Death By Fear

Death by Fear

“There is nothing wrong with BEING afraid…but there is something very wrong with STAYING afraid.”

That is a line I always used when coaching our football teams. It was not unusual for a young man to find himself face to face with a fearsome opponent where his courage was being tested.

“Figure out a way to get the job done. If you don’t stand up to him it is going to be a long, fearful night. Find a weakness and bore in on it. Man up. Develop some courage.”

Courage is no longer a characteristic emblematic of Christianity. Compromise and capitulation have replaced it. In fact, courageous Christians have become the exception rather than the rule. Finding a man who will not bend to the wind of the culture is a rare quality these days.

Look at our public servants…especially those in DC. I can count on one hand the number of Republicans who stand for what they claim to believe. “Reaching across the aisle” has become a badge of honor, as if reaching agreement with Christ-haters is somehow a noble action.

There is nothing as rare as moral courage…the willingness to stand up in the midst of cowardly compromisers and declare something to be right or wrong. Clearly articulated lines in the sand make cowards uncomfortable. It exposes their weakness.

Our Christian leaders no longer trumpet Truth. The sissified, womanly men standing in America’s pulpits today bear no resemblance to the courageous men of God who built this nation. It was the Black-Robed Regiment of the 18^th Century that tuned the tide in America’s battle for Independence.

They did not hide behind their 501c(3) government stamp of approval and they did not bow their knee to the latest edict of some government health expert. Strong, uncompromising men of God forged this nation. Compromised weak-kneed men of God are about to surrender it.

Barry Goldwater uttered this in his run for the Presidency in 1964:

“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.”

My how things have changed. Compromise is Kryptonite to the advancement of the Gospel. No wonder everyone is tugging on Superman’s cape. Look around. Christians are the softest target in all the world. EVERYTHING the Bible teaches is under assault and anyone who stands and fights for the TRUTH is labelled a bigot. Truth has become hateful and those who stand and defend it are kicked to the curb.

Girls are manning up and the men are sitting down. We are a sad reflection of the Christ we claim to serve.

When will Christians wake the hell up?

I remember in days long ago of a common reference to the American Spirit. What happened to it? Where did it go? How did Christian men become so soft? Pornography and masturbation have sucked the life right out of the once-brave American Christian male.

Talk of pornography makes folks uncomfortable, but there is nothing that draws the strength and courage out of a man more than sitting in front of a computer fantasizing about another man’s naked daughter. It shames any decent man. It sucks the life out of him. No amount of porn will make a man feel like a man. The American church is ravaged by porn.

Sitting in the dark and gazing at a screen does not build manhood. It saps the life out of a man. It destroys his soul. It hinders his courage. It does the same thing a fooler does to a suckling child…it pacifies him. Just like a whiskey bottle. Every time you put it to your mouth you think you suck out of it, but it sucks out of you.

For those of you who have stayed with me this far, a word of encouragement. You CAN overcome your fears. You CAN open your mouth and speak. You CAN stand up and be counted.

And we must. A sissified, complacent, pacified Christianity will not deliver the day. Courageous Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer said:

“Sometimes we just need a firm kick in the pants. An unsmiling expectation that if we mean all these wonderful things we talk about and sing about, then let’s see something to prove it.”

Which brings me back to fear.

Fear is the Devil’s greatest weapon. It has killed more dreams than low expectations. Most human beings are controlled by fear. Natural fear is a gift from God…an alert system to fight for survival. But the Bible tells us that God has not given us a SPIRIT of fear…unnatural, abnormal fear does not come from God.

When Adam and Eve munched on the apple the first thing that showed up was fear. Check it out.

None of us know where and when this old world is going to end but we can rest assured that death will visit us all. No amount of masking, social distancing, or isolation can extend your life beyond the time the Lord has given you. We are least Christ-like when we cower in fear.

Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. Neither one can live in the presence of the other. It is impossible for faith and fear to simultaneously live in the same heart. We all must make a choice. Which one will we serve…faith or fear?

Fear not is one of the most common phrases you will find in the Bible. Whatever you are afraid of did not come from God. Face your fear. Do the hard thing. What else are you going to let fear steal from you? For God’s sake Christian, man up!

It is time to either get busy living or get busy dying. Choose YOU this day.