In 1937, British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain began a program of appeasement aimed at ending the threat of armed conflict with Germany through mutual negotiations and treaties. Many in Europe were still struggling with the impact of the War to End All Wars and wanted to avoid conflict at any cost. On September 30, 1938, Chamberlain returned from signing the Munich Agreement stating, "I have returned from Germany with peace in our time." Ironically, the next day, German forces marched into Sudetenland. No resistance was given by the British for this breaking of the Munich Agreement, hoping to avoid armed conflict by avoiding any conflict. This proved futile because in less than a year's time, Germany invaded Poland plunging Europe into World War II. Peace in our time by appeasement proved to be a futile pipe dream.
Many see the foreign policy of America towards Muslim aggression in the same light. It appears that many in Washington feel if we can only give aid and negotiate that the moderate elements in those countries will rise up to end the senseless slaughter and bombings that we read about on a daily basis. Whether you agree with this view or not, it is obvious that Muslim aggression towards those with a different world view has not lessened but increased. Even Buddhists in Bangladesh have been attacked and homes burned down by irate Muslims. Iran seems more and more bold about making nuclear weapons with the intent to destroy Israel. It would appear that appeasement will not work in this setting either.
The one country that has no policy of appeasement is Israel. They witnessed the results of appeasement as six million of them were brutally slaughtered by Nazi Germany as a result of European appeasement. Today, if an Israeli is taken hostage, he/she knows that the country will not negotiate to gain freedom. The government will treat the hostage situation as an act of war. They are surrounded by countries who want to exterminate all Israelis, countries that are unafraid to state this publicly. So survival is not based on appeasement, but on a strong defense.
Once again, I am not making a political statement but preparing to make a spiritual application from a real world situation. The Church in America today is in an appeasement mode. By that, I mean, we want to be so accepted in our society that we have compromised the standards Christ set forth in the Bible. We don't want to appear judgmental or bigoted, so we affirm the corruptness of the world, turning a blind eye to it. In some cases, we have even embraced that which the Bible calls wicked, evil or sin. The Church believes that if she just makes herself more accepting of the world, then people will flock to her doors. We have forgotten passages like...
II Timothy 3:12-13 - "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."
John 15:18-20 - "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember, the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also."
John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
II Corinthians 10:3-4 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Many in the Church today have forgotten that we are in a war. We have compromised on so many levels that the Church has the same level of sin as the world. We have the same divorce rates, rates of cohabitation, substance abuse and ethical failings as the world around us. A reformation needs to take place in the Body of Christ. It has very little to do with the structure of the Church, the music she has or her involvement in the political process. It has everything to do with a radical transformation of the mind and the heart. It has to do with confession and repentance, concepts foreign to many of us. We have a decision to make: Appease the world and compromise our standards or honor God and face exclusion and persecution by our neighbors, political leaders and community. This is an individual decision which will have a dramatic impact on the larger Body of Christ. Romans 12:2 tells us, "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Appeasement has rarely ever worked. Appeasement is destroying the testimony and power of the church. Will you simply do the right thing today and let tomorrow take care of itself? Will you stop appeasing and start living for Jesus? We do this, not by making some grandiose statement, but by intentionally and humbling living out our faith with a Biblical ethic. Our culture is starving to see something authentic from the church and has mocked our efforts at appeasement. Let's seek to honor Jesus in our thoughts, words, deeds and life choices today.
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