Call it what you will, we have way too many examples of this all around us. And I experience this all the time in various ways and in various places. Just trying to get believers to stand up for what matters seems like an impossible task. Getting them to boldly stand up for their own faith in a hostile public is like pulling teeth.

So is getting them to stand strong and fight the good fight on so many absolutely crucial issues of the day, such as the sanctity of human life or the battle over marriage and family. The great majority of Christians and Christian leaders will never stand up for any of these things.

Now there may be various reasons why this is so. But I suspect that a good part of the reason for all this is simply the sin of cowardice, fear, and especially the fear of man. Sin? Yep, it sure is a sin. And in some way it may head the list of sins. Recall what we find in Revelation 21:8 where it says that the cowardly actually lead the list of those cast out from God's presence and judged.

How many hundreds of times are we commanded in Scripture to "fear not"? Yet our churches are filled with fearful wimps and cowardly Christians. And there are plenty of craven, men-pleasing folks in our pulpits as well. So this sin is a leading no-no in God's books.

And as C. S. Lewis put it, its opposite is also at the head of the pack: "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." We desperately need men and women of courage right now. They are the need of the hour, but are so very far and few between.

At this point let me close with a few words from a guy who will never be called a spineless woosie. Doug Giles has been telling like it is for years now, and I have elsewhere shared part of this feisty recent article of his. And I have already been chewed out by some for his colourful and at times strong language.

Which of course simply proves my point: we have far too many weenies out there who will get far more upset about a few words than the ugly realities being spoken of and warned against. Sadly, they make my case for me. But let me offer a few thoughts from his powerful but much-needed piece, "God's Judging America: He's Giving Us Gutless Leaders and Effeminate Men":

"Hey, reader: have you ever noticed the lack of men in our culture nowadays? You haven't? Well, then allow me to be the first to tell you that you're either...
a. Blind, undoubtedly deaf and you probably live in a van down by the river.
b. You're simply not paying attention.
c. You are too young to have a historical reference point to when men were actually men and not giddy and roughed X-Factor hopefuls, or turkey-necked, unprincipled politicians, or earring sporting 'ministers' of the 'gospel'.
d. All of the above.

"Now ... please note that I didn't say males but men; mature and responsible, demon-threatening machines who love leadership, the struggle and aren't afraid to face head on internal or external obstacles and rank rubbish without crying like a chick about it.

"This type of man is symbolized biblically in the prophet, patriarch, warrior and wild man; this is whom I am talking about as being more absent from our milieu than Miley Virus would be during an Os Guinness discussion about the leadership merits of Washington, Wilberforce and Solzhenitsyn.

"I think this en masse societal distancing from masculinity and the systematic wussification of the male imago in a puerile environment of political correctness is more than just a flighty phenomenon. I think it's a divine judgment."

He then goes on to examine in a bit of detail "the negative sanction Jehovah levied on Israel in Isaiah chapter three wherein he removed masculine leadership and the warrior from their midst, and egotistical chicks and Peter Pans ran the show."

He concludes: "Let's recap shall we? In Isaiah three, when God wanted to get the attention of his people who were in the process of blowing him off, in this instance, he simply removed masculine men from their midst and allowed selfish women and capricious males to run the place into the ground.

"When the strong male presence was gone, then these three things became manifest in ancient Israel.
1. Israel's prosperity got kicked to the curb.
2. Israel's defenses against their enemy's onslaughts weakened dramatically. Duh.
3. Israel's captivity by enemy nations became not an 'if' but a 'when' venture. Indeed, minus testosterone in the house, it was just a matter of time before they became one of the surrounding nation's prison chicks. And that concludes our little lesson from Isaiah chapter three.

"No doubt, the caterwaulers will dog pile on me and call me nutty for even believing in God, believing he still doles out blessings and curses and that America could be in the crosshairs for committing similar infractions as ancient Israel. Which is cool. I get it. Being a Christian ain't en vogue nowadays. To which I offer this challenge to the naysayers:

"Go ahead, ridicule God, mock his standards and do the opposite of what his word says. Go for it. I dare you. Also, continue to morph boys into sensitive little girls. Mandate that the Marines wear girly covers. Make the rest of our military kinder and gentler. Exalt metrosexuality, skinny jeans and weepy men who wear long scarfs and women's deep V T-shirts. Knock yourself out.

"In addition, continue to elect spineless and vapid narcissists to office. The more the merrier. Blow off traditional values and elevate the freakiest stuff known to mankind. Let's see what happens. Let's see what happens when EBT cards and an entitlement culture take root in this formally can-do nation. Go for it, no nuts. Go ahead and say character doesn't matter and ridicule masculine traits. I'm sure China, Islam, Russia, and our neighbors down south and Communists worldwide will cheer you on and support your push for Emasculation Nation.

"I'm also equally sure that as the anti-masculine crowd sees the obliteration of strong, principled dudes within our nation they'll be giddy and, no doubt, it'll feel like an emancipation; but I've got a feeling that this 'freedom' will be short lived and our new path will lead to a brick wall, as it did in Isaiah chapter three."

Amen brother Doug, amen.

townhall.com/columnists/douggiles/2013/10/27/gods-judging-america-hes-giving-us-gutless-leaders-and-effeminate-men-n1732290