Faithful Reader of MfD Daily:
I’m experimenting with occasional longer-form versions of my daily posts. You can read the full version here:
Ancient Sedatives That
Keep Men Passive
Many men believe, attend church, and care about their faith...
Yet they hesitate to lead, act, or take responsibility in their homes, work, and
communities.
The usual explanations come quickly: laziness, fear, or a desire to stay in control.
Those are real enough.
Men are moral agents. And sin and hesitation affect us all.
But this doesn't tell the whole story.
Behavior doesn’t arise in a vacuum. It flows downstream from belief.
Beneath the surface of modern Christianity are ancient ideas that quietly reshape what faith is supposed to be.
They don’t provoke rebellion—they sedate.
They stifle obedience, dull initiative, and make passivity feel normal.
The first sedative is gnosticism: faith reduced to a mental transaction.
Right beliefs, correct theology, internal assent—without corresponding action.
But scripture is clear:
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
The second is dualism: faith detached from embodied life.
The spiritual is treated as important; the physical world—work, responsibility, building—is treated as disposable.
Yet Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s will on earth, and Paul insists our labor is not in vain.
The third is pietism: faith reduced to private devotion.
Spiritual disciplines matter. But when inward practices are severed from outward obedience, men can feel faithful while avoiding responsibility.
Biblical faith offers a different
vision. It is incarnational.
Obedience and effort are not contrary to faith. They're how faith is expressed in the arenas of life.
So hear the call of
Scripture:
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14).
Faith is not meant to put men in a slumber. It’s meant to move
them into action.
Get Dominion,
