My son came home from kindergarten this week and informed me that he had been shoved to the ground by a child one grade above him. From what Landon’s big sister says, this little fellow that knocked down my son has a big brother with behavioral issues galore and that the chief offender is also aggressive with other children. I won’t go into detail in a public blog but suffice it to say that I took an opportunity to instruct my son on precisely what to do if the little bully pulls that stunt again. Landon running to his big sister to tell on the boy again is an option that I removed from the table. As boys growing up in the 1970’s in Lilburn, fights were a weekly part of neighborhood interaction and I think it’s hardwired into male DNA. Bullying is intolerable and I instructed my boy that to start a fight is completely unacceptable. However to finish one, I must say, can be rather fulfilling.
“Brethren, we are generally too fast with our tongues when anybody accuses us. I am afraid we are not always so quick to defend our Master, as we are to defend ourselves.” – Charles Spurgeon
I want to encourage us all to consider stepping up, speaking out and standing firm as part of the call of each Christian. Our culture has been so successful at seeking to shape “what a Christian should be” that we now have a caraciture of what was once a steely-spined, set jaw, resolute soldier of the Cross. Take note of the insulting tenor concerning biblical Christianity that abounds in national media. We are the butt of jokes all over the land and there is little allowance given for those who are sincere and dedicated in the living out of their Christian faith. God forbid (Allah forbid?) that anyone in the USA should upset a Muslim. The audacity that Muslim students at Notre Dame should be protesting because there is no formal place for them to pray to their god is absurd. Did they not know that they were students at a CATHOLIC college? That would be like me traveling to Mecca & Medina Community College and wondering where the communion table was and stomping my feet in definace…just prior to them removing my head. I’ll give this to the Islamists: they certainly stand up for their beliefs. They are so convinced and committed that they blow themselves up and fly airliners into American buildings. Christians? Well we tend to slowly fade into the background as if the most righteous thing we might do for the Lord Jesus is to refrain from causing a ruckus.
Spurgeon was right. We fight for our own personal interests with an intensity that should be reserved for standing strong for Christ. Why do we not sense the same indignation that arises when we are cut off in traffic that we do when someone disparages Jesus or His church? While the Occupy protesters spend weeks displaying their ignorance and lawlessness at strategic locations across America, and as we hold private disdain for them in the safety of our living rooms, does it ever occur to us that they are more dedicated to their less-than-clarified cause than the American church is to its mandated commission from Christ? Gays, lesbians, transgenders, illegal immigrants, NBA basketball stars and team owners, pro-abortion leagues, anti-capitalists and a host of other protest-pockets dot the landscape of America while Christians hold their breath until Sunday when we can run to the shelter of our immaculate cocoons and sing, “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior”
I’m not advocating the cultivation of an obnoxious church and I’m certainly not hoping that there will be an emulation of violent Islamic extremism, lawless defiance of government or a blending of church and state that would result in a terribly unholy union. What I AM asking us to consider is that we may be guilty of believing the intimidating presumption of a Christless culture that strongly encourages the Christian to sit down and shut up. We can’t say that we are turning the other cheek because, frankly, we’ve been sitting on both cheeks for 40 years while our nation oozes slowly into irrelevance. I’m tired of the pressure of political correctness. I’m tired of the American church’s prioritized pursuit of appeasement. I’m done with the trending that makes the church of Jesus Christ – the same church that He declared that hell could not prevail against – as a limp-wristed pansy who will gladly hold the door open to the raging bulls that trample all that is good and holy. Speak where you can, when you can. Don’t be bullied on the schoolyard of American thought. Stop apologizing for being a disciple of Christ…and, by all means, American Christians, cultivate a spine and abandon the world of the invertebrates.
I feel better now, thank you for listening.
Thank you Amy for reminding Jeff that Landon is in deed a 1st grader!!! Jeff you are right on!
Regarding the comment about fighting, that is our motto too:Never start, but do your best to finish it..
I so enjoy reading this site. There are times I would like to forward the day’s message but I am not computer savy. Is there an easy way to do this? Thanks and God Bless You.
Hi Sandy…. to the right of the date of the blog at the top, there are little icon/boxes. One is a green box with a + sign in the middle. Click the + then click the envelope then select your email provider and it will send the blog as a link via your email…. or you could copy/paste the blog and it would send the text and any photo(s) Jeff has included and paste it into a blank email and forward. Hope this helps
Thank you so much Glen! I will give it a try. God Bless you and yours my Brother. Sandy
Amy gently reminded me that Landon has been in the 1st grade all year and my statement about him being in kindergarten might serve as a poor reflection on his academic prowess since many know he was in kindergarten last year. For the record, he made it into first grade and is doing well this year. What can I say? It’s been a long year.
Amern, amen, amen! Apparently, son, you’ve been taking walks inside my heart, mind and soul.