Do Not Be Silenced
Some of you are aware of the drag queen story hour that was planned for the Wadsworth area a week or so ago. I posted about it, and despite the fact that I simply screen shotted the material rather than a direct share, some who were in favor of this event found my post and felt the need to comment on it. I hid and blocked the coarse and obnoxious comments, which was most of them, but I wanted to address how these people seek to silence us, and more importantly, why they seek to silence us so forcefully.
In the responses I received there were three things they did which can intimidate people into silence. First, I was accused of having a secret attraction toward this type of thing so that is why I am afraid of it. The goal in this is to put me on the defensive rather than speaking the truth. Second, I was told I am wrong for judging other people, which always makes me laugh because, apparently, the only time it is okay to judge others is when you are judging them for judging others. The goal here is to flip the script on evil and good, and to get me to defend that what I am doing is not evil rather than to proclaim that what they are doing is evil. Third, I was told that the true victim was the business because they were getting death threats. The goal is to play the victim and gain sympathy and distract away from the fact that they were attempting to victimize children at this event.
The Ultimate Reason They Are Angry
You will notice that the three tactics I shared are all meant to distract us from the topic at hand. There is a reason they do not wish to address the actual activity but rather they wish to take the conversation in a very different direction. The reason is found in Scripture where it says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18, Legacy Standard Bible). We need to understand what God says about what is going on here, and then we can understand why they react the way that they do.
The people who practice and defend such things are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. In other words, they know full well what they are practicing is unrighteous, but they have done their level headed best to suppress that truth. The idea is to push that truth down into a place where they no longer hear it, see it, or recognize it. Without suppressing that truth, they would have a much more difficult time practicing what they do.
Every time, though, that anyone speaks out the truth, it goes against all the work they have done to suppress that truth. We need to understand that this is the reason they get so angry and do not wish to discuss the issue, because in their heart of hearts they know what they are doing is evil. They have in their minds successfully suppressed that truth, and now we come along and bring that truth into the open and it ruins the work they have done. If they do not silence us, then they cannot be in peace in their unrighteousness. You see, they have suppressed the truth in themselves, and now they need to suppress the truth in others too.
Every time, though, that anyone speaks out the truth, it goes against all the work they have done to suppress that truth.
This is easy to prove, after all, these people claim we are some of the worst people on earth for opposing their wickedness, and yet they care so much about what we say that they must find ways to silence us. Let me tell you, when someone I do not know, who has very different values than I do, and who does not love the Word of God expresses their opinions of me or my behavior, I honestly do not care. I do not say that to be insensitive, it is just that they do not value what I do, God and His Word, so I am not surprised or concerned if they do not approve of me. Yet, we do not value what they value, and they are so concerned about what we say or think? The only logical explanation is that they know there is substance to what we are saying.
This is very good news for us and should embolden us, because we can know that God is working through our proclamation of His truth. Rather than having their reactions silence us, they should cause us to want to speak more clearly, loudly, and boldly, because the truth and God are on our side. Perhaps in our speaking there may arise an opportunity to speak more clearly the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and God may use it all to bring them to repentance. In the meantime, however, I will not be silenced. I will speak out the truth, with love and grace, certainly, but without any compromise on the truth. I encourage all believers to do the same.
