A Culture of Fear or of Faith
“Grant” by Ron Chernow,1 a volume that I am currently enjoying, is the life story of the eighteenth president of the United States. One of the subplots of this well-written tome is the vast difference between the two most important Union generals during the War Between the States. Khurram Naik, in a 2020 blog, wrote of this contrast:
The two most important Union generals couldn’t be more different. George McClellan was destined for greatness. He was admitted two years early to West Point, graduated second in his class, and went on at the age of 34 to be second in command for the Union in May 1961…
McClellan was perhaps too successful. Unlike Ulysses Grant, he had never known low rank or defeat. And when he became the leader of the Union military, he froze…
You have to take risks to win a battle, and McClellan just couldn’t bring himself to take any risks. He was always on the cusp of action, but thwarted by the imagined machinations of the Confederate machine. He blamed others: he wrote to his wife that the cabinet members were “a most despicable set of men” and Lincoln himself “a well-meaning baboon.”
Grant ranked 21st out of 39 at West Point. He was forced to leave the army in 1854 because of his drinking problem. He rejoined in June 1961, right before McClellan took over as general…
Grant’s campaign waged successful skirmish after successful skirmish, and ultimately gave the Union much-needed momentum. Grant was known for making do with the resources on hand, never asking for reinforcements and never complaining. He was not a perfect leader, but he was good. As Lincoln observed, he did the work.
In the broad view of things, we are living in a day of fear —fear of disease, fear of the weather, fear for our children, fear of economic downturn. The recent Covid pandemic has accelerated the paranoia of our modern world, which is fed a continual media stream of negativity. Unfortunately, many Christians have bought into a culture of fear and are being paralyzed in the spiritual battle for the glory of Christ and the souls of men. McClellan’s fatal flaw, as noted above, was that he could not bring himself to take risks. While reckless risks should never be a part of the believer’s life, there are risks in serving Christ biblically.
Henry Fairlie of the Washington Post, writing in the Tulsa World, states that the “fear of risk is killing the American Spirit.” He points out our over-reaction to Three Mile Island and the engine on one DC-10. He believes that the nation that won’t build a dam because of a small snail darter, or that will delay a carriage to the stars because it might fall like Skylab is in deep trouble. He asked, “Was the Mayflower seaworthy?” He contends that a group of Americans today would not have the heart to cross the Rockies as our forefathers did years ago. It would be too risky!
There is a lesson in Fairlie’s comments for Bible believers. Much service for Jesus Christ remains undone because of the fears of the risk involved:
- Some Christians will not witness because of the fear of being rejected.
- Others have never given biblically to God because of anxiety concerning not having enough for self.
- Some refuse to teach a Sunday school class due to a low view of their own abilities.
- Others shy away from standards of personal holiness for fear of being viewed as different.
- Some refuse to surrender to the mission field because of the risk of snakes and bugs.
There was no “fear of risk” on the part of Jesus Christ when He came into the world to die. Likewise, He calls His followers to deny themselves daily and to take up their crosses and follow Him! Jesus says, Be prepared to die for me.
A culture of fear among believers will never fulfill the Great Commission. Rather, God has called our churches to be a bastion of faith and forward advance for the cause of Christ. Biblical faith is not recklessness, but rather involves taking God at His Word and acting confidently in Him based on His commands. Our trust and boldness is not to be in ourselves, but in the Living Christ who has given us His Word and His Spirit. Let’s ask God to help us to develop a culture of faith in our homes and churches, a culture that will believe God and dare to step out in obedience to Him in light of His promised victory. Let’s boldly go forward by faith!
Dr. Bud Steadman is the Executive Director of Baptist World Mission.
This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unreported License.
- Chernow, Ron. Grant. New York: Penguin Press, 2017. See also https://naik.co/mcclellan-vs-grant [↩]