It has been said, “All that is required for evil to triumph is for good people to be silent.”  That has been said in various forms and by various people throughout the history of America and before.  The Bible speaks of the requirement and expectation of good, righteous, godly, and God-fearing people to be vocal when they see danger and call evil what it is – evil.  Failure to do that seldom, if ever, results in a positive outcome. 

Sometimes, silence makes one complicit and enables the agenda that is detrimental to go forward.  Sometimes, silence is to give license to sin by failing to contrast that action and activity to the precepts of God’s Word and all reasonable moral codes among people. 

I believe that there has been a silencing of the lambs in America and even in the Church.  I believe that there is a current move to strip many, if not most Americans, of their inalienable and constitutional right of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion.  If those seeking that usurpation of the Bible and the Constitution are successful America will find itself on the trash heap of society and history.  We will discover that we can never again hope to have a free and legitimate election.  We will watch our republic move from Free Constitutionalism into Oligarchic Tyranny with extreme Authoritarian rule imposed. 

Edmund Burke is credited with the statement about evil triumphing when the good remain silent and inactive.  I found this quote from Burke: “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”  That is a powerful assertion.  Unfortunately, it appears to be a condition existing in a large swath of American society in 2021. 

I have read some of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s works detailing his ministry and struggles and found some powerful warnings.  He said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.”  I have translated that too many endeavors in life such as voting and declared that “Not to vote is to vote.”

The Bible is not silent on the requirement to sound the alarm when we see evil and danger.  God told the prophet Ezekiel (Chapter 3) that his commission and assignment were to sound the alarm.  He was warned that if he failed to warn the wicked of wickedness and the righteous the dangers of wickedness their blood would be on his hands. 

We live in a society and even a significant portion of the Christian community where the philosophy is that ‘minding one’s own business’ is the best policy.  Many believe they are being righteous by not becoming involved in the dirty business of politics.  Too many have embraced the idea of leaving politics to the politicians.  I have had more than one preacher tell me that God instructed separation between church and state.  I believe they are misguided and are misinterpreting whatever scripture they are using as a basis for their conviction.

I had a person tell me, “Well, I have never killed anyone, stolen, or cheated on my wife, and I go to church, so I’m okay.” One even said, “I’m as good as the next fellow and my philosophy is live and let live.”  They were living largely unaffected by the damage and dangers in our world caused by the departure from God and the political impositions being imposed. That it was not touching them personally allowed them to clear their consciences and sit in silence as the world crumbled.

The Bible speaks of sins of commission and omission.  If we remain silent and inactive, when we know that God’s precepts are being violated, lives are being destroyed, and freedoms are being infringed upon, we are, at worst, committing a sin of omission.  Our silence makes us complicit and offers up the naïve on the altar of convenience.  The Scripture tells us that if we know to do good and do not do it, that is SIN!

There are things, other than politics, that demand our becoming involved and breaking our silence and departing from the philosophy of live and let live.  When domestic abuse that is visible and a life is in danger, do you say, “It’s none of my business?”  I have had situations where I tried to help in a domestic dispute and had both parties turned on me.  However, when there is physical abuse and a life is threatened, the minimum would be to speak out and notify the authorities.  Silence, in my view, is being complicit with the abuser and allowing him or her to continue their abusiveness.

What if you saw a toddler in the yard, next door, and on the ground near the child was a hypodermic needle that had been used the night before by someone doing drugs.  What if the child headed for the needle and you are near enough to intervene, do you?  At the least, you should pick up the needle and dispose of it.  I would also speak to the parents hoping to save that child’s life and maybe theirs.

Let me offer something relevant in today’s climate.  I believe that Christians and those who value moral rightness should not be silent regarding the slaughter of unborn babies in the womb.  I had a person say, “Well, I’m not doing it.  That is between them and their god.”  I know of women who were planning to abort their babies, and someone spoke up and brought them the truth of God’s word and some scientific facts regarding that infant in the womb.  Those women opted to give birth rather than abort because someone refused to be silent.

If we would cease being silent and comfortable with allowing what happens, happen so long as it does not touch us personally, we could see some changes in our world for good.  The politicians will do whatever they can to satisfy those who are the most vocal or provide the greatest monetary benefit or afford them access to power.  Most do not feel threatened by the Christian community because we have been disjointed and some have supported unbiblical politics. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said some things that resonate with me.  You may or may not agree with the cause for which he was fighting, but take his quote and apply it to your life and life in general.  He said, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”  I have heard all my life, “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”  In that vein, Dr. King said, “If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”  He said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  He said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” 

I believe that it is mandatory that all who believe the Bible, love Freedom, and want to preserve our Republic must move out of our cocoons and cease being the proverbial Ostrich with our heads buried in the sand.  We are in the mess we are in because we sat silent while God was banished from the public square.  We sat in silence when the slaughter of unborn babies became the norm.  We sat in silence when conscience was informed by the government it must take a back seat to political correctness. 

America is in a bad state, not simply because bad politicians enacted bad legislation.  We are not in our current condition simply because those seeking to fundamentally transform our nation coopted education and the media.  We are not in this state because of politics alone, but because Good People remained silent and like Nero, fiddled while Rome Burned! 

Let me leave you with a passage from Proverbs 31:8-9, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”  It has been said that silence is the difference between sight and insight and between fear and faith.  Let me place myself on the chopping block and remind everyone of the words of Jesus in Revelation 2:14 – “You’re a nice church – you feed the homeless and reach out to those in need – but I have a few things against you because you have there, those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality” 

America can no longer cling to the hope of restoration and recovery if her lambs continue to be silent!  If you know something is wrong, do not remain silent.  You do not have to be antagonistic, but you must not be silent.  When you know the policies of a candidate or a party or detrimental and dangerous, you must not be passive and apathetic.  Stand for Faith, Family, and Freedom!  America is worth fighting for!

God bless you and God bless America!