Courage To Speak

"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." - Proverbs 31:8-9

There is a kind of silence that dresses itself up as neutrality, and it fools almost everyone, starting with the person keeping it.

We tell ourselves we are staying out of it. We tell ourselves we are keeping the peace, being professional, choosing our battles, waiting for more information. But when injustice is happening in front of you and you say nothing, you are not neutral. Silence always communicates something.

It tells the person being wronged that their suffering was not worth your discomfort. And it tells the person doing the wrong that what they did is acceptable here.

Proverbs does not leave room for that. Open your mouth. Not eventually. Not once you have perfect words. Open your mouth for those who have no voice in the room, and defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Notice that this instruction was given to a king. It was advice for someone with power about how to use it, and that is the part that should land on us. Most of us hold more influence somewhere than we admit. In a meeting. In a family. On a group text. In a hiring decision. The question is never whether you have a voice. The question is what you spend it on.

And it will cost you. Let us be honest about that instead of pretending otherwise. It might cost you a comfortable friendship. It might cost you a smooth afternoon at work. It might cost you the assumption that you are easy to get along with.

You might be saying, "Pastor, I am not a confrontational person." I understand, and you do not have to become someone you are not. Courage is not volume. Some of the bravest words ever spoken were spoken quietly by someone whose hands were shaking. What matters is that they were spoken.

The alternative is a faith that stays comfortable and quiet while people suffer, and that is not the faith Jesus modeled. He spoke when it was unpopular. He named injustice by its actual name. He challenged the powerful in public, and it is a large part of why the powerful wanted him gone.

Is there a situation in your life right now where someone needs you to speak? Ask God for the courage to open your mouth this week, and then open it.

God gave you that voice on purpose. Do not bury it!

Prayer:
God, give us voices for those who are not being heard. Take our fear of what people will think and replace it with a holy boldness that reflects your love for justice. Help us speak with courage and with kindness. Amen.