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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Between A Rock And a Hard Place?
Wouldn’t it be nice if every decision we make was easy; no complications; no concern about what others think? Well, I don’t have to tell you that such is not the case. Each issue with which we must deal is often fraught with many difficulties. Some of those difficulties come from personal relationships, while others come from the laws of God or man. The difficulty often is found in attempting to please both God and man, and this is seldom easy.
Many years ago, a young couple found themselves in such a dilemma. They were asked to be part of a religious ceremony that was foreign to the truth of God’s Word. To accept the invitation would be to violate God’s will. But to decline the invitation could very easily damage their relationship with their friends. They were, metaphorically, between a "rock and a hard place.” Whatever they did could have negative effects.
Unfortunately, they decided that it would be easier to reconcile with God than their friends, so they took the easy way out.
We are in the midst of an election campaign, and those up for election find themselves in similar situations, knowing that the answer they give to one question might decide their political future.
Over fifty years ago, a candidate for Congress was campaigning in a small, out-of-the-way community. Following his speech, he was asked, “What is your opinion on the sale of alcoholic beverages”?
He had no way of knowing whether his audience was in favor or opposed to the use of beverage alcohol. He could not avoid the question, so he tried to please both sides of the issue. His reply:
“If you mean, sir, the devil’s brew that causes an untold number of auto accidents each year, which kill and maim thousands, that costs the American public billions through loss of work, that causes wives to leave their husbands, men to lose their jobs, self-respect and dignity, then I sir, will oppose it with all my being!”
He searched the eyes of his audience for approval, but found no clue to their opinions. He knew he was in trouble, so he tried to ease the dilemma by continuing his response:
“But…if you mean the bottled spirits that give men temporary relief from the cares of the world, ease the aches and pains of the aged, put the bounce in an old gentleman’s step, provide work for thousands of farmers, distillers, shippers and storekeepers, that bring in millions in taxes and helps pay for defense, provides funds to educate the little children, and many other things, then I, sir, will fight for it with all my energy and with all my might!”
Well, he might get an A+ for giving an answer that was not really an answer, but if that audience could not see the hypocrisy of his response, they were not capable of understanding motives at all.
In the early days of the church, Jesus’ disciples found that each decision, even each word could either inflame another or bring reproach to the Faith they loved and honored.
In the fourth chapter of Acts, Jesus’ disciples faced a question that could either please God or man, and if their response pleased God, they could have been put in prison. Note how Simon Peter, who had failed his Lord once before, responded to the question of the source of their message:
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” Acts 4:10-12.
Peter, along with the others, made it clear that they were Jesus’ disciples, and that they were going to speak on His behalf regardless of the reception of their audience. A “rock and a hard place”? Yes, and one that could cost them their lives. But they did not waver.
You know the next question I have for all of us. How do we deal with the “hard places” in our lives? Do we stand firm? Do we please God? or our friends? (See Galatians 1:10, Acts 5:29) That young couple’s decision to compromise their convictions resulted in their losing the opportunity to teach their friends the way of God’s truth. How sad!
Why not decide today that you will always seek to please God, never compromising His truths in the face of life’s “hard places.”
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“Compromise is but the sacrifice of one right or good in the hope of retaining another—too often ending in the loss of both.”
“Compromise is never anything but an ignoble truce between the duty of a man and the terror of a coward.”
“It is the weak man that urges compromise, never the strong man.”
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Fortifying the Faith of Our Children
“My son was raised in the church. We taught him the Bible. As a youngster he sometimes helped to serve the Lord’s supper. He even gave talks occasionally. After he was in college a while, something changed. He began to question the teachings of the Scriptures. Now, he professes no faith at all. What happened?”
This is a story that I have heard over and over again across the years. Many of our youngsters are losing their faith. Why is this? Perhaps there is no simple, single reason; however, it may be sufficient to observe that one of the causes of this growing defection is the fact that for years they were operating on a borrowed faith. It is time we awakened to the reality that if we wish to preserve our children we must take more seriously our responsibility to educate them in the most important issues of life: that of the existence of our Creator and His inspired Word to humanity. Our work is cut out for us. Here is what we must do if we really care for our offspring and the youth of the church in general.
Teach Them to Reason
First, we must teach our children how to reason and think logically. This will serve them all of their lives. For example, when they are asked as to why they believe in the existence of God, our youngsters should be able to call attention to the law of cause and effect. Wherever there is an effect (the Universe), there must be an adequate cause. Matter is not sufficient to explain itself. There is no known process by which matter can create itself. Thus, one must look for a non-material origin of the Universe, God.
Teach Them Their Origin
Second, we must educate our youth in the factual matter of human origin. From the time they were able to sit up and watch television, they are brainwashed with the ideas of evolution. They are taught evolution from their earliest days in school. They are indoctrinated with evolution through their toys and tee-shirts (the dinosaur mania and the common propaganda that dinosaurs lived millions of years before man arrived on earth). It is not enough to simply say, “Evolution is wrong.” We must give them solid, factual data that expose the fallacy of evolutionary arguments.
Teach Them to Revere the Bible
Third, it is imperative that our children be given mountains of evidence demonstrating that the Bible is the revelation from God. Its holy books were written by people whom Jehovah directed to reveal His message. The Bible’s instruction must be diligently sought and its authority respected. We must introduce them to their thinking arguments, like the unity that is characteristic of the Biblical documents. We must show that predictive prophecy is testimony to the divine origin of the Bible. We must expose our children to the exciting discoveries in the field of archaeology which strengthen our faith in the reliability of the Holy Scriptures.
Practical Suggestions
- We must take these truths and others like them and teach them emphatically and repeatedly to our children. We must be factual, firm and take a confident, dogmatic stand for Biblical truth.
- We must make our Bible school departments stronger.
- Parents must talk of these issues constantly with their children when they bring school assignments home, while watching TV, etc. We must return to the concept set forth in Deuteronomy 6:7.
- We must build reliable libraries for our children. Buy them good, professionally done books on creation, Bible inspiration, etc. from a strong, conservative vantage point. Stay away from compromising materials which attempt to harmonize the Bible with evolutionary premises.
I can guarantee you this. If we do not do a better job of fortifying the faith of our children, we will lose them by the thousands.
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