We
need stories about integrity, and courage, and perseverance, and about doing
the right thing.
We
need upright people who will speak truth to power, who will be a voice for
those who have no voice, an advocate for the abused, neglected, and the
downtrodden.
We
need people who take seriously what we call the Golden Rule: Jesus’ words about
doing unto others as we would have them do unto us—or as it says in the Living
Bible: “Treat others as we would want them to treat us” (Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12).
In other words, “Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the
same for them” (The Voice).
Imagine
what it would be like for you
to
be mistreated by those in power,
or
for your voice to be silenced or ignored,
imagine
what it’s like to be abused, overlooked,
disregarded,
oppressed, and beaten down—
wouldn’t
you want people to speak up?
We
need stories written by people who are thinkers and questioners,
by
people willing to look at issues from various angles,
people
willing to step forward and take a stand,
willing
to expose evil and injustice,
willing
to be leaders and role models for so many of us
who
are cowards—or at least foot-draggers.
Recently
I read Jewish Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night.
You’ve
no doubt heard about—and perhaps read—some of his books, but he says in the
preface that “ . . . all my writings after Night . . . profoundly bear its
stamp, and cannot be understood if one has not read this very first of my
works.” If you haven’t read his memoir, I encourage you to do so.
Elie
Wiesel shows us what it looks like to put into practice this quote from his Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1986, below:
Maybe
God is calling you to follow Elie Wiesel’s lead by writing your memoir.
Perhaps
you can recognize yourself in what Wiesel wrote in his preface, “Convinced that
this period in history would be judged one day, I knew that I must bear witness.”
Yet
he also knew his “testimony would not be received. After all, it deals with an
event that sprang from the darkest zone of man. . . .
“But
would they at least understand?
“Could
men and women who consider it normal to assist the weak,
heal
the sick, to protect small children,
and
to respect the wisdom of their elders
understand
what happened there?
“Would
they be able to comprehend how . . .
the
masters tortured the weak
and
massacred the children, the sick, the old?”
“And
yet, having lived through this experience, one could not keep silent no matter
how difficult, if not impossible, it was to speak.
“And
so I persevered. . . .” (from the Preface to the New Translation [of Night])
Persevering
is hard work. It can be discouraging work. Sometimes dangerous work. Often emotionally
exhausting work.
Pastor Brian, my son-in-law, recently said, “Choosing to live and act with faith is
hard. Will we trust God?”
That’s
the hard part:
Will
you trust God to help you
say
what others need to hear?
Ask
Him to help you speak not judgmentally,
but
with grace and mercy.
Ask
Him to help you speak with wisdom instead of foolishness,
with
love instead of hate,
with
truth instead of distortions,
with
a cool head instead of a hot head,
with
winsome words instead of fiery words—
words
that build up instead of tear down,
that
heal instead of injure.
Words
that shine light in the darkness.
In
what specific ways will you trust God
to
help you write what others need to read?
