A Brusque Faith

by | Oct 21, 2021 | Prophetic | 3 comments

There are times when our faith must emerge from seclusion and step out into the open and get in the face of deception. This is never a tidy experience. It can create the kind of turmoil that took place when Jesus turned over the tables of the money-changers and used a whip to drive them out of the Temple. 

In some instances, the exercise of faith will appear brusque to those who have defined faith as something that should remain quiet, contemplative, and compliant. This is not a license to act out of undisciplined emotion without first inquiring of the Lord. The word brusque simply means “to be abrupt.” It is about immediacy. It’s not insensitive or unkind. A faith that does not possess a willingness to act without reservation and timidity is not a faith motivated by love.

As a cop, I remember times when I had to push people out of the way of danger. They were either unaware of what was coming, or they saw the danger and froze in place without a plan of escape. Standing in a place of jeopardy, they were like a deer caught in the headlights of an approaching vehicle.

In some settings, the Western Church has been indoctrinated with a version of a quiet and always submissive faith. This is not the faith demonstrated in Scripture. Before we act or speak, we need to always make sure our faith is being expressed and motivated by truth and righteous intervention as directed by the Spirit, not by a sense of frustration.

In order for a reformation of culture to take place creating an environment where all people can flourish under Godly principles and righteous laws, we need those with a brusque faith to stand in the challenging intersections of life and speak the truth in love. These are people willing to speak the truth no matter who they might offend or whose table of deception they might upend.

3 Comments

  1. Riekie Dalm

    Garris I love the way you address the current circumstances so clearly yet subtle. Those who have ears to hear, hear you !!
    Bless you

    Reply
  2. Vance Day

    Your perspective, that believers with a brusque faith should “stand in the challenging intersections of life and speak the truth in love,” is especially true in a constitutional republic. We not only have the liberty to do so, but the obligation to speak truth to power – in fact a duty to get involved in and seek to reform culture by being the Lord’s hands and feet, providing answers to a wayward world.

    Reply
  3. James Moyer

    And sometimes we must boldly step away from circumspect subtleties that speak only to the choir and says such things as, “No more masks!”

    Reply

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