Fighting For JusticeSample

DAY 3 - STANDING IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY 

The news media today often portrays fighting for justice as an uproar or revolution of sorts, but when it comes to fighting for what's right, we see Romero follow in Jesus’ footsteps by not retaliating, even when his life is threatened. Instead, he positions himself as a shepherd, as illustrated in this clip.  I don’t know about you, but for me, I really need the Lord to help me not react on impulse when I'm feeling cornered. However, we too have the Holy Spirit which tempers us and helps us choose a peaceful route in times of adversity while still speaking the truth in love. Romero did not allow his passionate Latin roots cause him to lash out in the flesh and that’s an example to us all. 

Depending on where you are from, you may justify your reaction to a conflict by your cultural upbringing, but as Christians, we are to put on our new nature in Christ. Where we are from, how we were raised, or our natural inclination to conflict is irrelevant when you get born again and the Bible calls us to put those behaviors to death along with all of our other worldly conduct. 

You may be asking, How do we stand up then? Throughout the Bible, we see how many prophets peacefully resisted the evils of their time by speaking what the Lord shared with them. We see others pray and we see others fight back with their worship. Yes, doing the godly thing is not always popular and it may even come with persecution, but if we are called to be the light of the world while turning the other cheek, we can’t just do nothing! As the popular quote says, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” 

In some instances, those who stood up for righteous got to see their efforts shift the trajectory of their time, unfortunately, Romero was killed before he got to see the impact of his stance, but it was the words of his final message to his people that will live on forever. 

“In the name of God and this suffering population, whose cries reach to the heavens more tumultuous each day, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you, in the name of God, cease the repression,” Romero declared as a voice crying out in the wilderness of El Salvador, which cost him his life the very next day. 

Reflect: Have there been times where you reacted in anger and retaliation instead of speaking the truth in love? Or has God given you His words to share in moments of contention but you allowed fear of rejection to hold you back from speaking life? Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to help you be bold enough to share the heart of God with others while remaining unshakable.