Once upon a time, a long time ago, it was not uncommon for companies to market their wares in brightly colored books of cheap paper called catalogues. It may be a shock to some of you that such a quaint and analogue technique was used by even technologically forward-thinking companies, but such were the times.
In one of these catalogues I recall seeing an advertisement for something that gave me pause. My eyes widened in surprise at what appeared to be the sale of something rather disgusting. It appeared, in fact, to be the sort of disgusting object I was required weekly to scour the backyard for with a shovel and remove a great distance from polite company. A second look at the shocking ad revealed that this was not what it first appeared to be. Instead, it was a plastic enclosure designed to hide a house key in a way that discouraged others from getting too close.
This Sunday we looked at the incredible depth of God’s power that is present to us in the Gospel – both in bringing us into a right relationship with God, and in conforming us into Christlikeness throughout our entire lives. The good news of Jesus the Christ is the key that opens to us a very eternity of blessings. It makes sense, then, that Satan would want to shroud it in whatever we find most revolting and discouraging. As Paul writes to Timothy, he warns him to press through the façade of shame and the fear of suffering until he experiences the true glories of divinely empowered blessings.
Shame and fear are powerful forces in the life of every human. Whatever can manipulate the levers of these two motivations can effectively steer the course of our lives. In helping Timothy overcome his shame and fear, Paul reminds him of the truth of what God has done, and the power of God. The brilliance in this approach lies in the fact that it addresses shame and fear at the root. Shame is downstream from a question about truth. Fear is downstream from a question about power.
What we deeply believe is true will be the thing we look to for authoritative morality. Truth defines what is good and what is evil. Therefore, since shame is the feeling we experience when we believe we are guilty of a moral failure, shame is always tied to moral authority, which, in turn, is always tied to truth. This means that a constant strategy of the enemy is to masquerade as a truth-teller and a moral authority so that he can smear the slime of shame upon the pure gemstone of God’s revealed will. Cultural embarrassment and social expectations are often more effective than fists and prisons in causing God’s people to shrink back from courage in the Lord. That doesn’t mean that Satan won’t use fists and prisons, however.
To understand the effectiveness of fear, we need to understand how it relates to power. What we truly believe has the most power in any given situation will become the will we conform to. Imagine a prisoner who suddenly discovers that his prison door is locked. If he is convinced that escape is impossible because the guards are too powerful and clever, then he will obey the will of his jailors and remain in his unlocked cell. However, if a fellow inmate suggests he can escape and the prisoner believes he has knowledge and ability greater than the guards, then he will follow his companion’s will and attempt to escape. Similarly, if he trusts most in his own cleverness and resourcefulness, then he shall follow his own will and likewise attempt an escape. Our enemy makes a great show of intimidation and of causing suffering wherever he can in the hopes that we shall sit in his jail cells even after God has set us free. If we consider his power to be the greatest, then we shall submit to his will. We are grateful that we need not be taken in by such trickery.
We counteract shame by knowing whom we have believed and being convinced that He is able to guard what we have entrusted to Him (2 Tim 1:12). We likewise overcome our fears by being convinced of the greater power of God. As Peter put it, “those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”
Satan cannot defile either the power of God or the promises of God, no matter how he tries to make them repugnant. We can see through his tactics, and by faith lay hold of the Gospel key God has entrusted to us. With that key, we gain entrance into all the blessings of the heavenly places in Christ. That is nothing to be ashamed of, and something worth even suffering for without fear.