Scare Tactics

A couple weeks ago I ran into a young man that had just stopped going to church about a month ago. We had a good talk with each other and I got to hear the reason for why he walked away from church. I have to say, I was deeply burdened by his story...

This specific young man, who we'll call "Joe" for the sake of confusion (even though that's not his real name), lost his brother in a car accident just a few weeks ago. After Joe shared his loss with another man in church, rathing than consoling Joe the man began asking about his brother's salvation. Joe said he did not believe his brother was saved and so this man took it upon himself to explain to Joe that his brother was in hell right now. He used Joe's sorrow as an opportunity to teach a "lesson" that Hell is not where we want to end up. This man witnessed first hand the changes Joe had been trying to make in his own life as a babe in the faith. Yet, in a time where Joe (a brand new Christian) was mourning the death of his brother, his "Brother in Christ" took it upon himself to use it as a scare tactic.

Scare tactics.... what exactly is the meaning behind them and what place do they have in the Christian realm? Sure, the Bible says to fear the Lord, but with a true understanding of the word of God you would know that this doesn't mean we're supposed to live every day in fear that God could strike us with a lightening bult.

"Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." Leviticus 19:14-15

"And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" Deuteronomy 10:12-13

"But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you." 1 Samuel 12:24

"He told them, 'Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.'" 2 Chronicles 19:6-7

"For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever." Psalm 86:10-12

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7

"Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Proverbs 9:9-10

We can see in some of these verses above that our "fear" for God derives from judging fairly and carefully; walking after God and obeying His commands; loving God with all of our hearts; seeking wisdom and increasing our knowledge of the Lord. How do we accomplish all of this? By staying in the word and in prayer as often as possible. You come to know who God truly is through His word. And in my opinion, from what I've learned about God (over the past approx 20 years of studying my Bible) He is not a God who wishes for His children to tell a man in mourning that His brother is currently being tortured for his sins. Should we hold back on sharing what we believe about God? Absolutely not! I encourage every person, no matter what they believe, that if they are truly convicted in where they stand to share it! If it's truth, it needs to be heard. I am not telling anybody that they should hide their beliefs, what I am saying is that there is a time and place for everything:

"For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I must say, I've been deeply dissapointed in some "christians" for quite a while; some that I know personally, some that I've heard stories about. Please don't misunderstand me, I know that I am by no means a perfect Christian. In fact, compared to some of these people I am probably a greater hypocrite than they are! But one thing I am strongly convicted on is my place in judging others, and that is that it's NOT my place to judge their salvation. It's is God's position only to judge that part of a man's life. My job is not even so much to speak the word of God as much as it is to LIVE the word of God. I know that I fail at this many times, EVERY DAY to be exact. There is nobody that could be more aware of my failures than myself, other than God of course. And that is why the choices I make are between me and God, and your walk is between yourself and God. Of course I will share my passion for Christ with everyone who wants to hear it, but I try my hardest to choose the right words at the right time, and I do so by letting the Holy Spirit guide my words and not myself. I know that my tongue can be a bitter one; I have the power to cut a man (or woman) into tiny pieces if I wanted... and I won't lie, there have been times where I have. That is why it can't be me that speaks the word of God to others, but the love of God that is within me (psalm 52:4, proverbs 11:12, proverbs 12:18, proverbs 15:4, proverbs 18:21, james 1:26, james 3:5-9***KEY IS VERSE 9, 1 Pet 3:10, 1 John 3:18). This rule doesn't just apply to me, but to everyone who wants to do the will of God, including leaders.

Recently, I also heard about a pastor who told one of his members, my friend, that their personality was very dull and they were too self focused (which is far from the truth); basically, they needed a new personality. Apparently this "pastor" forgot his place, and in my opinion, set a really horrible example about the love of God for everyone around him who heard his slandering words.

I've lived almost my entire life with people watching my every move very closely, waiting for me to screw up. The moment I stumbled people would harp on me almost immediately, explaining to me what a sinner I was, and they'd begin pressuring me to start doing things the way they saw fit for me. I've been made to feel like a horrible, wretched sinner by fellow Christians who called themselves my brother's and sister's in Christ. They felt that God was the one calling them to make me feel so low about myself. I don't doubt they truly believed they were convicted by God, which just goes to show why it's very important we check our "convictions" at the door with God, for Satan can be very deceiving. I thank my Heavenly Father that He gave me a strong enough will to not let the cutting words drive deep inside of me. I have recognize that I am equally a sinner, and I have forgiven those who offended me. But there are some who don't have a strong enough will to keep such hurtful words from bringing them down and making them feel unworthy of God's love compared to others.

I know without a doubt that my strong foundation in my walk with God would not be where it's at today if I had not made some of the poor decisions that I made, or walked away from some of the people that I needed to walk away from. I'm not saying it was God who led me to start partying when I was 17 years old, or even to get married at 19 when I was not ready to be married. Those were my own, bad choices, and I've never shown any sign of trying to blame them on other people or even say that they were led by God. However, let's review human *Christian's* responses to the mistakes I've made compared to God's response (I am simply using myself as an example, but there are thousands of other Christians and even non Christians being wrongly persecuted as well):

HUMAN: "April, you are a good Christian but you're a horrible sinner. At this rate, you're going to fall off the edge of the mountain.. You are such a disrespectful and rude person who doesn't listen to anything *PEOPLE* tell you to do ((as opposed to what GOD tells me to do)). You committed a sin today, yesterday, the day before, and so on.. likewise, I committed a sin today, yesterday, and every other day of my life, but I've decided that while you're being destroyed for your sins, even though you are a born again Christian and baptized just as I am, I will get to go to Heaven and be blessed for my sins. It may not seem fair to you but it's easier for me to condemn you, April, than myself. It's easier for me to focus on your sins than my own. So instead of trying to control my own life, I'll try to control yours..." (and yes, I have been told this; I'm not exagerating. If anything, I'm repeating it in a lighter format)

GOD: "April, remember when I said: 'Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.'(Luke 7:47)--I give you, and anyone who wants it, this same promise."

If you can't tell, I feel very strongly about this subject matter. Perhaps it is because I've experienced it so often in my own life. If you haven't been judged as soarly as I or some others have been, you may not be able to understand the depth of the pain it inflicts on your life. You may think words are just words. You may even think that you're doing the will of God. If you are, how are you approaching His will? Is it with the Love of God or with your own fleshly approach? Do you allow your own emotions, your own care and concern for someone, to control your behavior in the way you reach out to them? Are you truly allowing God to direct your heart and your words? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS MAN WAS OKAY TO TELL "JOE" THAT HIS BROTHER WAS IN HELL WHEN JOE DIDN'T ASK TO HEAR THAT, ESPECIALLY WHILE HE WAS MOURNING HIS BROTHER'S DEATH? DO YOU BELIEVE THE PASTOR HAD A RIGHT TO TELL ONE OF HIS FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS THAT THEY PRETTY MUCH LACKED A PERSONALITY?

This week I was sent an email from a friend whom I will always hold dear to me. They were concerned for me, and I could tell in the way they wrote their letter that they were nervous to say anything at all. But they did well in using love and compassion in their words rather than condemnation. Because of that, their words were able to weigh on my heart and my mind more so than any person whose ever tried to approach me with "scare tactics."

When we claim the title "CHRISTIAN," we need to follow through with its job description: being CHRIST LIKE. I don't believe this even refers to committing sins like doing drugs, gambling, etc. as much as it refers to the character we are called to develop, which includes the way we judge, treat, and speak to others. This is all I'm going to say for now. Let it rest on your heart for a while.