Flee
It was the month of November when huddled with hundreds of participants, Justin, wearing shorts and a T-shirt in the name of a tracksuit, was standing in the open at Model Town New Delhi police grounds. While applying for jobs after completing his graduation, Justin had come across an advertisement of the Delhi Police detailing the selection process into the cadre of ‘deputy superintendent of police’. His educational qualifications matched the requirements and now, after getting through the written exam, Justin was participating in the endurance test being taken under various categories, out of which this last one, the 100-meter sprint, needed to be completed in the prescribed time.
Standing out in the open, waiting for his turn, was proving to be a damper as he felt the warmth of his body gradually diminishing and the ensuing shivering due to the morning chill taking over. The shivers were compounded with his anxiety to perform in the 100-meter dash within the stipulated time.
Running was never Justin’s forte. In the school-gym, followed as well in college, he often participated in weight training programs but somehow always shunned running or jogging of any kind. Today, this last category of the endurance test was the only hurdle between him and the Delhi Police posting. The successful completion of the 100-meter dash would ensure Justin a place in another set of advanced placement tests and thereafter to the training institute of the Delhi Police.
‘Why would they have the 100-meter sprint in the end when the participants were exhausted?’ Justin asked himself. He was praying that he may be able to make it in the stipulated time. The sprint finally took place and alas, it wasn’t meant to be. His shying away from any type of running made him fall out of the selected batch of candidates. Justin was disheartened, as the selection would have meant a progressive career opportunity.
Life moved on and Justin got a job with a bank and then, after almost two decades, he quit his job to become a full-time pastor in a church. Justin heaved a sigh of relief thinking that the necessity to run would no more hinder the progress in his life in this vocation. Little did he know that a Pastor or a minister needs to always practice sprinting. The biggest reason for Justin’s downfall as a minister was that he did not learn the art to flee.
Paul, the greatest contributor to the New Testament, advises his young disciple Timothy,
‘Flee also youthful lusts...’. (2 Timothy 2: 22)
On that day of his redemption, after undergoing untold misery in life and still reeling from the aftermath of his actions that jeopardised his chances of regaining back his losses, Justin realised how important it was for a minister of the Word to practice the art to ‘Flee’. Joseph fled when tempted by the wife of the Egyptian captain of the guards. This art of fleeing, learnt very early in life, kept Joseph in step with God at all times and he reached the pinnacle of his career, predestinated for him by God, to become the second most powerful man in the land of Egypt.
All those great characters from the Bible who did not learn to flee fell by the wayside and suffered the consequences. Samson, who was a judge of the Israelites for twenty years, fell because he never learnt to flee in the face of temptation. King David, instead of running away from the rooftop from where he watched Bathsheba taking a bath, conspired to get his own ‘kinsman’, the husband of Bathsheba, killed on the battlefront. King Solomon never refused any proposals of marriage alliances that came his way; though, by law, he was prohibited to marry outside of his own tribe and have several wives. As a result, the wise king, who was a devoted man, turned away from God at prompting by his numerous wives who worshiped other gods.
In today’s modern world, revered names of pastors and leaders of mega churches that did not learn the art to flee fell by the wayside. Great names in the political arenas who did not take to flight at the first sign of temptation have vanquished in hordes with their names blotted out from the annals of history. Illustrious careers of great generals and national heroes have come to an abrupt end to the astonishment of the world at large. Justin had also realised too late that the ability to run was such an integral part of Christian ministry.
Today, while walking with God with utmost sincerity, Justin knows that even though God has enabled him to overcome his old nature, a sinful thought can still strike. Today also, that makes him run repeatedly to take shelter in the name of the Lord. For a lustful thought to occur, it is not necessary that there be an inanimate object, even a billboard on the road can break down one’s defenses. The click of heels can still conjure up lustful thoughts. Images on magazine covers or random opening of web pages have the potential of drowning even a saint in the sea of iniquity. Even looking at a person, dressed piously, has the potential of causing degrading thoughts. The mind does not get polluted in pubs or clubs only and demeaning thoughts are not limited to youthful age, they can strike with fatality even when one is engaged in the most sacred activity.
Today, at every step, the righteous get defeated by immorality, impurity, indecency, anger, selfishness, envy, drunkenness, revelries and the like and thus become puppets in the hands of sin. The righteous will be saved if they build up the ability to flee the scene.
Flee when…?
Flee, before immorality penetrates
Flee, before impurity defiles
Flee, before indecency infiltrates
Flee, before anger clouds judgment
Flee, before selfishness blinds
Flee, before envy engulfs
Flee, before drunkenness overpowers
Flee, before riotousness ingresses
FLEE, FLEE, FLEE…