Attacked, silenced, ignored, because you spoke up?

There are two sides to controversy; the side of peace and the side of truth. Those committed to peace, no matter what, may find all manner of excuses to skirt the issues. Those committed to truth, no matter what, may find all manner of reasons to combat every dubious matter.

But do peace and truth really reside there, in those camps? Honouring lies gives no real peace. There is certainly truth in not entering contentious debates where love ran clear from those buildings long ago.

But there does come a time to speak up. There is an occasion for clearing one’s throat and readying one’s voice. There is an opportunity for each of us as the world opens its window in anticipation of what we have to offer.

We don’t always take the opportunity that is offered. Sometimes it’s fear, and at other times we’re not sure if our discernment is right, so we politely decline for further consideration. We want to be sure.

And then there are times when we are desperate to speak; to take our place in the public square. We know it’s not easy, but the burden to speak for justice outweighs the fears we have to protect ourselves.

Having discerned truth and knowing that we can be at peace for deciding to enter a controversy, even if the conflict leaves us estranged to peace, we enter under the cover of much prayer.

So, then we say something. It might not sound like much. But people listen. Some are thankful. Others are livid. 

Whether you’re attacked or not, you may feel attacked. Whether you’re silenced or not, you may feel silenced. And whether you’re being ignored or not, you may well feel ignored.

Voices that speak the truth are not automatically given a stage before a cast of a thousand adoring fans. Most often it’s the complete opposite; attraction has been brought to the elephant in the room, and most people, whether they agree with us or not, are muttering under their breath, “Far out, why that… here… now?” Most people, basically all people, most of the time or all of the time prefer their peace, even if it comes with a dash of falsehood, laced with a lie.

Much of my life I’ve been an evangelist for reporting truth, usually as a safety guru who has uttered “you must report incidents” thousands of times.

One thing we must acknowledge is there are some things that people (all people) value having reported, but there are also some things that some people do not value being reported.

But if we’re committed to God, we’re duty bound to report what needs to be reported, so that in justice prevailing we see accounts being called, reparations made, issues reconciled, learning gleaned. If love is to abound, truth must win, for why would we waste our time with falsehood (unless we’re motivated by what we can get out of it).

If a ‘thing’—any kind of thing—happened, it happened, and it ought to be called for the fact that it happened. And if it happened and we found ourselves pressed from within not to ignore it, as we shouldn’t ignore it, and we prayed about it, and finally found the courage to speak up about it, then we can still be quite surprised that in speaking up we get responses that we would hardly expect to get—including the responses that even our own minds generate.

Speaking up, whilst it’s a duty in many cases, is fraught with all kinds of danger, because we’re vulnerable, especially given that we traffic in fear. It makes good sense to want to protect one’s self. None of us enjoys pain.

So, if when you spoke up, you were or felt attacked, chided, silenced, or ignored—or there was some other kind of response—you will feel especially vulnerable and anxious. This is the outworking of the fact that we hate feeling bullied.

God is the Lord of truth, and truth is the basis of justice, and justice is the basis of love, and love is the basis of life… this is why we’re commanded to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

We need to speak up, so truth is advocated for, so justice is advanced, so love is enacted, so life is experienced. That abundant life that Jesus offered to one and all, in his name.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash