We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the
Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2 Corinthians 8-10
We have surmounted all the
perils and endured all the agonies of the past. We shall provide against and
thus prevail over the dangers and problems of the future, withhold no sacrifice,
grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, fear no foe. All will be well. We have, I
believe, within us the life-strength and guiding light by which the tormented
world around us may find the harbour of safety, after a storm-beaten voyage.
- Sir Winston Churchill
Don't Rock the Boat!
by Sister Laurel Davis
In a recent movie this innocent guy loses just about
everything when he comes under federal investigation for stock trading fraud at
his father's investment firm. Besides losing his girlfriend, he's forced to
leave his job (forget trying to find a new one, because who would hire him
now?), he realizes his own father would rather let him take the fall instead of
the firm, and his legal defense fees will start at a whopping $300,000.
The guy's loyal secretary, Millie, knowing
he's innocent and wanting to help, is willing to break the law and risk her own
job if he will just let her give him the heads up on what they're saying about
the case at the office.
"Why won't
you let me help you?", Millie pleads.
The guy explains, "Imagine I'm in a little boat in the middle of
this big huge ocean, and the waves are billowing and crashing all around me,
threatening to flip my boat over. Yes, I'm afraid, and I'm holding on for dear
life. But I know I'm going to make it. Why? Because my boat is the truth. That's
all I need to stay afloat."
"So,
please, Millie," he concludes. "Don't rock the boat!"
Wow! Did you get that? The truth is my "boat," and please
don't rock the boat!
Imagine having
so much confidence in the truth that, no matter what's thrown at you, no matter
what threatens you, no matter how scary the journey gets, you know you will
survive. As long as you know that the truth is on your side, you know it will
see you through the storm and you will come out okay.
You also know that truth doesn't need any extra help to
uphold you. Yes, sure, gather as much useful and accurate information as
possible to try to stay a step ahead in difficult situations. But sometimes when
the waves seem so overwhelming and the boat too small, people become
desperate instead of deliberate.
It's desperation that tempts you to take greater risks or to
compromise your integrity in order to stay afloat, when all you really need to
do is remain secure in your purpose, clear about your vision, and careful and
upright about your practices. Allowing unnecessary risks or compromising could
actually hurt more than help your situation by making your boat unsteady --
please don't rock the boat! -- or adding more weight enough to sink you.
What a great illustration of why New
Beginnings Believers Bible Fellowship is, according to our ministry's tag line,
a place "Where Truth Really Matters." The truth is our "boat" -- the truth of
the Gospel and the truth of God's Word which we try to apply to ministry as well
as all areas of life here on earth and in the hereafter.
We arose out of a battle cry for truth. We
established this local church body united on the truth. We have endeavored to
teach, serve and operate based on the truth. We want to grow for the sake of
spreading the truth. And we encourage and exhort every soul who has an ear to
hear to accept, live by and stand up for the truth in their personal
lives.
We have not taken unnecessary
risks or compromised in order to survive. We remain secure in our purpose, clear
about our vision, and careful and upright about our practices. Anything less
than that, in addition to that, or other than that, is rocking the boat. "So,
please, Millie. Don't rock the boat!"
At New Beginnings, truth really matters because that's what's
upheld us. Through the ebbs and flows, and even when the seas have been calm and
complacency could've tempted us to drift off course, by God's grace and to His
glory, our little boat continues to stay afloat.
