Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether is it right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” – Acts 4:18-20

I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook, but occasionally I find something worth sharing that hasn’t been blocked yet. Here’s one such piece that was shared recently:

Please read.

Ponder.

Heed.

Share!

“When I was in seventh grade, our teacher put on a video and told us to take notes. Ten minutes in she threw the lights on and shouted at Steven Webb Sladki, telling him he wasn’t taking notes and he should have been. But the thing was, Steve was taking notes. I saw it. We all saw it. The teacher asked if anyone wanted to stand up for Steve. A few of us choked out some words of defense but were immediately squashed. Quickly, we were all very silent. Steve was sent to the principal’s office. The teacher came back in the room and said something like “See how easy that was?” We were reading Anne Franke. I started to understand. I just thought now was a good time to share this story. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that what you see with your own eyes isn’t happening.”

We read with horror about the events of Nazi Germany, and we’d like to think if we had been there, we would have done something to resist the evil. But how many of us would have resisted the pressure from an authority figure just in a middle school classroom? Sadly, as that brilliant teacher pointed out, not many. And if we couldn’t stand up to a middle school teacher, how can we expect to have the boldness to resist an authority figure who can fire us, fine us, or arrest us?

How do we prepare to be the kind of people who can be counted on to speak up when something is happening that isn’t right? Although the Lord can give and has given timid people sudden boldness when a situation called for it, I’ve found that far more often than not, we start small. This year I have signed up to be a poll watcher on election day, to help make sure every vote is legitimate. (And, of course, I will vote, too!)

CUE THE MAMABEARS!

It’s true that baby steps can appear to have no effect on the bigger picture, but we should resist the temptation to sit on the sidelines. One baby step could inspire others to take action.

Some friends recently attended a local school board meeting to speak up about certain corruption being tolerated in the schools that they believed was harmful to the children. Although the board members appeared to turn a deaf ear to their concerns, a conversation my friends had with two mothers after the meeting resulted in both mothers’ deciding to run for positions on the school board themselves. Their one action that night started a wave of awareness and action from godly parents that I believe is going to change our community.

What are some other “baby steps” we can take? Let me know in the comments.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You warned us that the world would be against us. You prayed that we would be one with You and the Father. We know the enemy seeks to divide us and destroy us. Give us the courage to stand up for one another and for what we know to be true. Help us to be Your witnesses and never to let anyone rob us of our faith. May we be like the disciples who declared in the face of opposition, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Grow us into disciples willing to lay down our lives for one another and for You, in Your name. Amen.