Speak Up For Those Who Can't...

We've reached the end of the Proverbs. As much as I like them and enjoy studying them, I wonder if we bit off more than we could chew by doing them in a week. Like the Psalms, they probably work better split apart, but that's just me. My verse for today is Proverbs 31:8:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
   for the rights of all who are destitute. 

There isn't much more we can to do demonstrate our commitment to Christ than to follow this statement. We all understand it implicitly, but what should it really mean to us if we lived it? This clip from the 1940 movie "The Grapes of Wrath," based on John Steinbeck's outstanding novel of Depression-era Oklahomans striving for a better life, is one way we can envision it:

As Christians, we're to be there when injustice occurs, when victims need help, when the forgotten in society need to be remembered, when the least defenseless are murdered at a rate of 1 million a year in the U.S. alone. In fact, I'll go one step further and state that we can't just speak up for those who need help, but we need to act as well. Brave words on a Sunday have to translate into brave actions throughout the rest of the week. As usual, we know this, but it's how we live it that will form the basis of how we're judged. 

At the end of history, Jesus will say to EVERY PERSON WHO EVER LIVED "Whatever you -------- do for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you ------ for me." The ---- represents the two answers he's going to give:

1. For those who will be saved, "did" (Matthew 25:40)

2. For those who will not be saved, "did not" (Matthew 25:45)

With the Holy Spirit's help and our willingness to answer quickly when he calls us, we'll never be short of opportunities to speak for those who can't speak for themselves. I guess what I'm suggesting is to become active seekers of these opportunities.

Scott