Stand Up and Be Counted

Is it just me or is public debate (fuelled as it is these days by the unbridled freedom of expression that many enjoy on social media) indeed becoming ever more partisan, more vitriolic, more divisive? What do you think?

The left lines up against the right, the right against the left. The environmentalists against the industrialists; the industrialists against the environmentalists; the global technology companies against government regulators, the … well, I’m sure you can list many others.

But as these titans, these well-funded interests clash horns in the public arena, it seems to me that the little people, the people without the money, the people without a voice, are being crushed in the process.

And can I tell you the thing that really breaks my heart? It’s the Christians who, amidst it all, pound their chests asserting their rights while remaining silent about the injustices being done to the little people.

Elon Musk, to be sure, is a polarising public figure. But something he said recently caught my eye: “Unless there’s more bravery to stand up for what’s fair and right, Christianity will perish.”

That’s a bit of an overstatement, that last bit. But you get his point. Where are the Christians in all of this? Where’s their clarion voice that cuts cleanly through the self-interested, self-aggrandising clashes of the titans, hmm?

As 18^th century Irish statesman Edmund Burke observed, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing.

Proverbs 31:8-9 Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Help people who are in trouble. Stand up for what you know is right, and judge all people fairly. Protect the rights of the poor and those who need help.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.