“If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.” Est 4:14

Silence may be passive, but that does not mean it is neutral or impotent. Christianity as it has evolved in the West (and then exported around the world) reasons that it is safer and less contentious not to talk about controversial topics, to be “sensitive”, “tolerant”, and careful not to offend. We point to Jesus who did not respond when Pilate questioned him, making it a virtue to be like the Lamb who maintained His silence when being led to the slaughter. Funny how we conveniently forget that He also offended people everywhere He went.

While there are certainly times when it is virtuous and proper to remain quiet (Ecc 3:7), it is often just a cop out, a way to justify inaction, a ruse. Many equate meekness with weakness, or spiritualize their timidity by claiming what we are really interested in is souls. The truth is, we just need to grow a spine! 

Esther faced a choice. She was queen. She considered herself secure dressed in her royal regalia behind the mighty palace walls. The king had chosen her over all the gorgeous maidens in the whole kingdom. When the decree was issued and sent by couriers throughout the land “to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day” (Est 4:13, sounds eerily prescient, doesn’t it?!), she thought she and her family would be immune. She was wrong—nearly dead wrong. Sometimes inaction invites aggression; and silence leads to violence. 

Jeremiah had a choice too. While other “prophets” glossed over impending doom and painted a rosy picture “for encouragement”, Jeremiah was compelled to prophesy inconvenient truths for which he was beaten, placed in stocks, sent to prison, and lowered into a cesspool. The Word of the Lord “burned like a fire shut up in [his] bones” (Jer 20:9), so despite paying a dear price, Jeremiah shed the lamb cloak and roared like a lion. 

Bonhoeffer made his choice. In an age when pulpits all over Germany became the soapboxes of the Nazis, as the poison of hatred, bigotry, and deception spread like ivy into streets, homes, and hearts of the nation, he was a voice crying in a wilderness of eerie compliance and compromise. At a time when oblivious choir anthems drowned out the clickety-clack of Auschwitz-bound boxcars outside the gates of her sanctuaries, Bonhoeffer bellowed with unfettered conviction: “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.” 

Mordecai’s message to Esther then is God’s message to us today, beloved. These too are foreboding times. We close our ears to the jackboots marching through our streets and schools and institutions of power to our peril. I want to be more than just inspired by the Bonhoeffer’s of history. I want the same fire to burn in my bones that burned in Jeremiah’s. And I want to speak up like Esther who could not be silent understanding she had “come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Est 4:14). 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Mat 5:4

Honor is the way of the Kingdom. God Himself dwells in an atmosphere of “honor and glory” (eg, 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Pet 1:17; Rev 5:13). Another way of expressing this is to say God is drawn to, attracted by, and manifests Himself in the place where honor is practiced. Whenever the Kingdom of God is present, a culture of honor and respect is reflected in relationships and institutions. 

This by itself should stir us to intentionally promote honor in all our interactions; for when we do, we are inviting the power and influence of Heaven to invade our broken and fallen world. Of course the opposite is also true. The enemy’s kingdom is irreverent, unscrupulous, contemptible. Harboring these attitudes is tantamount to opening the door for dark forces to have dominion and create a fully “crooked and perverted” culture (Phil 2:15 CSB). That is such an accurate description of what we are watching unfold around us!

In the Christian worldview, the standard of honor is hoisted over every manner of relationship. Husbands and wives honor each other. Children honor their parents. We show honor to the elderly, and towards leadership whether in the church, in the work place, or towards civil authorities. We honor acts of heroism and sacrifice, we dignify the rights of the unborn, and we honor those who have passed on before us (Eph 5:21,33; 6:1-3; Lev 19:32; 1 Tim 5:17; Eph 6:5-9; Rom 13:1-7; Act 8:2; Ps 139:13-16; Deu 34:8).

Jesus spoke of a day when people’s hearts would grow cold and unresponsive to lamenting and mourning their dead (Mat 11:17). He likely saw a generation arising that would tear down the statues of its heroes and fathers. Whether due to being completely self-absorbed, emotionally paralyzed, or ideologically distracted, Jesus does not specify the reason for this perplexing shift. But two things are clear: this is a dangerous place to be in, and we are now living through such a time. 

Joseph stands out as a man who well understood the principle of honor. Though Prime Minister of Egypt, when he heard his father Jacob was dying, he took time off from his heavy responsibilities and brought his two sons to their frail grandpa’s bedside. He immediately perked up! This literally resulted in what I call a 3D blessing: Direct, Double, and Distinct. The boys received a direct blessing of the laying on of hands from Jacob, Joseph’s portion in the land was two tribes and not one, and the prophecy of Joseph’s legacy released by Jacob was the longest and by far the most positive among all his brothers. As he alone was moved to honor his father in this way, although Jacob released words over all of his sons, only Joseph’s prophesy contained the word “bless”— repeated six times! 

This is a tangible testimony of the truth of Jesus’ injunction. Mourning as the penultimate act of showing honor unlocks blessings. But Jesus does not stop there. He goes on to say it also is brings comfort to those who are moved to mourn. People who do not take the time to reflect upon the example or consider the sacrifices and contributions of those who have passed on before them are forfeiting a deep-seated cry in the heart of us all: the need to have our tears wiped away, and have assuaging words that implant abiding peace spoken over us in times of loss, grief, and affliction. 

While being “blessed” is a sustained state of contentment, the addition of comfort points to healing as well. In fact, our English translation here is weak, for the Greek word parakaleo is one of the names of the Holy Spirit, also called the “Comforter”, meaning an advocate, companion, guide, and personal instructor—literally meaning one called alongside.  

God wants His precious sons and daughters to be positioned squarely beneath the spout that pours forth blessing and comfort from the base of His throne. One sure way to open Heaven’s spigot is to do as Romans 12:10 commands us: “outdo one another in showing honor” (ESV).