in sneaky ways that they can't reject outright. I should like my sister to be vaguely but undeniably sure that she is treasured!

(There is also a time to end the sneaking...the best ninja know when to jump out and say BOO!!!...so the best Shadow Gentlemen know when to jump out and say "You are my sister and I really care about you with Christ's love!")

Actually...you have found me out. I just have a deep desire to Be a Ninja, and to Be Nice to Girls. This is my desperate attempt to combine the two into a powerful combination!