Australian Values II: Mateship

The greatest pleasure I have ever known is when my eyes meet the eyes of a mate over the top of two foaming glasses of beer
Henry Lawson

Mateship.

It's one of the most significant and quintessential of all Australian values, along with a 'fair go'. It's part of the ANZAC spirit and has long been associated with what it really means to be Australian.

What does it mean? It means being there for your mate through thick and thin. Your mate is your friend, but more than a friend - a buddy, a comrade in arms.

It is a very common thing in the Australian Labor Party to refer to someone as a mate (although whether they always mean it in a positive, affectionate way is another matter). And there's the famous case of a high court judge being put on trial for, it was claimed, trying to unduly influence a case involving his "little mate". Some say that the whole concept of mateship is inherently 'blokey' - this was a criticism when the PM wanted to include mateship in a new preamble to the constitution - but I know plenty of women who have mates and who can be commonly heard calling friends 'mate'.

But what about Christians? What should be our perspective on mateship?

Mateship by Christians
On first examination, it looks obvious - of course we should be on about mateship - of course we should care for our mates - of course we should dearly love our friends. And of course we should - we would hardly be human if we didn't. But I believe there is also more to the issue than that:

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:44-45 (ESV)

This is absolutely counter-cultural in Australia - not just showing mateship, but loving those who are not your mate. This is far more than our culture dictates - we live in a tolerant culture (more on this in the future), but love is not tolerance. Tolerance merely 'puts up' with someone else but keeps its distance. Love goes further and puts you out in service to the other person.

The Central Baptist Church in Sydney copped a bit of flack recently for using this concept in reference to Osama Bin Laden on a sign out the front of their church (actually, the sign said that Jesus loves Osama, but the concept is similar). In fact, they copped so much flack that even the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney weighed in and said that it might have been misleading. But I, like many Christians, thought the sign was perfectly true - Jesus loves his enemies and we are called on to love our enemies, even those who may wish to kill us. The fact that the sign garnered so much controversy reflects the absolutely counter-cultural message of Christianity - it's not just mateship and tolerance - it's about loving your enemies.

Mateship towards Christians

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.
Mathew 10:34-36 (ESV)

While this verse is about families the point remains - the message of Christianity is divisive, as Jesus himself announces. But it's not that Christians should practice animosity against their families, but that their families will harbour animosity against them for following Christ; only a little earlier Jesus has said:

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 10:21-22 (ESV)

So the message then is this: not to deny mateship or turn against your fellow Australians, but to expect that you will be denied mateship because of your beliefs. Fortunately for us such hatred is not universal

God's mates?
What about God? Does he have mates? Is he on about mateship?

I read The Bible once. You know God and Jesus and all them apostles ? They were all fishermen, just like me. Yeah, straight to heaven for Mick Dundee. Yep, me and God, we'd be mates.
Crocodile Dundee

This is how many Australians think about God (if they think about him much at all) - he's a mate - he's on their side - they've been good enough (never murdered anyone or anything like that) so they'll go to heaven.
Of course, the reality is somewhat different. God can be their mate - but only if they accept him. It's a fairly peculiar view of mateship - expecting God to be a mate, but not actually treating him like a mate any other time - not desiring his company, his views, his comradeship and not treating him as he deserves to be treated. It's a shame, because God makes a great mate - I mean, who wouldn't want a powerful friend on their side?

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 (ESV)

Jesus' disciples are his friends - it's a wonderful blessing to be able to be a friend of God's, and even more so to actually be a friend of God. In the context of this verse, it is those who follow Jesus and believe that he is who he says he is who are his friends. And that's not hard to do, because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Conclusion
Mateship is a good thing, but it's not enough and it has its limits:

1. As Christians, we need to love our enemies, not just our mates


2. There's a strong chance our mates could turn against us because we are Christian


3. The Gospel has relevance to Australian culture - we can be God's mates, but it's not an automatic thing - we need to treat God as a mate, not just assume that he is our mate

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This was the third post in a series on Australian values. Next up in this series: "No worries mate".

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