Speaking Truth to Power

Daily Reading: 2 Kings 1

But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ (2 Kings 1.3)

Devotional Thought: 1 Kings closes with a statement about Ahaziah, King of Israel: “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord... He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.”  2 Kings opens with Ahaziah sending messengers to Baal-zebub, a false god, to see if he would recover.  Elijah intersected them with a message: You are going to die.  A pretty gutsy thing to say to the king!  But Elijah could be gutsy. When he knew God was in it, he was not shy about speaking truth to power.

How many of us are willing to speak the truth?  Especially to power?

What are the “powers” to which we must speak the truth?  The government may need a little truth spoken to power.  How about the entertainment industry?  Do we need to speak the truth in the face of the vile and immoral fodder put out in movie and music?  Financial institutions?  When the game is rigged against the “little guy” do we not have a moral obligation to speak the truth?  Social Media giants?  When they pick and choose winners according to their self-centered and self-righteous principles, do we not need to say, "This isn't right!"?

How do we speak the truth to power?  That’s a little tougher.  I would say that each of us must begin right where we live.  When these topics come up in conversation, do not bite your tongue, but rather “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4.15).  Silence is not golden in those situations.  Another thing we can do is to refuse to participate in these activities.  Don’t listen to music or watch videos that are immoral, violent, or ungodly.  Let your voice be heard on social media.

Prayer: Lord, grant that I would have the eyes to see the abuse of power around me, and help me to be courageous and speak truth to power that oppresses the weak and glamorizes the sinful.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 10.1-11

1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.

4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."

5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

6 He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity."

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."