Why Good Men Do Nothing Part I

 

                18^th Century Irish Philosopher and statesmen Edmund Burke is credited with the familiar quote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  While we cannot find the exact quote in his writings, we can find a similar statement in his 1770 work entitled, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontent.  It is interesting that in 1770 when Edmund Burke penned that writing, the cause of discontent was linked to good men doing nothing, especially in light of all we know was taking place around the world at that time.   There truly is “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). 

               We must ask why!  Why do seemingly good men choose to not join the “fellowship of the doers”?  Why do good men willingly choose passivity?   Scripture challenges us on this topic in two ways.  First, God’s Word gives testimonies of men who were doers.  James 1:22 directly states, 

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

While James 1:1 is clear that this letter was written to “the twelve tribes scattered abroad”, we cannot deny that the call to active obedience is a parallel truth for us today (Philippians 3:13 – 15).  Scripture does refer to us as servants and saints.  I cannot imagine how a servant or saint serves without doing. 

               The second way Scripture tackles this issue is in also addressing the many reasons why we, as men, choose to shrink back into passivity.  While there are many reasons why passivity is so popular among men, let’s look at only one.

               Proverbs 21:17 begins with 4 words, “He that loveth pleasure”.  Herein lies one of the most insidious attacks of Satan on mankind.  We are passive in things that matter because we are active in things that don’t!  Neil Postman once wrote a book entitled Amusing Ourselves to Death; a great book that well summarizes our current society.  As Christian men, we should stand out from the society.  Sadly, far too often, rather than standing out from the society, we are standing knee deep in it!  It is impossible to obey Galatians 5:1 and, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, when our boots are stuck fast in the muck of this world.

               While I disagree with Matt Walsh’s theology on many fronts, he was right in his book Church of Cowards when he described the church today as being lulled to sleep by having our pillows fluffed to keep us comfortable.  As the spiritual war rages around us, we rest comfortably, oblivious that our marriages, homes, churches, and societies are being laid waste.

               I will not deny that the world, and all its pleasures, does have a way of enticing us.  King David, a man after God’s own heart, fell prey to passivity and pleasure.  You may be familiar with David’s affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, but II Samuel 11:1 gives the full story.

And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah.  But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

David should have been leading his men and his nation in doing what God had called him to do, but instead he chose passivity and pleasure that led to his own failure.  Note that his choice had consequences that he could not have foreseen.  Those consequences went far beyond his own personal life.  When we choose passivity and pleasure, our choices will not just affect us.

               The Apostle Paul in II Timothy 4:7 says he kept the faith, but in Romans 7:19 he admits to the inward struggle with sin.  He says, “For the good that I would I do not:  but the evil which I would not, that I do.”  In II Timothy 4:10 he points out that Demas left him and cites the cause of his departure as, “having loved this present world”.  Far too often man willingly chooses passivity for pleasure.  We choose passivity because we love this present world. 

               Is there anything in this present world that you love?  Is there anything that keeps you from living and leading as God desires and commands in this life?  Are you passive in the things that matter because you are active in the things that don’t?

The Fellowship of the Doers

 

               What is the greatest danger you think you face today?  Is it death, war, a car accident, failing a class, getting fired, getting bullied, a heart attack, a stroke, sickness, divorce, murder, prison, police, mom, dad, or forgetting something?  What if I said the greatest danger you face today or any day the rest of your life is passivity?  The greatest danger you will ever face is doing nothing when something needs done or saying nothing when something need said! 

               A 1620’s dictionary defined passivity as suffering without resistance.  Some will read this and question, “Aren’t we called to suffer?”  (Philippians 1:29) Others will read this and the words of Isaiah 53:7 will come to mind, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”  The “Christian mantra” championing man’s default position of passivity is defended with verses like this one.  However, that verse is describing a moment in Christ’s earthly life that was anything but passive.  Christ was actively doing what needed to be done so that the world might be saved.  Throughout His earthly life he was anything but passive.  He overturned the money changers in the Temple and threw out the merchants…twice!  In John 7:30, he evades capture in the Temple.    Peter is no different.  In Acts 5 he is arrested and imprisoned.  Upon his miraculous escape, he is found back in the Temple teaching again.  He could have easily disappeared into the woodwork of history and suffered without resistance, but as a man, he understood that something needed to be said, and there was work to be done.   Paul would flee over the wall in a basket to escape capture, only to show up in the next town and start preaching again.  His own friends kept him from returning to the arena to address the crowd for his own protection.   

               Proverbs 18:9 summarizes well the life of a passive man.  The proverb says, “He also that is slothful in his work (passive) is brother to him that is a great waster.”  Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”    We are built for good works!  For you and me, passivity is wasting our lives.  Among Christian men, there is no room for passivity.

               In June of 1917, Theodore Roosevelt wrote, “I am a man of action, and the president (Woodrow Wilson) has refused to let me take part in this great contest as a man of action.”  Wilson had refused Roosevelt’s offer to recruit men for the Great War.  When Roosevelt penned those words, he was 58 years old.  He would die in his sleep 18 months later.  To the end, he was that man of action.  His simple description of his life was accurate.  He had been Governor of New York, Vice President and President of the United States, explored the Amazon River, ranched in the Dakotas, spent time in Africa on Safari, attended Harvard, and was an active reader attempting to read one book each day.  This is just a small part of his active life and does not even account for his time in the military and his many exploits there.  While we may disagree with his political views, we cannot deny that he was a man of action.

               Being a man of action began at a pivotal point in his life.  He realized he needed to make a change because of an experience he endured.  A decision that would forever change the course of his life.  He would write in his journal that he was joining, “the fellowship of the doers”.  His own bad experience at 13 forced him to realize that his own passivity was contributing to his problem. 

               Regardless of your age, in the time you have left on this earth, choose action and reject passivity fully.  Passivity is the very antithesis of action.  Passivity in the life of a man of God is missing the mark.  It…is…sin!  There…I said it!  Passivity is sin!  Dietric Bonhoeffer is credited with the following quote.

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.  God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.

               I Timothy 6:12 tells us to fight the good fight of faith.  The Greek word for fight is the word from which we get agonize.  When was the last time you were so engaged in the spiritual life as a man of God that it was agonizing?  When was the last time it was agonizing and you realized that was exactly what God had called you to?  That verse continues by commanding us to lay hold on eternal life.  Abandon passivity and grip tightly this life we have in Christ.  Not because we might lose our eternal life, but because it has gripped us!

               Let us be a fellowship of the doers! 

God's Scoundrels

 

God’s Scoundrels

               Margi Preus is an author of historical fiction chapter books for youth.  My family has read several of her books through the years.  One of our favorites is, Shadow on the Mountain.  It is a story of teens in the resistance movement in Norway during World War II and follows the events of one young man throughout Nazi occupation of that country.  His true story is recounted at the end of the book with pictures.  A few years ago, she wrote another book entitled, Village of Scoundrels about French teens in World War II who served as conductors, escorting Jews from Nazi persecution in France, through the mountains, to freedom in Switzerland. 

               As the story unfolded, we cheered for these young people and worried for their safety as they sought to outwit the ever-lurking officer and soldiers on their trail.  The constable chasing them called them scoundrels.  In the process, we also learned that it takes knowledge to guide others.  The more you know, the better equipped you are to lead and guide.  It also requires willingness.  The teens in that book had to face down their fears and go into the mountain passes anyway, despite their fears.  Those young people exhibited physical and mental stamina to do what they did.   There were times when it would have been far easier to bow out and run away from the need before them, but they saw a cause greater than themselves.  Because of their mental and physical stamina, they exhibited boldness in the face of danger.  They also had to have some confidence that they were able to do what needed to be done. 

               Humility was the last characteristic we learned was a requirement to lead.  In life, nobody likes the “know it all”.  The problem with that person is not what they know.  It is not even what they don’t know, but they think they know.  The core problem with the “know it all” is pride.  Pride bars the door of learning.  When pride enters, learning is arrested.  That is the message of Proverbs 16:18.

Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

               Pride keeps us, as men, from learning.  Learning is what will keep us from the pitfall that has the potential to destroy us, or that could bring us down to ruin.  No man is exempt from this promise.  We are all, young and old, capable at any moment of being ensnared by pride.

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

                                                                                                                        I Corinthians 10:12

               The danger of pride is that it blinds us to the fact that we are prideful.  Sometimes it takes the fall, or the pit, to open our eyes to our own arrogance.  The fall, and the hard stop at the bottom, hopefully jar us back to reality.  Maybe then, we’ll realize we might not have fallen had we not placed ourselves on a pedestal.    

               If we have any desire to be guided or guide others, we must begin in humility.  In Proverbs 8, wisdom is personified.  She (wisdom) is calling out to men everywhere our paths take us          (Proverbs 8:1 – 4).  She wants the simple and fools to understand her (wisdom).  She speaks of excellent things, right things, truth, and righteousness.  She is compared to silver, gold, and rubies and found to be better.  In fact, in verse 18, it says durable or valuable riches are with her (wisdom).  In today’s inflationary financial market, shouldn’t we desire something of real value instead of building our, “empires of dirt” as the great “theologian” Johnny Cash once sang. 

               In the middle of Proverbs 8, verse 13 tells us that if we fear the Lord, we will hate evil.  The verse then goes on to mention what is considered evil.  The top two items on the list are pride and arrogance.  If I were making the list of what is evil, pride and arrogance might make the list, but probably wouldn’t top my list.  However, they hold the top spots on God’s list, and we must ask why.

God understands that pride and arrogance keep us from Him and the wisdom of His Word.  Understand, you and I will never guide anyone well, unless we are first guided by God through His Holy Spirit through His Word.  For God to be our guide, we must first allow Him to root out any pride and arrogance in our lives.

Will you humbly submit and allow God to guide you and equip you to lead others?  Will you allow God to mold you into the “scoundrel” God has called you to be?