Lions In The Way – Christians Should Take Notice

Be Careful – There May Be Lions In The Way

Lions In The Way

 

The New Year has come and gone. Much disparity covers the earth but Christians still have many things to be thankful for. – Bob

A Beautiful Blanket Of Carolina Snow

Well, we certainly got the snow a few days ago. I had wished and wished (prayed!) for a beautiful blanket of snow. Not a dangerous ice storm but a nice, snuggly-sit-by-the-fire-and-drink-hot-chocolate kind of snow.

I guess I got more than I really wanted. I was not able to get out of my driveway; I made it to the University where I teach about noontime. But I must say the snow was indeed beautiful and it brought back lots of memories, one in particular.

A Memory From Days Gone By

This particular memory – I was a college kid at Belmont College (Nashville, Tennessee). That day in chapel the speaker was our college president, Dr. R. Kelly White. His Scripture for that day: II Samuel 23:20-23.

These verses tell about Benaiah who is described as a valiant man and a doer of great deeds, one of the renowned of King David’s “thirty.” The part I remember the most: “He also went down and slew a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.”

Dr. White, in his gracious and gentle manner of preaching, made Benaiah live that day in chapel. We could just see this courageous man who fought for King David, and he slew a lion on a snowy day.

From there, Dr. White carried us on a journey in our own lives with the challenge, “be brave and courageous,” “be willing to fight for what is right,” “if you can’t measure up to the ‘three’ in David’s army, at least be a part of the ‘thirty,’” but “always be on the lookout – there may be ‘a lion in the way.’”

Satan — The Lion

It’s been more than 50 years since I heard that sermon and I must admit I don’t remember all the details, but to this day I’m reminded that Satan comes at us from all sides. Wherever we go, whatever we attempt for God and good, there most probably will be “a lion in the way!”

Temptations will come – a lion in the way! Trials and tribulations that tend to get us sidetracked from doing the will of God – a lion in the way! Peer pressure from all sides to drink, to do drugs, to test our masculinity in various and sundry ways – watch out, there’s a lion in the way!

Two other passages come to mind. Genesis 4:6-7, before Cain kills Abel the challenge comes from God: “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching [like a wild animal] at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

The bottom line is – Cain, you can and must master it. Don’t let evil get a handle on your life. If we jump to our II Samuel passage and paraphrase it – you must kill the lion that is in the way!

The other passage comes from the New Testament – I Peter 5:8-9, “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him . . .”

So, after all these years, I can still say, “Thank you, Dr. White, for warning us young kids about the lions in our way.

We’ve tried to fight a good fight and finish the course. Your messages from time to time in chapel helped us along the way.

Thank you, Benaiah, for being a man of great deeds, for setting a good example for us to follow in our fight against the lions in our way.”

About the Author

G. Byrns Coleman is a retired Professor of Religion and Chair of Department of Religion & Philosophy, Wingate University, Wingate, NC . He is also a member of Wingate Baptist Church .

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