I’m a little fed up. No, I’m just plain fed up. Let me explain. I hear a lot of complaining these days about the state of things in our country. This is not necessarily a new thing, but it’s reached a new pitch recently, and for good reason. It seems that the government is considering new legislation for Christians in the military. Someone has suggested that Christianity should be considered an extremist organization, the same as “extremist” groups and organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and al-Qaeda. Am I surprised? A little. But not caught off guard. I’ve seen it coming. This is the same way it started in the 60’s when it was suggested that we no longer have organized prayer in public schools because of those who may not be members of the Christian faith. We need to do things differently this time.
Let me give a few examples of the same type of thing happening elsewhere. Several years ago, there was a law passed in another country that made it illegal to pray to the God of the Christians. The punishment for disobeying this law was death. There was a young man who refused to obey this law. He continued to pray after the law was passed. He was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death immediately. Here is where you may start to recognize the story. He was put into a pit containing several wild lions and left there overnight. In the morning, he was found to be alive and well. God had saved his life. You can read about this young man in the book of Daniel in the Bible. Daniel stood up.
In another country, there were some men who were witnessing to their friends and neighbors about Jesus Christ. The local government heard about it and brought them to trial. They were found guilty and put in jail. The following morning they were brought before a judge who commanded them to stop witnessing. They answered that they not only would not stop from trying to tell others about Jesus, but that they could not! They were beaten, then released, but later put back in jail for the same thing. During this second imprisonment, they were miraculously released and told to go back outside and begin witnessing again. You can read this story in Acts 4-5. The disciples stood up.
Here’s my point: We were told that we could not have organized, public prayers in public schools in the 60’s because others who do not hold to our faith may be offended. So what did we Christians do? We complied. The government didn’t remove prayer from schools. We did. We allowed it to happen. What if we had stood up like Daniel did, like Peter and John did, like the disciples did and just continued to pray? Oh, we gather once a year around the flag pole and take a symbolic stand for our faith, but we no longer have a daily, public display of our relationship with God. I realize that there are a few individuals who may openly display their faith, but the majority of believers are silent. We stopped praying. I’m not opposed to events such as Gather at the Pole, but I don’t think that it’s enough. I think that the state of our culture supports my conviction.
Now we’re being told that our military may be found guilty of treason if they share their faith. How do we respond? Our response to this will determine the future, so we had better make sure that we get it right. What do I suggest? Stand up. Continue witnessing and telling others about the good news of Jesus. As Peter responded: How can we help but tell others about what we have seen and heard? If we do anything except continue to live as Christians, we are abdicating. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting a Christian form of Jihad or picketing or demonstration. I’m just suggesting that we continue as we have been. We don’t have to be outspoken or demonstrative about it. We don’t need to put on a show. As the great philosopher Nike puts it so well: Just do it. I am advocating that we continue to witness, continue to pray, continue to live our lives as Christians. Is this a sacrifice? Possibly. Our soldiers could face courts-martial or dishonorable discharge. Daniel faced death. The disciples were beaten and all but one did die because of their faith. I’m convinced that to do anything else lessens our conviction as Christians. God spared Daniel and the disciples. Can he spare our soldiers who stand up for their faith? Of course He can. However, as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, even if He doesn’t, we will not bow to your God.
Understand that this is not an attack on us personally. It is an attack on our God. I’ll have more on this later, but allow me to say that when David heard Goliath’s challenge, his response was “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” I would ask the same today. Who are these unbelieving men that they are allowed to defy the men and women of God? It’s time we took a stand and stood our ground. No matter what laws may be passed about my faith, Christianity is not something I do that can be halted at the whim of some bureaucrat, it is who I am. That can’t be changed and I make no apologies for it. I choose to take a stand and say enough is enough.