Contend

“They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.” (Pr 28:4 AV)

To contend does not mean to vehemently oppose.  We do not need to strive in the same manner as the wicked.  We do have to contend.  To contend means to not make it easy.  It means to be in the ring and present an obstacle to victory.  To contend means to meet a force with an unmovable object that the aggressor is not successful, or at least hindered in their objective.  Contending does not require rage, anger, or pride.  To contend requires conviction and character.  The wicked are not our enemies.  They are God’s enemies.  If it were not for the grace of God, we would be right there with them.  And at some point in our lives, we were.  Praise the LORD for someone who contended with me.  If it wasn’t for his contentions, I would never have admitted to myself my condition and need.  It was his contention that turned the tide of being an enemy of God unto being a child of God.  We live in a lost and dying world and they need some contenders of the faith.  We are too busy contending with one another and not the lost.  The lost are in greater need than our erring brother.  Not that we should let errors slide.  But one wonders if we spent half the time we spent correcting a slight misinterpretation on contending with the wicked how different our world would be.

Like most males, I am interested in sports.  I am not obsessive, but I read a headline or two.  I may watch a game here and there.  I am from the Buffalo, NY area and so my home teams would be the Bills and the Sabres.  We are the perpetual second placers.  We will never win a championship.  It has to do with the culture.  But, we are often in contention.  Our teams perform to the best of their ability.  They contend.  Very rarely have I seen a team that did not contend.  However, there was one game that stands out to me.  It was during the years after our last president's cup.  That award goes to the team that amassed the greatest amount of points for a season.  After that year, the Sabres began a decade of rebuild.  To which they are still attempting.  Anyway, it was during those years that the Sabres played the Boston Bruins at home.  As usual, we were losing rather handily.  Now, there is an unwritten rule the goalie is untouchable.  This unwritten rule is respected by both teams.  The letter of the rulebook states that when a goalie leaves his crease, he is considered a regular player and can be treated as such.  But now one does.  At least until this game.  Our goalie went out of his crease to play a puck.  He was about a third of the way to the blue line.  Way out of his crease.  A Bruins forward was going for the puck but was beaten to it by our goalie by a good bit.  Good enough for the goalie to play the puck and clear it before the forward was on him.  There should have been no need to check the goalie let alone do it in open ice and after the puck had been cleared.  But he did.  He laid our goalie out.  Normally, that would result in a bench-clearing brawl.  But nothing!  No one did anything.  That dirty, but legal play, went unanswered.  I fear this is what saints are doing today. 

We have surrendered.  We accommodate a godless culture rather than preach and teach contrary to it.  I am not saying we need to have a throw-down.  We don’t need to come to blows.  We do not need to threaten, belittle, or ridicule the opposition.  But we cannot remain silent either.  We do not need to try to win an argument in one pithy reply.  We need to engage those who do not know nor love God.  We need to contend.  They cannot be convinced any other way.  Our silence is deafening.  Those contrary to God are vocal and extreme.  As a result, they are destroying lives.  It is time to contend.  Otherwise, there is no purpose for the church.  I would hate to be raptured and the reason Christ gives is our apathy or fear.  Let us leave while contending rather than be removed as we sit on our hands.