Have the Courage to Care
By: M.E. Townsend

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. But why do you call me LORD, LORD and do not do the things which I say?”
Luke 6:45-46

Elie Wiesel wrote:

“In those times there was darkness everywhere. In heaven and on earth, all the gates of compassion seemed to have been closed. The killer killed, the Jews died, and the outside world adopted an attitude either of complicity or of indifference. Only a few had the courage to care.”

Those dark times allowed the enemies of men and of God to roam freely, unchecked and unquestioned, dark times that went unchallenged as eyes looked away and heads turned from truth, fear gripped faint hearts and men suffered.

Not unlike today where the same spirit of complicity rules and reigns in the hearts and minds of too many within the walls of the church. Today complicity has joined with tolerance and the two have embarked upon a quest to bring unification through faith, unification through thought and idea.

Yet scripture teaches those who will hear and believe:

“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:6-8

Tolerance as defined by Webster is “a willingness to let others have their own beliefs, ways, etc. even though these are not like ones own.”

Complicity is defined as “the fact of being involved with another in doing something wrong or unlawful”

In the spirit of tolerance and complicity, the Word of God has been so defiled, modified, watered down, twisted and ignored until the undiscerning and unrepentant remain lost in a sea of compromise and distortion while those who profess ‘Christianity’ stand in muted silence – refusing to speak out, refusing to judge.

We have forgotten Paul’ admonition to Timothy – perhaps we never knew:

“…I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case, you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you...” I Corinthians 5

"Idolatry is not simply worshiping a stone image; idolatry is any concept of God that reduces Him to less than Who He really is." Dr. Ron Carlson

Joel Osteen said when ask; "one cannot know who would or would not go to heaven." Perhaps the Bible held up each week before his congregation has never been opened and the truth of scripture never allowed to pierce through the deception. When pressed, Joel Osteen admitted he did not know if those who did not profess Jesus as LORD were wrong. Recalling his time in India Joel Osteen said he knew the people of India loved God and he saw their sincerity.

They may be sincere, but they are sincerely wrong. An atheist is sincere in what he believes, but he too is sincerely wrong. Scripture tells us that those who love God will keep HIS commandments – 1 John 5:3

“He [Jesus the Christ] IS the Stone which the builders rejected, but which became the Chief Cornerstone. And there is Salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

To deny the redemptive work of Jesus the Christ is to deny the Word of God.

In the name of tolerance, we stand as complicit observers as homosexual men and women enter into the ministry of our LORD. We tolerate the practice of the Hindu religion disguised as “Christian Yoga.” In the name of tolerance, we accept the prosperity theory – teaching that God wants you healthy, wealthy and prosperous – that the goal of the Christian life is financial prosperity and health, so send them your money and watch for your miracle. Yet our LORD had no place to lay His head and taught those who would follow Him to take up their cross daily and follow Him. Paul was a tent maker in order to provide for his needs and the needs of those who traveled with him.

In writing to the church in Corinth Paul said:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived [a good word for the day in which we live]. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards not revilers, not extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Why do we wink at sin as we sit before television screens, feeding our hearts and minds on false teachings while financially supporting the many televangelist whose agenda is self-gratification rather than self-sacrifice?

“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.” Hosea 8:7

How many must die, eternally separated from God before we will have the courage to care?