Pusillanimous or Prophetic?
Recently I learned a new word. At the moment it is my favorite word. Pusillanimous. According to Webster’s the word means lacking courage and resolution; marked by contemptible timidity. The reason I like this word so much is that it packs a punch. Unfortunately, pusillanimous has become an accurate description of what passes for evangelical Christianity these days.
Current Christian culture often seems to think more emotionally than logically. There is such a concern for how people might feel or how people might perceive something that evangelicals tend to talk around issues of the day. Moral and ethical clarity fades when the focus on feelings grows. We mince words and almost apologize for what we believe at times. Sometimes we act as if being open-minded is the greatest possible virtue. As someone once quipped, we don’t want to be so open minded that our minds fall out! We might be closer to that than we think.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” These verses carry a martial tone and remind believers that we live in a spiritual conflict. Conflicts require courage and resolution.
Certainly Christians should not make it our mission to offend intentionally. Plenty of people seem to have that market cornered. I doubt the world desperately yearns for a few more jerks. But firmly holding to biblical convictions is not being a jerk. People may be offended at biblical teaching. This is not unusual or surprising. People were offended at Jesus’ teaching as well. Jesus didn’t modify His teaching to appeal to the crowd nor should we. It is okay to believe God's Word unapologetically. Our convictions don’t have to die the death of thousands of qualifications just to ameliorate the spirit of the age. Lord, may it not be said of us that we were pusillanimous but rather prophetic.