ARE YOU A COWARD?
/ARE YOU A COWARD?
By Chris Amos
Are you a coward? Years ago, I was parked next to my sergeant getting paperwork checked when we were interrupted by what sounded like the invasion of Normandy. I’m talking multiple rounds being fired from several different caliber weapons. In fact, so close were the gunshots that we both initially thought we were being ambushed. Realizing the rounds were coming from right around the corner and not intended for us, my sergeant put out a call for backup, before we both activated our lights and sirens and headed toward the gunfire… or so I thought.
I pulled up on the scene to the sounds of screams, I noticed a couple of people on the ground while many others were running in different directions. I quickly scanned the area for anyone armed with a gun. But let me digress for a minute.
In the sixth Chapter of the Book of Judges in the Bible, Israel is being attacked by raiding parties sent by their neighbors, the Midianites, Amalekites and the “people from the East”. Israel cries out to God for help. He sends the most unlikely of heroes, a man by the name of Gideon. Gideon is not onboard with God’s plan as he protests, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, MY CLAN is the WEAKEST in Manasseh, and I AM the LEAST in my father’s house.”Eventually, Gideon puts his own objections and fears to rest, and obeys The Lord, the rest as they say, is history.
God asks four things of Gideon that I believe are relevant to my Brothers and Sister in Blue.
First, CLIMB OUT: At the time Gideon is chosen by God, he is hiding in a winepress, a hole in the ground, threshing wheat, for fear that if he did so in the open, he would be attacked by the raiding party. Keep in mind this raiding party has north of 135,000 men. If Gideon was going to be used of God he would have to leave the relative safety, comfort and predictability of the hole he was in. Think WW I, the war was ultimately won by men who were willing climb out of their own holes in the ground, aka trenches.
Secondly, TEAR DOWN: Once out of his hole, God commanded Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal, a false God, his Father had built. Think of this as a kind of boot camp. Gideon wasn’t immediately thrown into the deep end of faith. No God instructed him to start small, by tearing down those things displeasing to God.
Thirdly, STAND UP: Having obeyed God by climbing out and tearing down, it was now time for Gideon to STAND UP. That is, it was time for Gideon to assemble an army to fight the 135,000-plus army of the enemy. It was time for Gideon to shed his anonymity and go public with his intent to confront an army that dwarfed the size of his own. You will want to read Judges 6, to see how exactly his army of volunteer Israelites “grew” from 32 soldiers to 300 soldiers.
Finally, Gideon was instructed to “RUN TO THE ROAR”: Gideon developed a plan to attack at night an army that outnumbered his own by a mere 450 to 1. In obedience, and with, by this point, an unwavering faith, Gideon did as instructed and would go on to experience one of the most improbable victories in history.
I can’t help but think someone reading this is facing a threat to his or her marriage and/or family. Maybe you are being pressured to compromise your own integrity. Financially, you are in a bad way and you are considering a solution to your situation that goes against departmental policy, or worse yet is illegal. Perhaps, because of a multitude of problems you are contemplating suicide. Friends, Gideon provides us with the roadmap out of the wilderness.
STEP ONE – CLIMB OUT of your own hole. That place of relative comfort, safety and predictability. Your hole could come in the form of a bottle or pill. It could be a place of few expectations and even fewer responsibilities; a place in which the only thing that matters is yourself. Your dreams, your plans, your agenda, your pleasure, etc. With God’s help, and He is willing and able, you need to risk climbing out of your hole.
STEP TWO – TEAR DOWN those things in your life that you know are not pleasing to God. Those people, places, or possessions that have become idols in your own life and anything that has become #1 in your life above God. Maybe it’s your own ego, pride, a habit, addiction, or hobby, working out, running, a craving for recognition, praise, atta boys. Ask God, He will show you what needs to be torn down.
STEP THREE – STAND UP for your marriage, your family, your own reputation, for The Lord. We are surrounded by those things that seek to tear us down – Jesus has another plan in mind, STAND UP!
STEP FOUR – RUN TO THE ROAR, that is run to that very thing that Satan desires will lead to your demise. I’m not talking about taking needless, foolish risks at work. Of course not! But I am saying we need to confront and defeat those “Goliaths” or giants in our lives that have us cowering in fear as we hide in the holes in the ground in our own lives.
Speaking of cowering in fear, remember the shots fired call I mentioned earlier? As I arrived on scene, the stench of gunpowder hanging in the air, my eyes darted left then right scanning the scene for potential threats. It was then that I noticed my sergeant was nowhere to be found. He was, in fact, hiding hunkered down in his squad car blocks away from the danger. He would eventually arrive, I figured he was about the tenth unit to do so. That was honestly the only time, during almost 27 years as a cop that I can say I saw, or didn’t see would be more accurate, a coward in action.
Friends, I began this article with a question, “Are you a coward?” You may be the Alpha in your whole department, but friend if you are hiding in your own hole from responsibilities and expectations outside of policing, you are a coward. The great news is God can and does save cowards. The bad news is, God rarely if ever, can use a coward to make any meaningful or significant impact on those around him or her. Friends, I challenge you, as I do myself, to CLIMB OUT, TEAR DOWN, STAND UP, and RUN TO THE ROAR! God will be with you, every step of the way!
See you at the finish line!
Chris Amos is a retired officer and former spokesperson for the Norfolk Virginia Police Department. He is currently the pastor at Chr1st Fellowship Church in Norfolk. He is married for over 30 years and is the proud father of three children, two of whom are police officers. He serves as the volunteer Chaplain for Norfolk Police Dept. and Norfolk Sheriff’s Office.
