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?