I listened to a friend rally against an injustice. My mind flashed back five, ten, and twenty plus years. It was as if I was hearing an echo of myself! While the cause was different, the passion, intensity, and surety of conviction seemed eerily the same. He quoted specific details, actions, and outcomes. His analysis of the situation and the problems it represented were detailed, concise, and logical. Anyone near him could feel the frustration that was coming out in his voice, movements, and presence. This man believed with every fiber of his being that what he could see was wrong and needed to be called out. At the end of an extended update that bordered on being a rant, his question caught me off guard.
“Am I right to call this out?”
I did not sense he was asking the question rhetorically. He sincerely wanted my reaction and thoughts on the matter. I wish I had asked this question.
Life reminded me of past lessons I often forget.
Yes, one should always take a call out evil, injustice, and wrong. The complaints of inaction have carried across the ages. From the psalmist, “Enough! You’ve corrupted justice long enough, you’ve let the wicked get away with murder,” (Psalm 82.2) through the protests, op-ed pieces, and statements of today, awareness is still an issue.
My advice includes a caveat that is often heard as a “but” or “however”. One should be careful to articulate the callout in a way that others can hear. If the audience cannot hear the details, it may not be wise to provide them anyway. If the listeners are convicted of their beliefs, registering that you have a different view may be the best that one can do.
As I remembered the past, I found myself seeing the heart of the problem differently. The heart of yesterday looks like a symptom today. It is time to take a stand. It is also time to life others toward something better. With the intent to do both concurrently, one often finds others joining to help.
