We Need Godly Zeal

       I hear so many people today complaining about the state of our society in America, and how bad it has become. They claim it is due to many different reasons such as the downfall of the family dynamic, the socially liberal movement of the government, T.V. programs, movies and even video games. These are all correct in their way, but they can also be put into one major category: We have lost our zeal for God. This doesn't mean we have lost our love for God, or we don't attend worship correctly, although that is a part of it. The biggest issue I believe, is that the majority of people are afraid to stand up for God and respect the beliefs of all others. Now I'm not condoning the disrespect of people at all, but we must stand up for God and the Bible and what is right without fear of being talked down to. Far too many Christians allow others to say evil things about God, and then just shrug their shoulders and say "Well, that's how they believe." They don't realize that 'belief' will lead to destruction.
       Our society has reached a point today where it is the popular thing to go against God and Biblical values. Now, this has always been an issue, but the difference today is that Christians seem to be too timid and let things slide for fear of offending anyone, and out of fear of being persecuted. As far as being persecuted goes, what we experience in this country is far from a true persecution that was experienced in the past. How can we put ourselves into the same category as those who were arrested, tortured and executed? Being called names and laughed or scoffed at is not persecution, it is ignorance. But, if we continue to allow this to happen, and not show our offenders that they can do or say whatever they want, it will escalate more and more. This has happened in the past many times and will again, however in the past, there were great people who stood up against the accusers and still spread the Word. When one does this, others will listen. If we remain silent, how can anyone ever learn the truth?
       As far as offending someone, we do not want to hurt anyone's feelings, but we must care for their salvation above anything else. The Bible has always been offensive to unbelievers, but the only way to get someone to believe, is to educate them, try to get them to listen to the truth. If we let others say and believe what they want without saying something, they will be lost. In order to do this properly, we must have the proper zeal, a Godly zeal to do this. Think about this, what if Paul, Peter and the other Apostles and disciples in the first century were timid and afraid to say anything? All of the Apostles suffered persecution and all but one gave their lives for their belief, and knew they would go through it, yet were unafraid and did it without violence of any kind, but out of love for the lost.
       When we have the correct zeal for the Lord, good things come from it. The first time we read about zealous workings, is in Numbers 25:11. God said He spared the people of Israel because of the zeal of Aaron's grandson Phineas, that he was able to bring Israel away from God's wrath. Much later in Paul's letter to Titus, Paul calls Christians peculiar people, wanting to have zeal in good works of God (Titus 2:14). Staying silent, being afraid to speak, is not a work at all and can do nothing for the lost. In Revelation 3:19, we are also told that we must be zealous and repent for our past sins. We can't just give lip service and simply say something, but we must truly want to this, and strive to do what is right in the eyes of God.
       I love the story of Peter in Acts chapter 2, mostly because of the zeal that he showed. Just prior to this event where he was preaching to the Jewish leaders, he was running from these same men, and even denying Christ three times. Now, Peter has been empowered and encouraged, and is no longer afraid of what men could do to him. His only goal for the rest of his life was to spread the Word of God to all who would listen, even those that would eventually kill him. Possibly no one had more zeal than Paul, who was a great example of both the wrong type of zeal and Godly zeal. When he was still known as Saul, he went out and arrested as many Christians as he could find, and did so with the love of God in mind. It wasn't until his experience on the road to Damascus that he realized Christ was the Messiah. and his zeal for the rest of his life was for Christ. He was even brought before the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1-5), the Pharisees (Acts 23:6-10), Felix (Acts 24), Festus (Acts 25), and King Agrippa (Acts 26). Each time, even though he knew if he simply remained silent or denied his offenses, he might be released, he used each opportunity to teach the leaders about Christ. He was not afraid of what the future would bring or what others thought of him.
       The brave men and women of the Bible were not afraid to stand with God and preach the truth, no matter what might happen. In doing this, many people wanted to know what their message was, why it was so important that they were willing to risk their lives for it. Today, when we remain silent, other will simply think that our message is not important enough to speak of it, and will turn away. The American government is the perfect example of this. Politicians used to be proud to stand for their religious convictions, and oftentimes were elected for this. Now, we poke fun at the ones who have a strong Christian background, and even hold up those who have no convictions at all, or support those that lean more toward a Muslim background. What's wrong with that? Simply paying attention to Muslim countries and how they treat people will tell you that this is not what anyone wants. These people are making headway though, because we remain silent, and are afraid to rock the boat.
       One of the last thing that Jesus said to His Apostles, was to go out into the world and spread the Word (Matt. 28:19-20). Are we doing this today, and being zealous in all of our works? We might be helping the poor by feeding them, or going to other countries and building schools and digging wells, which are all good and right things to do, but our priority must be to teach the message that Christ brought, to save all those that might listen. We are judged by how we came to God and live our lives by Christ, and having the correct zeal, a loving Godly zeal, to bring other to Him as well. This is what is wrong with our society today, and I thank God that the Apostles were not like most today, and were much more afraid of doing nothing, than doing what God commanded them, and us to do.