Sit in the middle of a topic, be a moderate, and when someone on one "side" starts taking shots at the other, physically or philosophically, you're going to be in the way.
"Lead, follow, or get out of the way" is a warning to those who don't do one of those three, because if you can't, you're likely an enemy, and enemies must be removed from having any power or influence in the material world for there to be peace.
Trying to play peacemaker means you get shot anytime peace is not brokered, but even worse, nobody cares, because you're neither for or against either "side". You're a slimy and manipulative sort, trying to have your cake and eat it too, hoping that nobody picks up on your opportunism before you've gotten your pound of flesh and can move on.
The reason that folks do this is because they're trying to emulate Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ bridged the gap between humanity and God by taking all the shots that God ever would need to make against sin, and then asking us in turn to place our faith in Him instead of trying to rush past him to take some shots of our own. That is the arrogance exposed by a works-based salvation, it places an emphasis on remedying the price of sin by your own efforts, instead of accepting the gift that Jesus Christ offers freely.
A messianic complex causes people to run into the line of fire, sacrificing themselves to try and broker peace between two parties, and superficially we laud such behavior because it is usually only motivated by a deep love and care for the two parties involved. Again, this is going to be Christianity minus the Christ thing because we live in a society that has steeped in Christian principles for so long that folks have forgotten where they came from.
So folks are rushing to be moderates, to try and negotiate, to try and stop conflicts from occurring, because Jesus Christ was exalted as a reward for his sacrifices. While he humbled himself to a mortal life, in his resurrection he has been elevated above all others as the perfect demonstration of love and sacrifice.
People want some of that for themselves, the recognition and glory for having done something difficult.
But, much like the priests who pray on street corners, to be heard by men, such rewards are equally temporal, short-lived, because nobody has a perspective that appropriately includes how their actions will ripple across existence and on into eternity. We see what appears to be a path of action which would benefit us in our goals, but we don't really know for certain. Nobody can really predict the future, though many have killed themselves trying to manifest a particular version of one.
Such suicidal instincts are not laudable, are not worthy of praise, because it's ignoring that this story isn't ours to tell.
We aren't the focus of creation, the reason it was created.
We aren't even the reason that Jesus Christ came to save us in the first place, evidenced by scripture indicating that such an act was known and planned for before even "In the beginning..."
The reality is that we exist in is God's story, and we just play a role in that story.
Look at the interactions between David and Saul. How many times could David have made a different choice in whether to allow Saul to remain alive? How much easier would David's life have been were Saul removed from the picture at his first opportunity to do so?
Yet David would not put his hand against God's anointed for Israel, because despite God having told Israel how terrible the idea of a King was to begin with, Saul needed to demonstrate fully waht God had described before Israel could understand that, even when chosen by God to do great things, humans who get a taste for power will abandon God and, in their hubris, presume that God chose them for who they were and what they could do for God, as if their own internal judgment is enough, as if God looked over their life to that point and declared "Good job, keep doing what you were doing, but now with my support!"
The reality is that God is inviting us to walk with God in what God is already shaping before us in this world. God already has designs, reasons, and while we may come to know some, ignorance is not an excuse for disobedience, let alone outright rebellion, against God.
What Jesus Christ did in being a moderator between humanity and God was unique and miraculous, and to honor what Jesus Christ did we should not blindly repeat his actions, but also pay heed to his words and understand that "becoming more like Christ" does not necessarily include one's death needing to be on a cross for having pissed off Jewish autocrats.
Anyone else? They'll just get shot, and folks will be too busy trying to reload and take another that they won't have time to lament the unfortunate death of one who was crushed in trying to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.
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