You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 ESV
In her book, A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle states, “We cannot afford, either as writers or as human beings, to be detached from the human predicament, because this is what we write about, and it is the predicament we ourselves are in.” She goes on to say, “To refuse to respond is in itself a response. . . Like it or not, we either add to the darkness of indifference and out-and-out evil which surround us or we light a candle to see by.”
As an author, I generally try to steer away from hot topics and politics. I want my message to focus on Jesus and His saving grace. Yet, upon occasion, I have felt led to address matters of injustice and blatant disregard for God’s word. To skirt some of the issues in our present culture would be to hide my lamp. These are times when you and I cannot stay silent.
We can’t always straddle the fence between church and culture, afraid we might offend one or the other. Sometimes, we have to pick sides. Sometimes, we have to speak up. We must not hide our light under a basket because to do so would “add to the darkness of indifference.”
The key, I believe, is our motive for speaking up and the manner in which we address the issue. Ephesians 4:15 reminds us to “speak the truth in love.” This means that I pray before I open my mouth (or my laptop) and ask the Spirit to speak through me. I consider my words carefully, remain respectful of my audience, and then leave the results in God’s hands.
Prayer: Lord, give me wisdom to know when to be silent and when to speak up. Grant me wisdom to discern between my own concerns and opinions versus the concerns of all humanity. In your name I pray, Amen.
Thought: “God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer