Phil Campbell's session is based on Judges 4-5.
He referred to the 1990s British sitcom, Men Behaving Badly. The lead character in that show epitomised the typical guy - too much beer, no commitment. We laugh, but sometimes the men behaving badly are not funny, especially those in our lives. We behave badly (selfish, lazy, cowardice), just like the men of Israel. The book of Judges takes us to the low point of Israel, where the prevailing attitude is "anything goes".
Back in those times, Israel was living the "deadly cycle" where they commit evil, get punished for it, repent, God sends judge, God saves, then they revert back to committing evil again. And so on & so goes the cycle. That is like people today, who only repent when everything gets taken away from them.
In the passage, we see Judge Deborah calling Barak to lead the troops to take on Sisera & his Canaanites, telling Barak that God would be be with him. But that would not persuade Barak. Put it simply, Barak he refused to be a man. At the time, Israel was corrupt. Until Deborah came, nobody was saved. Not a man among them did anything about it until Deborah came. So Deborah set an example in leadership which none of the men at the time could live up to.
Where were the men of Israel? It was hard to find a real men in Israel, a man who would take a stand for injustice or take a stand against the odds. Campbell referred to a quote by Franklin Roosevelt: "Courage is not absence of fear; it is doing what you have to do despite the fear.
Jesus alone is doing something Israel needed. Here is a real man; here is a perfect man. John 19:5 - Here is the man! Here at last is the man who is prepared to pay the price for His people. Criticism should be for men of God who refuse to be what men of God should be. We should be leaders in costly & inconvenient way, not to take a step back & let the women do the work.
Too many young Christian guys are too scared to commit, just like the guy in Men Behaving Badly. And it seems that in marriage, it is the guys who do not want to do the steps to make things work when things go wrong. In The Simpsons, Marge is the one who wants to get the kids to church whereas Homer wants to stay at home.
We should be men, not mice. Men who are confident in God's victory. We should take the lead as real men - courageous, faithful, strong. God wants courageous, faithful men. That is what God wants most. We are called to give ourselves up for others, just as God gave Himself up for the church.
Reflection
- I'm very much a man who behaves badly. Sometimes, very very badly. To the tune of John Cena's song, I'm a bad bad man!
- Sometimes, I also have the attitude of "anything goes". Guess I would fit perfectly into Israel had I been alive back then.
- Campbell's comment that men of God should "lead in a costly, inconvenient way" does not sit easily with my often prevailing attitude of "I do what I want when I want". To lead in a costly & inconvenient way involves sacrificing our time.
- One area I can "lead in a costly & inconvenient way" & "take the lead as real men" is with my role as an events coordinator in my Bible study group (Clay). The other events coordinator is Melina. As the male coordinator, I should be the one stepping up & taking the lead. I feel I'm slowly getting into this (especially with preparations for Clay's Dialogue Meeting next month), although whether or not I'm actually doing this would be best ascertained by talking to the other people in Clay ;)
- I pray that God would change me so that I am able to lead effectively in the roles I have within church & Clay. I still dread the word "lead" & often question whether my current roles in church & Clay really involve leading, as I don't really see myself as leader. Nevertheless, Campbell's talk highlight God's desire for men of God to lead like real men & lead in a courageous, faithful way. I pray that God would instil in me a desire to lead for Him & be a real man of God.
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