Guest Author - LeeAnn Bonds
“Hi, Bambi,” my husband and I say to every whitetail deer we see while out walking. We grew up in 20th century movie-mad America, and all wildlife is Disney-fied in our brains. We practically see raccoons, skunks and deer as animated cartoons.
Our attitudes toward more important things are affected by our culture, too. The most destructive influence, in my mind, is a particular idea that permeates American film and TV. This is that it’s never okay to surrender. Fight to the death. Never give in, never give up. Only pitiful cowards admit defeat in American movies. Good people fight on regardless of the odds. Even if you and everyone around you dies, and your cause is lost anyway, that’s fine, just as long as you didn’t yield to the enemy.
I am grateful beyond expression to our soldiers defending our freedoms in various places around the world, and I’m glad they fight with this attitude. But for human beings in general, it’s wise to know when you’re beat, especially when you’re fighting against Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe. Scripture says plainly that in our natural state, we are enemies of God.
If we haven’t been reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, we are His enemies, says Paul in Romans 5. The book of James says don’t we know that “friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” God resists the proud, James says. The Greek word translated “resists” means “ranges against in battle.” If we do not accept reconciliation with God, he ranges against us, His enemies, in battle.
Our immediate American gut response is usually dripping with hubris, something like, “Okay, so let him. I’ll do what I want—I won’t be threatened.” You have to wonder if we would cop the same attitude toward a towering grizzly bear approaching on a forest path.
Often people decide they just won’t believe in God. They decide that after death, their bodies rot in the ground and that’s the end of it. So, would they decide not to believe in the bear, maybe? Hopefully, few people would be foolish enough to try to fight a bear, decide that it was really friendly in spite of the raised claws and rumbling growl, or pretend the bear didn’t exist. And if they did do any of those things instead of finding a way to escape, we’d know they were fools.
Granted, the evidence for God and His omnipotence is not so in-your- face. God is more courteous than the average bear. But a genuine seeker after truth will find evidence of God everywhere. And you do want to be a genuine seeker after truth, because if there is a supernatural omnipotent Being around, and if He says that you must surrender to Him or be defeated as His enemy, well, you don’t want to miss that important bit of intelligence.
In light of this truth, James’ advice is to submit to God. I concur, and recommend sooner rather than later. Because make no mistake, every knee SHALL bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, even His enemies, and there is no escape from that. But at that point, laying down of arms and reconciliation are no longer possible. Today is the day of salvation. Do the brave thing…surrender.
