Do we approve?

In the book of Acts, we’re introduced to a guy named Stephen who ends up being the first person to die for the sake of the Gospel. He enters the scene in Acts 6 after he is chosen as one of the leaders of the early church. He was full of the Holy Spirit and found to be a man of integrity and wisdom. Soon after, he is arrested on false charges and stands trial before the high priest in Jerusalem (Acts 7). They don’t like his answers, the people are furious, and Stephen is stoned to death. Acts 8:1 starts with this sentence: “And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.”

For those not as familiar with the Bible, Saul will later have a “come to Jesus” experience and God will change his name to Paul. Yeah, the same Paul who will go on to write many books of the Bible. But here he is. Giving approval to the death of a good man who loved Jesus and couldn’t help but speak the truth. We don’t know if Saul threw a stone, but we do know he stood by, giving approval.

We are not unfamiliar with national tragedies in the year 2022. As someone who works in digital media, I see this on a day to day basis, and it’s overwhelming with how broken and hurting our world is. But here’s the challenge for me… I can’t speak out about all the injustices. As much as I want to, I can’t. There are far too many.

But what I can do? I can make sure I’m not standing by giving approval to injustices. If I see it in front of me, I will speak out. I will make the assist. I will do my best to prevent or help once it’s happened. Scripture says false witnesses were coached and brought before the court to speak out against Stephen. That ain’t right. We can agree, yes? Since before then, after then, and probably til the end of time, humans have continued and will continue to lie and create false narratives.

Whatever you do or however you help, let’s for sure make certain we are not standing giving approval.