| THE MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Jerry S. Maneker “And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee?” (Judges 4:14) “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:24) (See also Matthew 10:39; Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35.) Deborah was a prophetess, judge, and esteemed warrior in ancient Israel! In my estimation, she was transgender, as she certainly didn’t adhere to the typical role of “woman” in that society, but for purposes of this article I won’t go there. Suffice it to say, she was no one’s property, no shrinking violet! She was so esteemed as a warrior, that she not only exhorted Barak to fight against the king of Canaan, whose captain was the feared Sisera, but reminded Barak of the Word of the Lord that he was commanded to fight against Sisera with ten thousand men; God promised that He would enable Barak to prevail in this undertaking. “And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.” (Judges 4:8) Deborah shows her contempt for the cowardice of Barak when she replies, “…I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman….” (Judges 4:9) Well, Barak, with the encouragement and complicity of Deborah, did prevail over Sisera (who, through treachery, was killed by another woman, Jael). Barak was fearful and didn’t trust God’s word that God would be at the forefront of his life and enable him to prevail; Deborah, on the other hand, trusted God and His word and acted on her faith, putting her whole trust in God. She valued God’s Word over and above her own safety, her own life, and that is what makes her a hero of faith. What’s interesting in this connection is that in the only chapter in the Bible that extols heroes of faith, Hebrews 11, Barak is mentioned by name and Deborah’s name is omitted. This fact shows that many times heroism, for whatever reason, goes unnoticed by mere human beings. But God knows those who give over their lives to Him, and that is all that is really important. As all Christians are exhorted to do, Deborah sold out to God and not to her fears and uncertainties, which as a human being she certainly must have had. This fact is what makes her not merely a hero, but a very dangerous person, as she put her self-interests and survival instincts on the back burner and did as God directed, regardless of what consequences might ensue. This is what Jesus undoubtedly means when He says that we are to not seek to protect ourselves, be in any way defensive, nor seek to “save our lives,” but, rather, lose our lives in Him by trusting Him over and above seen circumstances, over and above our fears and uncertainties, over and above what mere human beings think and/or say. We are to follow His directions for our lives, all the while recognizing that each of us has a unique calling and ministry, and that, as in life, in the Christian life one size doesn’t fit all. We are to lose ourselves in Jesus! This does not mean that we are to be oblivious to the needs of this world! Quite the contrary! It means that we are to discern the needs of this world and have God choose which one(s) we are to address in articulating and fulfilling our God-ordained ministries. And we are to make no mistake: every single Christian has a God-ordained ministry! No mere human being can tell you what is your ministry, your calling, from God. Each of us has to discern that ministry! Barak was called by God to prevail over the king of Canaan! Ultimately he did so, but not without a great deal of prodding and action on the part of Deborah, a fearsome woman! She was fearsome not merely because she participated in the battle! She was fearsome because she listened and obeyed the Word of God, despite overwhelming odds, and undoubtedly despite hers and others’ fears and desire for self-protection. This fact is what made Deborah a very dangerous person! Indeed, the same can be said of all the prophets, of all the named and unnamed heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, of all people who obey God’s call on their lives, even if that call provokes danger and retribution from others. When one speaks or acts in such a way that others’ comfort zones are in any way invaded, or when others perceive their worlds to be rocked in any way, that person, if he or she is following God’s directives, is not only a hero, be he/she recognized for that fact or not, but he/she becomes a very dangerous person. Let’s face it: as Christians we are called upon to be “dangerous people!” If we’re not, we’d better be, as the following truth stated by Jesus certainly applies: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (Matthew 5:13) So, let’s be dangerous people! Let’s be Christians! |