Going Over The Neck Of Our Disinclination
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12 ESV)
The title for this message comes from a talk given by Oswald Chambers at the YMCA hut in Zeitoun,Egypt in 1917 during WWI. The men who heard this message were disciplined men, fighting men, men who lived with death as a daily reality. And they were men, for the most part, with no illusions about their own invincibility. Many of theses soldiers craved spiritual reality—truth that would sustain them to the grave and beyond. And so they would descend upon the YMCA hut daily to hear the truth of God’s Word spoken plainly by Oswald Chambers.
To be disinclined to do something means that we are not inclined or don’t want to do a thing. The phrase “going over the neck of our disinclination” conveys a battle image that is just as relevant to daily life in our 21st Century world as it was to a world engulfed in a global war in 1917. In ancient times, kings would step on the necks of their defeated enemies—a sign of triumph for the victor and an act of humiliation for the vanquished. Such an act of power and authority served as a very public reminder to friend and foe alike that the king ruled with an iron will and the armed might to carry out that will.
This is the kind of radical resoluteness that should characterize the life of every Christian. While we are not to impose our will in such a manner upon others, we are to be resolute in our fight against sin. We must be prepared to go over the neck of our disinclination wherever and whenever we find ourselves refusing to follow God. Truth be told, we all have little tribal territories in our hearts—personal fiefdoms over which we believe we have the right to rule; and which we are disinclined to abandon to our greater King. It is just here, in our feudal territories of pride, that we must go over the neck of our disinclination.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other ….(Matthew 6:24 ESV)
Jesus was speaking about serving God or money—but the principle holds true for self as well. You cannot love God and be self-serving. Beware of the stiff neck of disinclination that says, “That’s just the way I am!” If that is the banner you march under, then defeat is just a matter of time.
Here is a New Year’s Resolution worthy of God’s children:
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12 ESV)
God has given us spiritual weapons to fight the good fight of the faith because He wants us to overcome the forces of evil (see Ephesians 6:10-20). You can ask God for light and the discernment to see where your battle lines are weak. Ask God to show you how and where you are not inclined to fight the good fight of the faith. Resolve to ask God to help you this year to go over the neck of your disinclination!
Soli Deo Gloria!