Standing Firm

Standing Firm

Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

My daughter marched through our front door with a particular fierceness. Cassie, a friend and classmate, had spilled tears when one of the popular boys smacked into her and then apologized insincerely. As other kids began rallying around him, Cassie began to face ridicule instead of compassion, and what should have been a minor interaction began to spiral into something bigger.

Cue my daughter and her unwillingness to let injustice slide. She verbally jumped into the fray and got shoved, and the boy doing the shoving ended up in the office. My daughter’s indignant stride as she walked into the house had me suddenly navigating the line between wanting my daughter to be safe while also recognizing the fire God has placed in her heart against injustice.

While a part of me longs for my daughter to always play it safe, the Jesus follower in me wants my daughter to be a woman who stands firmly alongside those who cannot defend themselves, whether it is a friend or a stranger. We are the hands and feet of Christ, and sometimes that requires us to speak up or act on behalf of someone else—even when it puts our own best interests at risk. In this case, it was getting shoved, but what happens when we are asked to speak up on behalf of a friend or coworker being treated unjustly by our employer or to take the side of someone being marginalized unfairly by those wielding influence or power? Standing against injustice comes with potential risk—physical, emotional, and financial—and there may be a price to pay for our stance.

How do we know when we are being asked to take a stand versus when we are running ahead of God and taking matters into our own hands? It requires discernment and prayer, having read what Scripture shows us about how Christ commands us to live. It requires us to be in an intimate relationship with our Father, so that instead of allowing fear or anger to color our response, we listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.

— Julie

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Consider how God is asking you to respond to unjust situations your friends and others around you are facing, and take a stand if necessary.