"For a Time Such As This"- Using Your Voice

I started my weekend off with reading and studying Proverbs 31:8-9, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.” In an effort to be true to my own conviction to that passage, I decided I have to use my voice and position as an opportunity to speak up for those feeling the strength of oppression. I will be the first to say, that right now there are many different ways people are oppressed. I will also say that no one way is worse than then other, for unless we are living that trauma, who are we to define it. Bearing that in mind, I sought to educate and grow myself in Christ. As a single white woman, who has a God-given privilege to be a pastor, and leader for God’s people, I wanted to make sure that I was and would respond in a way that would be pleasing to the Lord. After copying and sharing a recent post on Facebook I found thought-provoking, I later took that post down. Not because I regretted what I had shared. Instead, I regretted where my comment had led some people too, and wanted to prevent people from going to a place that would be too far. I removed the post as it was no longer accomplishing the purpose of getting people to think about the difficulties our family in black communities have been facing. When the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first came out years ago, I’ll admit that I did not first see why there was a need to single it out, agreeing with the #alllivesmatter statement. With the hurt my friends and family in the black community felt at yet another cruel death and murder, by another individual that has caused racial tensions to explode, I took to prayer, seeking guidance from the Lord, that I would not be blinded by my own biases. In a thought-provoking Facebook post based on a cartoon by David Hayward, I have seen someone liken #alllivesmatter and #blacklivesmatter to #allsheepmatter or #savethe99 compared to the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15. Here Jesus tells the story about the Shepherd (the Good Shepherd) leaving the 99 that are in a safe place to find the lost, possibly hurting one out of 100. I was then challenged to think of it in a different way. Nowhere in the parable does Jesus say that the 99 do not matter. What He does say is that the 1 is in a place of current danger, lost, possibly hurt or even dying, and as the Good Shepherd, there is a responsibility, not just to the 99, but to all 100, including the 1 that is in the most need. I have seen another post that likened it to several houses all in a row, with only one house on fire. What house should the firefighters extinguish first? The house on fire of course, because if they can address the fire there, then it will not spread. That has been the issue with racial and social injustice too many times. We lose focus on trying to find the 1, of putting out the fire at that moment, and try to eat the elephant all at once, when, as the saying goes, it is best to do it one bite at a time. There is nothing wrong with saying #alllivesmatter, but saying it in response to #blacklivesmatter in a moment when black communities are devastated and hurting is indeed counterproductive to the situation. With that, I would also like to share the following thoughts, while challenging those other 99 sheep with me to say something as well. To my friends who think that the contribution of their voice against the fight for social and racial injustice will not make you that much of a difference- I do have an answer for you, though it may not be one that you like. My answer is that you are absolutely correct, your silence will not prevent justice from ultimately being served, as God is the ultimate bringer of justice. However, I will challenge you to think of the words Mordecai spoke to Esther when Esther at first thought silence was a better option when Mordecai asked her to speak out against the upcoming destruction of the Jews engineered by the hateful (and prejudice) Haman. Granted, Esther’s concern was that her speaking up at the time, to seek the King, would not just put her in an awkward and potentially uncomfortable position, but that it would lead quite possibly to her death. Even with that, Mordecai’s response to her is this, seen in Esther 4:12-14: “When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: ‘Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Just as Mordecai said, God will and has provided deliverance for the people. We have been provided the ultimate Savior and Deliverer, our provider of justice for all nations, as prophesied in Isaiah 42:1-4, and in which Jesus says he is the fulfillment of in Matthew 12:18-21: “Look well at my handpicked servant; I love him so much, take such delight in him. I’ve placed my Spirit on him; he’ll decree justice to the nations. But he won’t yell, won’t raise his voice; there’ll be no commotion in the streets. He won’t walk over anyone’s feelings, won’t push you into a corner. Before you know it, his justice will triumph; the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers.” All of us have been condemned to die, and Jesus allows for the deliverance of all those who will to be saved. It is in light of this deliverance, that we did not deserve, yet still receive, that we are also called to stand up for those who are oppressed and seek justice while awaiting God’s ultimate justice, as seen in Revelation 19:11, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice, he judges and wages war.” Micah 6:8 tells us, “He has told you, O Man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” We are called to speak out and pursue justice then, and if we fail to stand up, to speak out, to be kind, to love all. In closing, I think of these words in James 4:17, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (For further reading: If you would like to further understand our Deliverer and the deliverance we receive in Christ, Romans 8:1-39 is a great passage to read)