Date: 2/24/2009
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: You gonna speak up?
<br><br>I think silence is one of the greatest tools Satan has in his arsenal.  A Holocaust survivor once stated that the worst part of their experience was not so much what was done to them by Hitler and his Nazi henchmen, as much as the fact that there were many good people on the outside who could have helped save some of those 6 million European Jews, but they chose rather to stand by and do nothing.....they remained silent when their words or deeds might have saved hundreds or thousands of lives.  No doubt, that same type of silence was practiced by many before, and it certainly is still being put to good use today.  The foundation for the silence that many people exemplify  is simple.....they do not want to get involved with anyone or anything.  You see, that way no risks will have to be taken or any chances invoked.  It's far easier to just stay in our own little world surrounded by our own comfort zone than it is get out there on the proverbial limb.<br><br>I'm not exactly sure why, but the article on the front page of the Tennessean this morning struck a nerve with me.  The article was titled, “High court may consider team prayers.....Case could bar coaches from praying with players”.  The jest of the article is this.....there is a case making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court that could prevent coaches of public schools from praying with their teams, even if the players initiate the prayer on their own.  This stems from a case that banned an East Brunswick, N.J., high school football coach from kneeling or bowing his head while his team prayed.  “There's a pretty bright line here – school officials may not pray with students during their contract day,” said Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center.  “I don't think the coach has to leave the room.  He can just stand silently and watch.  But he can't participate”. (Tennessean, Feb. 24) <br><br>“He can't participate”?!  Are you kidding me? Something about this story, and those like it, just don't sit well with me....and I bet I'm not the only one who feels this way.  But herein lies the problem.....granted, these things don't “sit well” with me, but what do I do about 'em?  It has been my personal history, to my shame, that I do absolutely nothing about them.  My spine all of a sudden shrivels like a raisin and I just go on about my business.  Certainly, the above story in the Tennessean is just one of a blue-million just like it.  Whether its an issue of public prayer or some other subject with a spiritual tone, if we are paying attention, there are those out there who oppose our beliefs and stance on those things of Biblical relevance.  But you know what makes many of us different from them?   They oppose Biblical standards openly and vocally.  What do we do?  Nothing.....which leads to the deafening silence that encompasses so many of our passive lives.<br><br>What can I do about helping that coach in New Jersey be able to pray with his team?  I don't exactly know.  But I do know this much....me biting my tongue and duct-taping my mouth ain't gonna get it done.<br>There is a guy in California who has complained to his local school board that his daughter is....now read this real slowly....his daughter is injured when forced to listen to public school teachers lead students daily in a pledge that includes the assertion that there is a God.  If you are a believer in God Almighty and things of this nature do not make you squirm at least a little, then maybe you need to check yourself for a pulse.<br><br>At the very least, I guess all of my rambling comes down to this....I still believe we can make a difference for good in this world in so many situations....but, we have to get involved, take risks, and stand up for all things righteous.  (Matthew 5:13-16)  Just how much would one of those 6 million Jews above have given for someone like that in their lives?  I guess we will never know.....dead men don't speak.<br><br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin    <br><br>