Speak Up

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. Proverbs 31:8–9 (NLT)

Is there anything complicated in understanding the meaning of these verses? I favor the NLT “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,” but another good translation (CEB) gives us, “Speak out on behalf of the voiceless.” But speaking out or speaking up is not enough. It goes on to say, “ensure justice for those being crushed.” Verse 9 adds, “see that they get justice.”

Loopholes?

Our text is attributed to King Lemuel, or, more precisely, his mother. A typical human trait is to look for loopholes in the instructions or commands we have received from God. Often, our nature seeks to escape from responsibility. For instance, look at Cain after he killed Abel. His reply after God inquired after Abel was: “Am I, my brother’s keeper?”

Even Jesus encountered this kind of resistance to his teaching. Luke 11:25 tells us: One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 10:25 (NLT).

Whether the lawyer was sincere or wanted to trap Jesus, we do not know. Jesus, of course, directed the man’s attention to the Scriptures. The essence was this: love God with everything you’ve got, and also love your neighbor. Jesus said, “Do this and you will live!”

This legal expert, by now, was feeling the tension. There was nothing complicated or difficult to understand about the Scripture but working it out in real life presents problems. Like the legal expert, we may be interested in eternal life, but at times we find that Jesus will put us on the spot, and that makes us uncomfortable. Seeing anyone that we encounter as a neighbor means that we have responsibility.

Royal Responsibility

Is this just another loophole that can be used to avoid getting involved? For Christ’s followers, it is because they do not understand who they are or represent. We may not be kings and queens. Nevertheless, Royal blood flows in us. Peter tells us: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

Queen Elizabeth, who recently passed away, stated that she recognized her responsibility to her country at a very young age. “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service,” Elizabeth said just a few years before she would take the throne, in a statement that would ring true throughout her life. Not everyone accepts their responsibility with such grace and diligence.

Even if the words of advice to King Lemuel were intended for a king, they also apply to us. We are heirs of the father and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are part of the royal line and ambassadors for Christ. We have been called to represent God in this world. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17–19 (NIV)

The Valley of Decision

If we want to find an exemption to being obedient to God’s call to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, we will not find it by claiming that we have not been given that responsibility. We are sons and daughters of the King. Put another way, like Queen Elizabeth, we must recognize that our lives are not our own to live as we please, but we have a mandate to live our lives in the service of others.

Jesus told us that when it was time to speak up, we would be given the words to speak. Why is now the time that we must speak up? Why is the time now, and why is it so urgent? The prophet Joel put it this way: Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive. Joel 3:14 (NLT)

Heart and Mouth

A challenge that confronts us is that the people we need to speak up for are not always likable. We have to fight the inclination to think that people are getting what they deserve. To speak up for justice is a noble concept, but the reality can get messy. If we can get real for a moment, sin stinks, both morally and physically.

We must get our hearts in line with God’s heart before we open our mouths to demand or proclaim justice. Can we see people the way Jesus sees them? We read in the Gospels that as Jesus saw a crowd of people, “he was moved with compassion.” He was moved with compassion even though they were corrupt, often from the inside out.

For me, the answer to what motivates us must be Jesus. If we try and make people our motivation for speaking up for justice, we will eventually find ourselves disappointed with a strong dose of disillusionment. We must go back to what Jesus said: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

Speak Up

It is only when we see Jesus in other people that we can maintain the right heart and attitude. No matter who we defend, rescue, feed, or minister to, we must believe that we are serving our Master, the king.

We have compassion and love for others because Jesus first had compassion and love for us. Our passion for him fuels our motivation to speak up. Without him, we can do nothing. We have a message of hope and salvation that the world needs to hear, but for them to listen to us and hear the message of salvation, they need to know how much we care. We have a royal responsibility to speak up on behalf of our King Jesus.

 

Steve Ekeroth

 

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: