Hearing What to Say

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

HEARING WHAT TO SAY

Luke 12:11-12

11 "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." 

NIV

It is doubtful that we would ever be brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, however, in the wake of how our world is turning more and more toward evil as the norm, it may come to a time when Christians are subject to being questioned why we are so none tolerate of those who love the darkness because it permits their evil lifestyles. Now this does depend on whether we are out in the world proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God, as the disciples were doing, which is speaking out against the evil of the world, then maybe we might encounter real resistance to our words, and may have to defend ourselves. The reason may well be because we are accused of hate speech against those who live all those alternative lifestyles. However, if we are content to remain silent and simply do our own thing within the confines of our church then we may never need to defend ourselves before the authorities. Although we have heard over the years that some pastors who have been very vocal against the sin in this world have been persecuted by the government for hate speech. But, what about us? What are we doing about being vocal, speaking up against certain evils in our world, our culture, or the places we inhabit daily. Some may know that we are Christians, but that does not matter to them, for we are silent Christians, who even act as though we are not offended by their evil talk and ways. However, if we are vocal, not in a condemning way, but simply vocal about the word of God, speaking about Jesus and how we want to live in a manner that pleases God, and talking about Jesus in our normal conversations that may be work-related or simply in the break or lunch rooms where causal talk is the norm, unless they are complaining about they work, the boss, or some decision corporate made, then we can offer what a godly response to that would be, or our take on the situation based on our faith. Their evil or vial speech might be altered, at least in our presence, which would mean we are affecting their lives. Still, we should be careful not to engage in hate speech but simply speak about the truth of God. If that offends them, and if it offends them enough, we might be called in before the authorities to defend ourselves and if that happens the Spirit will give us the exact words we need. In fact, if we depend on the Spirit within us at all times, we will always have the right words in every situation we encounter. If we are living and walking in the Spirit, we are no longer in control of our life situations, He is, in fact, Jesus said that he is the light onto our feet and we need only walk the path laid out for us. Then we will always be in the right place at the right time with the right words, which means silence is not the answer,  but hearing what to say is.