The Reluctance of a Soldier and a Prophet

I had made a decision to join the U.S. Army when I was 28 years old.  I joined the Army for a variety of reasons, but mostly, I wanted to serve my nation and experience a life other than being a minister.  Before I could become a full-fledged soldier, I had to go through basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. 

In Basic Training, a trainee learns how to become a quality soldier.  The drill sergeants teach each trainee how to how to march, salute, stand at attention, along with many other disciplines that are vital to the survival of a soldier.  One of the skills that were taught was conquering our fear.  One day, we marched to Victory Tower.  As one who is afraid of heights, I was literally shaking in my combat boots!  We had to repel, belly crawl a rope, and climb a ladder that went to the top of the tower.  Each trainee had to take his or her turn.  Before we started out, we had to give our name, rank and ID number.  For the life of me, I could not even remember my name.  I totally went blank due to fear and reluctance of having to climb the tower.

With no way out of it, I began my climb to conquer Victory Tower.  I made it through the first obstacle and now I am facing the belly crawl rope.  My drill sergeant is yelling at me to get moving.   I take my position and start to crawl down the rope.  All I see is a net below in case I fall.  I am so scared.  They tell you once you start crawling down the rope, do not stop.  The rope is moving back and forth as I crawl.  I’m scared.  I want off.  Next thing I know, I have landed in the net below.  I fell!  My drill sergeant yells, “McCutchen, get your…” I can’t actually write what he said, but I had to get back on the rope and do it again.  And, I fell again.  Thankfully, the drill sergeant allowed me to by-pass the crawl rope after the second fall. 

Have you ever been asked or even told to do something but you were afraid or reluctant to do it? If yes, why? It might be that we are reluctant for fear that we will fail. Maybe we lack confidence. Or, maybe we don’t want to work with certain people because of past issues. There are a variety of reasons why we are reluctant to take on a new job, begin a new relationship, start a conversation, teach a class, share our faith, say no, say yes, go on a date, ride in an airplane. Whatever the reason, being reluctant is crippling.

Jonah of the Old Testament had to deal with his own reluctant issues. Jonah was given a task by God to go to a city called Nineveh to preach against it because of the wickedness of the people. (Jonah 1:1-2)

Just who are these people God is sending Jonah to talk to about their wicked behavior? They were bad! I mean, bad. It was their policy to never keep their prisoners of war alive. While holding the victim down, they would pull out their tongue. For some, they would skin their victims alive. They would take the human skulls of their prisoners and build pyramids outside of the conquered city.

I can’t say emphatically that I would be jumping for joy to get the assignment to go and preach against the wickedness of the Ninevite regime. I can see why Jonah was so reluctant; his life is in jeopardy. Also, Jonah as a prophet knew the kind of God he serves and if they turn away from their wicked ways, God would demonstrate his grace and mercy for them. At this point, Jonah was struggling with Nineveh getting one ounce of God’s grace and mercy.

Because of Jonah’s reluctance, the Scripture says, “Jonah ran away from the Lord….” (Jonah 1:3) One of the key strategies of a reluctant person is to run away from the problem, issue, relationship, or whatever the circumstances are in order to avoid facing the problem that has a grip on them.

For many believers in Christ, there is a reluctance to teach for fear they do not know enough. There is a fear to share their faith, for fear they will get rejected. There is a fear to speak in a public gathering for fear they will not know what to say or forget what they want to say. There are a variety of reluctant reasons people have for not getting more involved in the different aspects of the church ministries.

I am reluctant to climb a ladder because I am afraid of heights. However, in order for me to over come my fear, I have to face it head on. The more we do, the less reluctant we are about doing it and the more confident we become in our relationships, speaking, teaching, sharing our faith, or whatever we have been reluctant about.

Remember, Be God Controlled!


Brian