Our Two Cents’ Worth

Our Two Cents’ Worth

Huldah

Read: 2 Chronicles 34:23-28

As Tamara picked up the phone, she reminded herself that she needed this job, even though she hated some things about it. Right now, for example, she had the unpleasant duty of calling a nice man and informing him that his request for a small-business loan had been refused. She felt sure that he would lose his diner as a result. Knowing that the decision had come from the board and that the man’s problems stemmed from his own unwise business decisions didn’t make it any easier to deliver the message.

Huldah also had a hard message to deliver, but she didn’t hold back. First, she confirmed that the newly discovered scroll was indeed the lost Book of the Law. Then Huldah told the king’s messengers that God planned to judge Israel for their idol worship and send the people into exile. Predicting her nation’s downfall couldn’t have been easy, but Huldah made it clear that she wasn’t giving her own intellectual opinion. Four times she repeated, “This is what the Lord says,” or a similar phrase. Huldah knew that speaking God’s truth gave her words credibility regardless of her listeners’ response.

It’s only natural for us to dread being asked our personal opinions about controversial issues such as homosexuality, abortion, or gay marriage. Since our culture values tolerance more than truth, we risk being labeled as unloving, intolerant, or narrow-minded if we express biblical views. But what’s important is God’s opinion, not ours. He created the world and everything in it, and he is the ultimate authority whether people recognize it or not. Following him often requires us to take a stand that’s unpopular with the rest of the world. If we know God’s Word well, we can deal with a difficult issue by honestly saying, “This is what the LORD says. . . .”

The word of the Lord stands forever.

1 Peter 1:25 (NIV)