Fear God and Do Your Part

By Kevin Speis

Fear God and Take Your Own Part. That was the title of a book written by Theodore Roosevelt in 1916. What is amazing about the book is its relevance today.

Roosevelt wrote: “Fear God; and take your own part! Fear God, in the true sense of the word means love God, respect God, honor God; and all of this can only be done by loving our neighbor, treating him justly and mercifully, and in all ways endeavoring to protect him from injustice and cruelty; thus obeying, as far as our human frailty will permit, the great and immutable law of righteousness.” (Fear God and Take Your Own Part, 1916; reprint, Honolulu, HI: University Press of the Pacific, 2001, p. 15.)

Those words rang true in my conscience. So much so that I have transformed them into my own: Fear God and do your part. I believe that we have a duty and a responsibility not only to ourselves but also to others. As Christians we are not excused from individual responsibility which means that we are not allowed to walk by on the other side of the road when bad things happen to others. We have a responsibility to help others when they are in need.

This year we were witnesses to several natural disasters. Among them were the tsunami, Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma and, most recently, the earthquake in Pakistan. Particularly with Hurricane Katrina we saw an enormous outpouring of help from all parts of our country. However the success stories didn’t come from government organizations. The successes came from local churches all over America sending small convoys of supplies and people to begin to provide aid and assistance. In addition, churches and Christian homes were opened up to receive the thousands of displaced families from all over the Gulf Coast. And when the government officials left, the churches remained.

These were examples of outreach at the national level, but what about locally? What do you do at the local level to make a difference? If you think that going to church on Sunday and dropping money in the Salvation Army kettle is enough, don’t be fooled. Jesus counseled all of us when He witnessed the poor widow giving to the temple treasury. “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all these who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had.” (Mark 12:43-44, NKJV)

We are always to do more. I say all this as a prelude to a more important question. Do we, as Christians, have an obligation for public service? Or, as Christians, are we to withdraw from society and not participate in the issues of our time? I testify to you that we are not to withdraw from society, but indeed we are to take an active role in our civic and governmental organizations.

The 18th century statesman, William Wilberforce, faced this same crisis of conscience when, as a member of parliament, was born again and considered forever withdrawing from public life. His best friend and Prime Minister, William Pitt, told him: “Surely the principles as well as the practice of Christianity are simple and lead not to meditation only, but to action.” (Vaughan, David J., Statesman and Saint, Nashville, TN: Cumberland House Publishing, 2002, p. 56.)

William Wilberforce remained in politics and went on to lead the crusade that eventually abolished the British slave trade and then slavery in all of Great Britain. At the same time Wilberforce changed the moral fabric of the British government and London society.

On this side of the Atlantic, at no other time in our nation’s history has Christianity been so vilified. This is especially true at all levels of our government. This I believe is, in part, the outcome of Christians falling asleep on the job. Until recently there was never any doubt that religion and civil service were inextricably linked. Philip Lancaster succinctly expressed it this way: “The substantially Christian character of early America was, in part, the result of believers applying their faith to the civil sphere. We must do the same today. We cannot abandon whole realms of life to the devil by failing to live rigorously in these realms.” (Lancaster, Philip, Family Man Family Leader, San Antonio, TX: The Vision Forum, 2004, p. 288.)

We have a duty and a responsibility to get engaged in the issues of our day. If we don’t, who will? We often hear of Christians being known as the silent majority. This must end. We must not remain silent any longer! Fear God and do your part.

“Change will not happen apart from Christian men shouldering the duties of citizenship. Some of us will even need to become Christian statesmen who will lead the charge to implement the needed change.” (Family Man Family Leader, p. 287)

We must get involved. The issues of today will not go away and, left alone, they will only get worse. Here is what you can do: First, the most effective weapon we have is prayer. The Apostle Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers of darkness. Remember though, that prayer without action is not enough. Consider Nehemiah when he was leading the effort to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall and they were under the constant threat of enemy attack. “Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight.” (Nehemiah 4:14, NKJV.)

Take action by voting in ALL elections. They are all important. Write or e-mail your elected officials. Tell them what you think and what are your concerns. Writing letters is still the time tested way to get heard. Also, speak to your friends, neighbors, and relatives about the issues affecting you. Theodore Roosevelt wrote, “Once it was true that this country could not endure half free and half slave.” (Fear God and Take Your Own Part, p.19.) Should we think any different today? Can America endure half moral and half immoral? Certainly not!

Fear God and do your part. History is filled with examples of one person or a small group leading the charge to eliminate oppression or to right a wrong. We Christians will always be the remnant and that is OK. God does His greatest works through remnants. Let us fear God and do our own part. We are the heirs of a great nation consecrated by God. We are not to shirk our duty but to fulfill it. And we fulfill our duty by applying our Christian beliefs through involvement in civil and governmental organizations.

Kevin T. Speis is a member and care group leader at Calvary Church in St. Peters, MO.  He is a former Captain in the United States Army.  Kevin and his wife Gail are blessed with three children whom they home school.  You can contact Kevin at speiskg@wmconnect.com