Our theology of protecting the flock often blocks us from doing what we know we should do: what our instincts tell us. Unfortunately, misunderstood, and misinterpreted Bible verses, often get in the way of us doing what we should.
I recently heard about three pastors who, when asked what they would do about security matters in their church, held up their bible and said, “This is our security.”
See what I mean? This is the effect that religion sometimes has on the human mind. It’s as if we give our hearts to Jesus, and then cast our brains into the nearest dumpster.
It reminds me of the lady who once told me that if a killer enters the sanctuary, I should merely “rebuke him in the name of Jesus.” She assured me this would work.
I wonder what she would tell our brothers and sisters in the faith who live in ISIS occupied countries. We learned recently that approximately 6 Christian women are raped daily, while being forced into Islam. I wonder if her anecdote would help our sisters who are undergoing such tragedy.
Indeed - our theology can dumb us down.
I remember a Christian man once telling me that since his conversion to Christ, he had decided to give up all his beliefs about self-defense. He even went so far as to tell me that he probably wouldn’t even defend his family if they were attacked.
Yes – religion can make a man ignorant and irresponsible. I could only ask: Where was this man’s love for his family?
Let me ask you to consider a passage from the book of Genesis:
“And the Lord God put the man in the Garden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15).
This passage is quite interesting. It tells us that Adam had two assignments while in the Garden of Eden. He was to WORK it and KEEP it. I’m sure you understand what the idea of working it would mean. Adam and Eve had a garden that needed tending. They worked their garden daily, with no sweat falling from their brow.
But Adam had another task as well. He was also to “keep” the Garden. This is a stunning word. In the original language, it meant to “protect, guard, defend, save life.” Think hard on this verse. It is telling us that one of the original assignments of Adam was to PROTECT, SAVE LIFE, DEFEND.”
Adam was a Sheepdog, called to stop the wolf!
Remember, God made man in His own image. And part of that image includes being a warrior – a fighter! Recall Exodus 15:3: “The Lord is a warrior.”
Now, you and I are both aware of the fact that the world wants this term (warrior) to be removed from our vocabulary. They prefer guardians, or something a bit softer. But the truth is, we are fighters.
I love the quote from C.S. Lewis about fighting in the faith:
For Christianity is a fighting religion. It thinks God has made the world- that space and time, heat and cold, and all the colors and tastes, and all the animals and vegetables, are things that God 'made up out of His head' as a man makes up a story. But it also thinks that a great many things have gone wrong with the world that God made, and that God insists, and insists very loudly, on our putting them right again.
Yes, in the words of Lewis, let’s, “put them right again.” Let’s defend our flock. Let’s recognize that God has made us in His image, and part of that image is to live the life of a warrior – a fighter.
Dear brother reading these words. If you were completely honest, would you not readily admit that inside you there is a longing to be a warrior? You covet the chance to be involved in something bigger than your own life. You desire to engage in a worthy cause, and fight for its agenda.
I just got off the phone with a pastor. I pleaded with him to send his youth workers to our sheepdog seminar. In our seminar we address the ever-growing nightmare of sexual assault – an incident that happens all too often in church settings. Thousands of sex crimes are reported every year on church and faith-based property. LET’S FIGHT FOR OUR CHILDREN!
I have six children: one son and five daughters. I also have a daughter-in-law, as well as three sons-in-law. I also have four grandchildren. They are my motivation. Even now, as I type through these tears, the faces of my loved ones flash before me.
They are why I fight! I want to do my part in defending this “garden” (United States) so that they will have a better America in which to raise their own children. I’m sitting here in hotel, somewhere in Nebraska, headed to Salt Lake City for a seminar. But I must admit: I’d rather be home, loving on my wife and playing with my grandchildren.
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do,” the old saying goes. And in the present hour, it is time for the Warrior Man to be resurrected.
That does not mean that we want to shoot someone. Heavens no! But it does mean that, motivated and driven by love, I will rise up and defend those around me. I will do what I can to prevent them from being victimized by violence.
It’s just the way I am. I follow Jesus. I follow a Warrior. His nature is in me.
NOTE: We have several Sheepdog Seminars over the next few days; Salt Lake City, Des Moines, Iowa, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. For more info, go to www.sheepdogsafetytraining.com
