Compelled and afraid…….

Today we move along swiftly to an interesting story I discovered in 2 Chronicles 18. After years of mistrust and animosity between Judah and Israel, the current kings have reached an uneasy alliance. Ahab king of Israel is urging Jehoshaphat king of Judah to join him in attacking Ramoth Gilead. The conversation goes pretty much like this –

Ahab: So will you join me then?

Jehoshaphat: Sure. You bet. I’m with you all the way. But let’s consult God first.

Ahab to prophets: Should we do this?

Prophets: Yes! Go for it! God will give you victory!

Jehoshaphat: Mmm….is there anyone else we can ask? I need a second opinion.

Ahab: Yeah, there is another prophet – Micaiah. But I hate him. He only ever tells me bad stuff.

Jehoshaphat: You should never talk about the prophets like that.

Ahab to messenger: Go fetch Micaiah!

Messenger to Micaiah: All the other prophets have said yes to the king. Make sure you make it unanimous and say yes too.

Ahab: So do we attack or not?

Micaiah:   Yes! Go for it! God will give you victory!

Ahab: Hang on. Don’t lie to me.

Micaiah: OK, since you insist…..Israel will be scattered with no leader…..

Ahab: See, I told you he never had a good word to say!

Micaiah: Hey, I haven’t finished yet! God has tricked you into doing this by filling the prophets’ minds with thoughts of victory…

Another prophet: Oi, who do you think you are? What makes you so much better than us?

Micaiah: You’ll know soon enough.

Ahab: That’s enough. Lock him up. I don’t want to hear any more.

Micaiah: If you get back in one piece, then I’m no prophet of God. Remember who you heard all this from.

And you can guess what happens. They go into battle. They lose.King Ahab is killed. Jehoshaphat returns home. And we don’t hear what happens to Micaiah.

I’m sure I don’t really need to spell it out. There’s a clear message here about telling the truth. About the danger of becoming a yes man, of telling people (especially a boss or a leader, someone with authority over us) what they want to hear. How hard it is to have the confidence to tell the truth, when you know the other person won’t want to hear it. And then there’s peer pressure, of wanting to go with the crowd and not stand out. None of us want to stick our head above the parapet for fear of getting shot at. None of us want to stand up for what is right when everyone else is looking the other way. None of us want to rock the boat, be labelled a trouble maker…..

And yet sometimes we have to.

Sometimes we cannot stay quiet.

At Greenbelt this year, I had the privilege of hearing Steve Chalke, a prominent evangelical Christian leader in the UK. He was saying how he’d come to study in depth the issue of homosexuality and how he knew that the conclusions he had drawn would make him unpopular among many Christians. So he sat on what he felt he knew to be true for a long time. He kept quiet. He waited for someone else to stand up and say what he was thinking. It didn’t happen. The material was burning a hole inside him until it had to burst out and he wrote it down in a paper on the subject. Still, he didn’t tell anyone. He kept it hidden for fear of how his fellow Christian leaders would respond. Still he waited. He decided he would leave instructions to have it published after his death! Eventually, he decided that he could wait no longer. He published the paper. And the result was as he expected.

He was personally heavily criticised and the work of his Oasis Trust was affected as he was condemned as ‘pro-gay’ in the Christian media.

Steve Chalke Stuns British Evangelicals By Coming Out in Support of Same-Sex Relationships

This was a big deal in the British Evangelical world. And an even bigger deal in Steve Chalke’s world. In the above article in Christianity Today, Steve Chalke speaks openly and honestly about his decision to come out on this issue –

I feel both compelled and afraid to write this article. Compelled because, in my understanding, the principles of justice, reconciliation and inclusion sit at the very heart of Jesus’ message. Afraid because I recognise the Bible is understood by many to teach that the practice of homosexuality, in any circumstance, is a sin or ‘less than God’s best’.
Some will think that I have strayed from scripture – that I am no longer an evangelical. I have formed my view, however, not out of any disregard for the Bible’s authority, but by way of grappling with it and, through prayerful reflection, seeking to take it seriously.
…
It’s one thing to be critical of a promiscuous lifestyle – but shouldn’t the Church consider nurturing positive models for permanent and monogamous homosexual relationships?

I’m drawn to that phrase – ‘compelled and afraid’ – because sometimes we know, simply know, when we have to stand up and speak the truth. We’re compelled by something inside us that will not go away. It insistently urges us to speak out, however hard we try to ignore it.

But we are afraid. Very afraid. That’s natural. That’s human. Afraid of upsetting our boss. Afraid of turning our colleagues against us. Afraid of losing our friends. Afraid of finding ourselves alienated and criticised. Afraid of upsetting people. Afraid of being judged by other Christians.

But in my experience, knowing I should speak the truth and not saying anything is a far, far worse experience. When the moment is past and the opportunity lost……when it is too late and you cannot turn back time…….when the consequences of saying nothing start to play out…….I never want to find myself there again.

‘Compelled and afraid’ – and yet still compelled.

‘Compelled and afraid’ – but fear does not need to stop us.

‘Compelled and afraid’ – but the truth will set us free. Jesus’ words, not mine.