It Ain’t Gonna Be EZ By Shona Neff
Battling evil and/or incompetence ain’t gonna be EZ. But, it is a battle we must be ready to fight no matter where we encounter it . . . publically or privately.
Whether we are a public figure, parent, teacher, or pastor, and no matter what side of an issue we come down on (right or wrong), discord is blooming like a noxious weed. Division is promoted not only by people in powerful positions, but also by regular Joes: haves vs. have nots, traditional vs. progressive, conservative vs. liberal, entitlement vs. responsibility, big brother vs. freedom, and governmental charity vs. biblical charity. Society seems to assign Christians a seat on the hateful side of today’s issues. Emotions often drive action instead of fact and responsible choices. No doubt we have difficult places to go as a nation, and it ain’t gonna be EZ for believers (and believer leaders) to stand firm, but we must!
“The God of Israel, the Rock of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over men in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,
he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.
But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns,
Which are not gathered with the hand.
Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;
they are burned up where they lie” (2 Samuel 23:3-4, 6-7 NIV).
What balm these verses were to me when I read them the other day. We hear over and over again that doing the right thing isn’t always the easy, but finding Scripture that validates that principal is comforting. I’m no theologian, but these words that let me know ahead of time that doing the godly thing ain’t gonna be EZ.
Oh to govern a country or household as described in verse 3 – in righteousness and fear of the Lord and being like the sunrise on a cloudless morning! As a country we’ve had wonderful and inspirational leaders, but we’ve also had the bottom of the barrel. When it comes to individual households the same premise holds true. The truly amazing part is that we have the ability to CHOOSE which type of leader we will be . . . righteous with a fear of God or like an evil man that will be cast aside (vs 3 and 4).
If we run for public office what is our guiding light? What do we model in our personal lives? Is it righteousness and fear of the Lord (fear being a “reverent respect”) . . . or do we plant the ungodly parts of the status quo and popular culture into our lives? What choices bloom in our garden of life?
This is where it ain’t EZ. If we choose the godly way we get slapped with unflattering labels: intolerant, narrow-minded, hypocrite, etc. If we choose to melt into pop culture we are cool, tolerant, progressive, free-thinking, and a bunch of other great sounding names. Our human nature WANTS to be liked; it loves the free-wheeling road of least resistance. It aches to go with the majority. But, oh, the Spirit calls us to a place that isn’t so EZ.
2 Samuel 23 illustrates the hard places by likening “evil men” to thorns. They will be cast aside, but in the meantime, they are not gathered with the hand . . . the BARE hand! They require special handling. Evil people are everywhere and they are like prickly old thorns! Maybe they are your elected officials? Maybe they are part of your family? Thing is that that you have to deal with them like gardeners deal with thorns. 2 Samuel 23:7 says that they require a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear. That, my dear friends, ain’t EZ. God never promised it would be. Evil will eventually be burned up (vs 7), but in the meantime there are battles to be fought.
Those of us who strive to lead according to God’s way in our realm of influence (public or private) need to stand strong. We need to do our best to be a righteous light on a cloudless morning. We must arm ourselves (Bible study, walking with the Spirit, honoring God, and praying) in order to withstand the human thorns that will prick us publically and privately. It ain’t gonna be EZ and we ain’t gonna be perfect, but we need to be mighty before God. I’m up for the challenge . . . are you?
(NOTE: For those of you who are interested, read the rest of 2 Samuel 23 and see how David’s Mighty Men fought the not-so-EZ-fights.)
©2013 Shona Neff
