To speak UP or to keep silent that is the question!

Wednesday Evening Prayer Reflection 06/03/20

Ps 119 Two verses were a highlight for me: (v. 66) Teach me discernment and knowledge for I have believed in your commandments. (v. 71) It’s good that I have been afflicted, that I may learn of your statutes. These verses strike a chord in my life, and I hope it rings a bell for you as well. The Psalmist wishes to have discernment and knowledge so to understand the purpose of what is going on. What is it teaching me when I look at my outraged response? What am I learning about myself? My response? Has it been extreme? Have I spoken out with anger? Has my response been respectful and constructive? It is important for us to ask God discernment because He is present and working. The key here is to know how to join in with God’s activity. We may think it on our own and create a path we think is the very best, but without God, all is void and can never be of true significance. Learn from God when trouble comes, God is not far from any of us. Discern where he is working and follow.

V. 71 certainly brings this teaching home when it tells us [I am paraphrasing] that may be this affliction, we are experiencing is waking us up to see what we didn’t see before: perhaps seeing what pains God? seeing what pains my neighbor? May be this is pushing me to learn from God, who sees everything and is aware of everything. Nothing is hidden from God.

The lesson in Ecclesiastes 3 teaches us about wisdom. One of these fascinated me: v. 7 A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. How do you know you need to keep quiet even if the insides of you die to speak up? It requires again the wisdom of God to understand that by not speaking up at that particular time, is the best constructive way of all. For e.g. Jesus decided to keep silence before Pontius Pilate. Then on the other hand, how do you know you need to speak up even if the entire world is quiet about it? In some cases, safety may be why you may not want to speak up, especially if your life could be in danger. But Wisdom again would be that you would carefully weight the reasons why speaking up may actually save more people. In other cases, even the law would require you to speak up and tell the truth of what happened. SPEAK UP then. Amos 5: 13 says: “Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time for it is an evil time.” You don’t have to speak at all times! It required wisdom from God to discern when to speak.

During the Genocide, there are families that hid their neighbors who were in grave danger to be killed. They were silent about it. It was dangerous, but they loved their friends enough to take the risk of dying themselves. They needed to keep silent at that time. In the novel “To kill a Mocking Bird” Telling the truth was important. But when should the truth have been told? At the end or earlier? Telling the truth at the right time. SPEAK UP in due time, it requires the wisdom of God to discern when to speak up and what to say. Because we are in danger of speaking amiss. Frankly, our grandmothers are right. What do they tell us: If you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything!

IN Gal 2:11-21 Paul encountered a time when he needed to speak up: v. 11 But when Cephas (that’s Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood himself self-condemned, for until certain people came from James he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy… I will stop here.

That’s speaking up. It took a risk; Paul knew when to speak up. We need power from God to discern when to keep silent too, and when to speak up.

Be blessed this evening, tonight and forever.