Why Good Men Do Nothing Part 3

 

Why Good Men Do Nothing Part 3

               I grew up in the country but not too far from a town of 60,000.  Despite the proximity, the outdoors was my playground.  My friends and I did not spend our days on playgrounds, sports complexes, or ball fields.  My time was not organized by a coach or an adult.  I was left to my imagination out in creation.  I once asked to play little league.  My dad left the choice up to me, but he gave me all the facts to make my own informed decision.  He said I could spend my Saturdays playing baseball all summer, or I could spend my Saturdays fishing with him.  I am forever grateful that I picked fishing with dad.  Those memories I will enjoy as long as I live.  I spent my summers running through the woods, and as I became more independent in my teen years, I spent most waking moments hunting, fishing, and even trapping. 

               While I was “doing my thing” my peers were charting their paths for their young lives.  That often involved playgrounds, sports complexes, and ball fields.  Don’t get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with those things.  My point is that, while I loved those things (I was on a swim team one summer.), my experiences were different from their experiences.  Those differences set us apart. 

               At the same time, there were other differences.  One big difference was financial.  My school, and my classes were filled with students whose parents were higher wage earners than mine.  My family was not poor, but we were not in the same financial bracket as many of my classmates for sure.  To prove my point, let me give you an example.  One car I drove frequently, was a 1981 Ford Fairmont.  It was two-tone with pin striping and a moon roof.  My sister called it the “cowboy car”.  Did I mention that it had a moon roof?  I actually liked that car, and did not care what anyone thought about me or the car.  However, I had a classmate who received a convertible BMW for a graduation present.  It was a 1992.  That was upsetting to her because we graduated in 1993.  Her parents had the audacity to buy her a used car.

               The stark contrast between us did not just happen in that moment.  The contrast began in junior high.  It was in junior high that I began to develop my own sense of direction completely independent of what others thought of me.  At that time, I was the second shortest kid in my class of 300.  I was shorter than all the guys and girls.  I…was…short!  I grew almost six inches after graduation, and I am thankful for every one of them.  Being so short, my dad’s stadium jacket hung to my ankles.  I wore that coat to school all winter long.  I also wore a golf hat that snapped in the front.  Trust me, I looked ridiculous, but I did not care.  It was me. 

               In eleventh grade I had another “me” thinking moment.  My guidance counselor had me on track for the college experience in math or science.  I was taking advanced math classes and would have been taking college level classes my senior year.  I had my meeting with her and told her I was going to the tech school my senior year.  I also told her that just because I was good at math, it didn’t mean I wanted to live my life doing something math related.  I seriously think she cried when I left that day.  Once again, I was not caring what anyone else thought.  For the record, it was the right decision.  I never looked back.  It was the best year of school ever.

               What does my childhood have to do with why good men do nothing?  My childhood was invaluable in teaching me probably one of the most important life lessons all men must learn if they intend to lead.  It was not a lesson learned or taught in a textbook or classroom.  It was a lesson learned by experiences and strengthened every time I made my own decision.  The lesson I learned was, don’t let your fear of what others think impact your decisions.   

               As men of God, there will be times when we must make unpopular decisions or choose to do nothing.  Far too often, good men choose to do nothing because they know the right decision will be unpopular.  Far too often, men choose the popular decision, because the right decision is unpopular.  When we are so foolish, we are making the wrong decision out of fear of the people.  There are several historical accounts in Scripture that deal with this fear directly.

               Saul, the first human king of Israel, lost his kingdom because of this fear!  That statement alone should cause all men to reflect long and hard on our decisions made out of fear of what others may think.  In I Samuel 15 Saul is commanded to lead the army against the Amalekites.  The instructions are clear.  They are told to kill everyone and destroy everything.   

             Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

                                                                                                                                   I Samuel 15:3

               Six verses later, In I Samuel 15:9, Saul completely disregards the Word of God.  King Agag’s life is spared along with the “best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them”.  Why would King Saul, a man selected by God and anointed by the prophet Samuel blatantly disregard such a clear command of God?  He answers this question when Samuel confronts him.  First, Saul claims obedience.

               And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

                                                                                                                                       I Samuel 15:20

Saul had rationalized his decision as some form of obedience.  After all, everyone had been killed except for the King.  I’m sure it was some cultural custom that he looked to for justification of his decision.  Cultural or not, it was still disobedience to God.  This should serve as a warning to us to do things explicitly as Scripture commands and not try to blend culture and Scripture.  Many men and ministries have been destroyed by blending culture with the clear commands of God.  Personally, I think this is why the church is in the state it is today.   The church is busy in biblical disobedience because of its cultural acceptance.

               In Saul’s rationalized disobedience he also blames the people, but again tries to justify their actions by claiming the animals were spared to be offered in sacrifice to God.  How often do men try to do biblical things in unbiblical ways and think God will be pleased? 

               Samuel’s response are words we should all live by.  They are just as true today as they were when they exited Samuel’s lips.

                            And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

                                                                                                                                                    I Samuel 15:22

               Saul, left with no other recourse, admits his sin.  However, in his moment of broken honesty, he finally admits what drove him to such foolishness.  FEAR!  In verse twenty four, he acknowledges, “I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words:  because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.”

               As men, we need to learn from Saul’s failure.  Learning from someone else’s missteps saves us from our own foolish shortcomings.  Saul regretted his decision.  Ultimately, it cost him the kingdom.  He would be replaced by David.  We need to make life decisions based on obedience to the Word of God alone.  We must never allow our fear of what others may think to influence us away from that simple obedience.

               Fear of men causes good men to sit silently and do nothing, or worse yet, it causes good men to willingly disobey God’s Word!  The Apostle Paul prayed for boldness (Ephesians 6:19 – 20) because the other option was silence in the critical moment.  The other option was disobedience to God.  Disobedience is never an option.