Berita NECF Newletters

Chairman's Message

Description: A Godly Witness In Ungodly Times

A Godly Witness In Ungodly Times

THESE days, most Malaysians on the street can easily wax indignant on what ails our nation. The slide of our country's rating on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI); the irrational belief that the rights of the majority group continue to be under threat even after years of protective policies; the sporadic reminders of May 13 by political warlords; the long outstanding court decision on the right to use the word "Allah"; illicit capital outflows and accusations of proselytisation - these are just but a few of the issues percolating in the nation's cauldron of problems.

Naturally, temperatures are rising as tempers fly like 'angry birds'.

No thanks to the seemingly state-sponsored forms of harassment and tacit endorsements through the government's deafening silence, many are averse to being seen or associated with any pro-government agencies and personalities. Furthermore, rumors of general elections around the corner have caused many, including the Church, to take sides and dig their heels in on where they should stand.

When globalisation first hit our shores, NECF published a booklet Engagement or Isolation1? No doubt, today many would similarly agree that we must engage. Unfortunately, not all agree on how to engage. There are predominantly two camps. One is found on the streets protesting, while the other believes they should be in the palaces like the proverbial spider2.

The Christian activist and the statesman unfortunately do not always see eye to eye on how to engage the State. We all assume we know what to do. A boxer boxes, a prophet prophesies, a righteous man does right things. But to be salt and light to the unbelieving and anti-Christian in an ungodly environment is no easy task.

The activists disdain almost all forms of public association with the government of the day, not wanting society to misunderstand that all is well when attacks on the Church go unabated. The spider gang, whilst agreeing with the sentiments of the activists, nevertheless supports engagement with the government, publicly or otherwise.

We need to remind ourselves of biblical models of engagement. Foremost is perhaps Daniel who served under wicked despots and was no stranger to the burning furnace and lions' den. When he came to know of God's impending judgment on King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel cried "My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!" (Dan 4:19b)

King Neb was no angel for sure. Having mass murdered God's people in his early invasions, he was about to be dealt with sovereignly. Hence, Daniel's response would seem so inexplicable. Today, such kindness and grace toward a wicked regime would have been condemned by both God's people and the masses as naïve and as sheer betrayal.

Then there was the great patriarch Joseph in the court of the idol-worshipping Pharaoh. If the Malaysian Church had been there, the Church would have chided Joseph for sharing the secrets of economic success. They would have argued that such "gems" should be kept within the Christian community for the benefit of the kingdom. Why help a wicked, ungodly regime prosper?

Having seen the acts of God, I suspect the Church today still does not fully appreciate the ways of God3.

Perhaps one of the worst scenarios that can happen to any people group is depicted in the book of Judges - seen in the days of Gideon. There was no 'connect' between leaders of the Midianites4 and the leaders of the people of God. Fighting and fear-mongering were the order of the day. The ruling populace believed it was their right to 'swoop' onto the minority and take whatever they fancied. And the people of God, together with other non Midianites, found themselves hiding in dens and caves, living fearful and faithless lives. This is what has happened in many nations where corruption thrives and where there is no meaningful engagement. State hooliganism sets in. Modern day restrictive dens and caves can take the form of discriminatory licensing, selective awards of major contracts and the like. Clearly, disengagement, deliberate or otherwise, does come with a price.

The New Testament also lays out rules of engagement, albeit on a personal level. The apostle Paul in his address to the Corinthian church reminds them about associating with immoral non-believers but not the immoral believer (1 Cor 5: 9-11). In another discourse to the Church at Galatia, he rebuked both Peter and Barnabas who did not want to publicly associate with Gentiles5.

Engagement is not an automatic endorsement or compromise. Whether the Church is so immature that she cannot discern this, is an important question the activist needs to answer. Disengagement is too simplistic and is not always the best way to be salt and light. More often than not, we end up misunderstanding each other too quickly.

Personally, I believe we need to engage on all fronts.

To be sure, the ills of our nation are real. Even if all the views and allegations (of the wrongs) are correct6, we still should ensure our responses are not "activist-oriented" but God-inspired. Both camps are right and each has a unique role - one on the ground carrying the placards protesting and the other in palaces, speaking prophetically with utmost respect but without compromising.

The Malaysian Church is best depicted as two groups of drivers at a traffic light junction. Both want to go to the same destination. Both want to move forward. But when the light turns green, one chooses to move straight ahead, the other to the right, each believing he has chosen the better path.

I believe both modus operandi need to be respected - the activist group and the spider group who are placed by God on the street or in Putrajaya respectively.

The issue is not about who is better or right. The focus must be to ensure that the Church never compromises her apolitical stand. In the midst of battle cries for justice and righteousness, sometimes it is not enough to be Christian.

It is being Christ-like that makes all the difference.

 


1 Published by NECF in 2001.
2 Prov 30: 28 The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings' palaces. NKJV
3 Psalm 103:7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. (NKJV)
4 Interestingly, Midianites were also descendents of Abraham
5 Galatians 2:11-13 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. (NKJV)
6 Common perception assumes they are correct, because of lack of credible response.



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