But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. // Jeremiah 20:11
Great-Grandma Ann used to say that there were three topics that made for impolite conversation: child-rearing, religion, and politics.
I chuckle to myself when I think of her stating this since I write on religion and childrearing both. In the quiet, I read the works of scholars and academicians, formulate my thoughts, and draw my conclusions. As a writer, I share my ideas and my heart. They are a transparent gift offered to anyone willing to exchange their time for my thoughts.
Yet I admit that I do not possess a quickness of wit beneficial in discussion. I am not talented in rhetoric or debate. I draw back from arguments and contentious conversations, even those about faith. In dialogue, thoughts have to be defended to those who seek to convince and correct. On the rare occasion when I have been lured into debate, I have left shaken and disappointed because instead of being accepted I had to defend my ideas to someone else.
The Gospel readings (John 10:31-42) today unsettle my heart as I place myself in the audience, watching as not only His ideas, but Jesus’ very life is challenged. The prophet Jeremiah likewise writes of the threat he was under because of the truth he declared. Jesus and Jeremiah rose to the challenge with courage of heart, knowing that they were on the side of righteousness.
Perhaps like me, you shy away from discussion of faith or the Church. Are you comfortable declaring what you know is true with a convicted heart? If we know in our hearts that we are on the side of righteousness, why should we shrink away from sharing with others? Lord, grant that we may all have the strength and courage to speak in truth.
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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