Defense
Most of us are familiar with the sight of a little kid out in right field at a baseball game who is occasionally sitting on the ground, playing in the dirt and a million miles away in thought. He is bored out of his mind waiting on the ball to be hit to him. A chance that is little to none since he is in right field so far away from the action. In most sports it is the offense that gets all the attention. In baseball, it’s the opportunity to bat that most kids long for. In basketball most want to be the point guard who handles the ball every trip down the court. In football its’ quarterback or what we refer to as the skill players on offense who get most of the action and attention. Therefore one of the most difficult aspects of coaching is to instruct players on how to play defense.
Defense is typically reactionary in its nature so it can be easy to relax, be confused and/or be over anxious while trying to defend anything. If the offense doesn’t attack very often or ever, it can be normal to fall into complacency. If the offense attacks a certain way repeatedly then changes their attack you can be surprised. Both approaches can be confusing and insight panic. It takes discipline to defend anything.
It is not surprising that the Bible touches on this throughout Scripture. In my high school Bible classes this semester we are discussing apologetics and Christian evidences. One of the main verses for the semester is 1 Peter 3:15
“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”
It is not surprising that in the same letter the devil is said to be like a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (5:8).” Peter wants them to be able to defend their hope but he reveals how we should approach the subject. First of all honor Christ is LORD. Jesus does not need our defense to remain securely on the throne at the right hand of the Father. If he did need us then he is not sovereign. We honor Jesus as the LORD of our hearts and therefore we need to know why we believe what we believe so nothing can remove him from that rightful place. So first we reason within ourselves why Jesus Christ is LORD of our lives and why we’ve submitted to him. If we are secure in our relationship with him then it helps us to defend that hope “with gentleness and respect”. Then we can equip ourselves with God’s guidance and the evidences that will point others to him through the hope we find in the risen Messiah.
The need for “gentleness and respect” is as relevant today as it was when Peter wrote it. I think we can all agree after the last few years we could all stand a little more of those two characteristics. Once again it starts with us. If I’m secure in my relationship with Jesus then I’m secure enough to show people gentleness and respect in our conversations about Jesus and other related topics. He is LORD of my life and is sitting at the right hand of God just as alive as he has ever been. If I truly believe that fact then I’m less likely to become unnecessarily harsh or mean spirited in my defense of the hope in me.
When I was growing up there were several topics that were off limits for general conversation, religion and politics, to name two. One of the unintended consequences of these subjects being taboo is we were not educated on how to talk about these topics graciously. For the most part we didn’t even have good examples outside of history class. Now a few generations of ignoring those topics in general conversations with the added vitriol of social media equals combustible posts that leave no room for nuance. The response to these topics is either to continue to ignore or blow up on those whom we disagree. I think there are people out there who love and thrive off of folks who’ve known each other for years being at each other’s throats over some comment or decision they’ve made. I know the devil loves it!
Let me plead with you. DO NOT TAKE THE BAIT! I’m exercising this muscle myself and certainly am tempted to chomp down on the juicy trap laid. I’m sure I will make the mistake again. This brings me back to my first point. Defense is difficult and takes effort to maintain. Defending the hope that is in you effectively takes love and discipline. If you have the facts and discipline but approach topics without love you’ve taken the bait. If you love but don’t have discipline to take a stand on your beliefs at some point then you will be blown about by “every wind of doctrine”. There are so many ways we can be trapped which is one of the reason’s James warns of the dangers of the tongue. That warning came before the megaphone of social media made it ten times worse.
Coaches have many cliches. One of those is “the best defense is a good offense”. I haven’t made my decision if I buy that logic in the sports realm but I do believe it makes sense for the spiritual. Jesus following Peter’s confession states that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Kingdom. One of his points is that sin is aggressive but God’s forgiveness, grace, mercy and love is more aggressive. If our lives are governed by those godly characteristics then we have all of the offense we need. So let us overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).
Travis