TAKING A STAND

I Was Just Thinking About – TAKING A STAND.

There is a statement/adage that indicates: “If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything.” It reminds one of the words of Paul in Ephesians 6:10-20 and the necessity for the whole armor of God. One point he emphasizes is Verse 13, “Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.”

As I pondered these thoughts, my habit is to read devotionals each morning written by others. It may only be a coincidence but two of them made reference to the same text in Matthew 5. First, in Get More Strength for the Journey, Joseph Stowell commented on Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” He indicates this can occur at different levels depending on culture and geography. Second, in Solid Joys (a Blog-Devotional by John Piper – Desiring God), he uses the same text and concludes/summarizes: “Jesus anchored the happiness of suffering saints in the reward of heaven. And he anchored the happiness of successful saints in the same. And thus he freed us from the tyranny of worldly pain and pleasure — worldly suffering and worldly success.”

That being said, the servants of the Lord do suffer on their journey with the Lord. The servant of the Lord (Pastor or Missionary) who tries to take a Biblical “stand” on that which should be embraced by all Biblical Christians will realize marginalization by those who are willing to be accommodating to cultural trends – or – some will be willing to compromise the core values and Biblical principles so that “their church” will not lose members or be subject to any negative criticism.

Larger churches can better absorb the loss of some contrary members and their financial support who differ with the “stand” that is taken, whereas the same scenario in a smaller church becomes a major crisis. Knowing that, the contrary member(s) will posture to get their way – and – gain the consensus of others who are afraid to disallow such rule or ruin behavior. The appeal of Paul seems to be long-forgotten – Ephesians 4:1-3 – “As a prisoner in the Lord, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” If only these words were the commitment of God’s people in relationship with God’s servants - and - each other.

Prayerfully – consider these things with me!