Living With Compassion and Courage
America is changing, and fast. The problem is…it’s not for the better.
When we were kids some of the biggest problems in school were being late for class, running down the halls, and fist fighting. Today it’s drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, and mass shootings.
In his book, Foolishness to the Greeks, British theologian, Leslie Newbgin, said, “America is not shifting from Christian to secular…she is shifting from secular to pagan.”
As a nation, we’ve removed God from school. We’re actively removing Him from society. We’re killing the unborn and redefining marriage—we’ve lost our moral and spiritual compass.
In light of this cultural context some Christians are seeking to re-define what it truly means to be Christian in today’s America. While that’s a noble cause, we feel the late evangelist, Leonard Ravenhill, provided an exhortation we need again today:
“The world outside is not looking for a new definition of Christianity, it’s waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.”
Nailed it—a new demonstration of Christianity in the face of an ever-shifting, pagan culture.
In our opinion, this demonstration must be one of both courage and compassion. These are qualities that all believers must possess if we’re going to demonstrate the power of God in our lives over the forces of darkness in the culture.
Before Joshua faced the giants of the Promised Land God told him to be “strong and very courageous.” Before Moses led Israel out of Egypt God revealed Himself to him as “compassionate and gracious.”
We shouldn’t believe courage and compassion are mutually exclusive, that they are meant to be distinctly separate—they are not. By the power of the Holy Spirit we can (and should) be both.
The same God that led Joshua and Moses is guiding us today. He’s calling us to walk in courage and display His compassion to a world that desperately needs Him.
One of the practical ways we seek to live this out as we engage culture is to “reach out and resist.” We reach out with compassion to all individuals with the love of Jesus, while we resist with courage the ideas that seek to hold them captive.
Dietrech Bonhoeffer once said, “It’s the Christian duty to not only help hurting people, but to stop the things that hurt them.” We must reach out to hurting individuals with compassion while resisting hurtful ideas or agendas with courage.
If you’re sick you need a doctor. But if you’re held captive you need a warrior.
Today’s world is not only sick and hurting it’s held captive under a stronghold of darkness that is permeating the land. And only courageous Christians that are filled with God’s compassion will have the power to overcome.
As we reach out with compassion and resist with courage we can trust that God will be the author of the only true change worth having. Let’s unite and demonstrate this type of Christianity today!
Twin brothers, David and Jason Benham, are former professional baseball players, best selling authors, speakers, and nationally acclaimed entrepreneurs. Their rapid rise to success earned them a reality show with HGTV set to air in the Fall of 2014 - yet the show was abruptly cancelled because of their commitment to Biblical values. The brothers immediately found themselves in the midst of a cultural firestorm, yet they decided not to back down. Appearing on CNN, Fox News, ABC's Nightline & Good Morning America, the Benham's continue to stand up for what they believe and encourage others to do the same! The Benham brothers are both happily married with a combined 9 children and live in Charlotte, NC.
