Noninvolvement is Involvement
1 Samuel 8:20
"That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."
The sin that the children of Israel made in this verse is the same sin that people commit today. Israel was a theocracy from its inception. God led them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. He fed and provided for them in the forty years in the wilderness. He led them as they conquered the land of Canaan. Even through the time of the judges, God was the One Who led them.
In the verse above, Samuel had become an old man. Israel came to him and told him that they wanted a king. They gave several excuses of why they wanted a king. They said they wanted to be like the other nations. They said they wanted a king to judge them and lead them. However, the real reason they wanted a king was so that he could fight their battles. They wanted a king for no other reason other than they didn't want to do anything. They wanted the king to do everything for them. They didn't want to be involved in the LORD's work, they wanted someone else to do the work for them. They didn't want to fight the battles themselves, they simply wanted to stay on the sidelines and watch others fight the battles for them. They were simply saying that they didn't want to become involved in the battles, they wanted someone else to fight for them.
Christian, you may not want to become involved in the LORD's battles, but your lack of involvement is truly involvement. What I mean by this is if you won't fight for right, then you are aiding those who are fighting for wrong. You can sit on the sidelines and let others fight the battles, but your lack of involvement for truth is what allows truth to be attacked. When your stance is that you don't want to become involved in the fray, then your stance is one of aiding those who attack truth.
Let me apply this to where you live today. When you won't become involved in the soul-winning ministries of your church, then you are in essence aiding the Devil in sending people to Hell. Yes, this is a strong statement, but you are either leading people to Christ or you are letting people go to Hell. Your noninvolvement in the fight for souls is involvement on the Devil's side.
When preachers won't fight when truth is attacked, then their noninvolvement is involvement for the enemy. Throughout my years of serving the LORD, I have watched many preachers who won't stand for truth because they just don't want to be entangled in the battle. Let me remind every man of God and every Christian that Jude 1:3 says, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." God commands us to become involved in the fight for truth. So, your noninvolvement is involvement.
Young person, when you don't want to become involved in preserving the old-time religion for your generation, then your noninvolvement is involvement. Every generation must fight their own battles. You can say that you just don't want to be involved, but you are involved by your noninvolvement.
Christian, are you like Israel who didn't want to be involved in the battles? Are you one who simply wants someone else to fight the battles? Let me remind you that your noninvolvement in involvement in the Devil's side. It's time that every person becomes involved in the battle for truth. Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Don't let evil triumph; become involved!