The wimp will not bear the cross and the wimp is a cross to bear!

The wimp is a paralyzing negative influence in the church!

The apostle Peter, whose shirt buttons were popping when Jesus commended him for his statement of faith, “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God” was quickly humbled when Jesus sternly rebuked him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”  (Matthew 16:13-16,21-23)

Imagine that! The very suggestion of avoiding sacrifice was an actual offense to Jesus. But the wimp avoids sacrifice all the time. It’s not an offense to him at all. Oh no, it’s being sensible. “Use your brains,” I hear him say.

Let us be honest now. Just how much do we savor the things that are of men rather than the things that are of God? Am I 50/50 in this area of my life?

To the wise Greeks the preaching of the cross was utter “foolishness” but to those who are called, the preaching of the crucified Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:23)

Even in very practical ways men need to be more sacrificial. We are in the midst of a plague of divorce and marriage breakdown. There is too much selfishness, tantrums and moodiness. There is often wimpiness in both husband and wife. Doesn’t it make you want to cry or spew?

Men need to be more sacrificial in laying down their lives, their agendas, and their pleasure seeking, for their wives and families. Men need to seek God now, rather than waiting till the marriage breaks up. Marriage break up is an indictment, a slander, a reproach and a disgusting testimony on the name of Christ. And believe you me; there is an enormous amount of wimpiness behind it all. Away with such childishness. It is time to grow up and be real men.

To many men, having more children sounds like lots of sacrifice. This means more time, more energy, more money, more love and more discipline they say. What flat-footed wimpiness! Sacrifice is the name of the game. Where is our vision? Do we have no more vision than the world does for raising children? Do we not see that our children will multiply our influence for Christ if we bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord?

Oh I can just hear all the wimpy gripings! But the truth is, we need to repent for our lack of vision. Islam has no problem with raising children and we are beginning to feel their impact more and more. The Muslim families average 6.8 per family. Our average is only 1.8 per family. In 1950, western industrial democracies, including Japan, were 22 percent of the world’s population. If we continue the current trends, by the end of this century we will be a miserable five percent of the world’s population - all because we lack sacrifice and vision.

“Oh God, make the things of men to be an abominable offense to me. Deliver me from this wimpy spirit that refuses sacrifice for the easy way. Amen.”

Get ready for the next episode!

COLIN CAMPBELL

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Colin does not have time to dialogue on the computer, but is open to take phone calls. Phone: 615 948 5958