Christian Doormats

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. So don't be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God - 2 Timothy 1:7-8 HCSB

Upton Diskson founded a society called the “Dependent Order of Really Meek and Timid Souls.” When you make an acrostic of its first letters, you have “Doormats.” The Doormats’ insignia is a yellow caution light. Their official motto is: “The meek shall inherit the earth, if that’s OK with everybody!” Mr. Diskson outlined their goals and purpose in a pamphlet titled “Cower Power.”

We laugh at this craziness, but unfortunately, many have bought into the idea that to be a Christian is to be a member of the “Doormats.” Christians, after all, are to turn the other cheek, aren’t they? They are disciples of Jesus “meek and mild.”

However, our Master often took the bull by the horns. On one Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The religious leaders watched closely to see whether Jesus would heal the man on the Sabbath, because they were eager to find some legal charge to bring against Him.

Jesus knew their thoughts so He said to the crippled man, “Get up and stand here." So he got up and stood there.

Then Jesus said to the religious leaders, "I ask you: is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"

After looking around at them all, He told the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was restored. The leaders, however, were filled with rage and started discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus.[1]

He could have dealt with the healing in a less confrontational style, couldn’t He? Jesus could have simply waited until the next day to heal the man or even later that evening (the end of the Sabbath). But the Master was not just upset at the man’s suffering; He was angry at the wickedness of these so-called religious leader’s hearts. They did not care about the poor man’s deformity. They had no compassion for his years of embarrassment, for the difficulty he had in working or getting a girlfriend. They were simply waiting for an opportunity to trip Jesus up.

So Jesus confronted them right then and there – publicly. What was their response? They went wild with rage. They had been exposed fro the hard hearted calloused hypocrites that they were but rather than repent, they decided to kill the one who exposed the futility of their religious lives. In the process, Jesus made our salvation possible. He was willing to be the recipient of their rage, knowing that it would lead to the cross and to our salvation.

Learn boldness, courage and fearlessness from the Master. Don’t be a “doormat.”

[1] Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11