Speaking Truth to Power

Speaking truth to power.

For you who know me you probably will hear me talk about Michael Smerconish from time to time. Smerconish, a Philadelphia lawyer is also a radio talk show host and has a Saturday morning TV program on CNN simply called Smerconish. Even though I do not always agree with his assessments on contemporary issues (I rarely agree 100% with anyone) I appreciate his thoughtfulness, balance, and calling upon a wide variety of nationally recognized scholars and authorities to input areas of his discussion. One of the phrases that regularly arises in either his commentary or discussion is, “Social Justice.”

I am not a big “Social Justice” person. I was not raised with the term even though it is quite common around Presbyterian circles. A few years back a new elder asked me what is meant by the term. I had never attempted to define it for someone, so I gave it some thought. As you may have heard me say before, I have come to understand the term as being a secular application of the Lord’s Prayer,

“…Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Different from social justice being a political term, I believe it should be a Jesus term. I believe in a precious blog I mentioned the idea of defining your world view. I believe our world view often (if not always) reveals where we place our faith…what we worship. As a Christ follower, shouldn’t the motivation we bring to our behaviors be that of bringing heaven to earth? I believe this is what Jesus taught and how Jesus lived. Personally, I have lots of room to grow.

There is another phrase that is often associated with the social justice movement: “Speaking Truth to Power.” Yes, those with and in power certainly have many blind spots. I remember a favorite line from one of my favorite Christian movies of all times, “Hook.” That may be a topic of another blog down the road. The line? “I believe in the Golden Rule. The ones with the gold make all the rules.” That attitude certainly runs the danger of being morally bankrupt. Proverbs 16:18 gives a warning to this particular blind spot.

Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

The Scriptures say a lot about power and its abuse as well as giving many examples of those who spoke truth to power. Often the individual doing the speaking was one of the prophets. Here are a few examples.

The prophet Nathan spoke to the truth to King David after his adultery with Bathsheba. He told the story of a wealthy man who stole a beloved lamb from a poor fellow. David became enraged and demanded to know who the man was. Nathan then said to David,

"You are the man!”

2 Samuel 12:7 (NRSV)

Certainly, Elijah spoke truth to power when he confronted King Ahab and then challenged the prophets of Baal in ancient Israel.

17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is it you, you troubler of Israel?" 18 He answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father's house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. 1 Kings 18:17-18 (NRSV)

The confrontation that followed is epic and can be read in 1 Kings 18.

Certainly, John the Baptist spoke truth to power as he paved the way of the Lord.

7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:7-10 (NRSV)

Certainly Jesus spoke truth to power throughout his ministry. Many of the parables he told were directed at the religious leaders of his day.

1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." 3 So he told them this parable: Luke 15:1-3 (NRSV)

The text should really say he told them these parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and then the famous lost son. All these confront the heart of the religious leadership who wanted to exclude the “undesirables” from God’s kingdom.

We could continue on and see that many people after Jesus have taken the role of speaking truth to power. The theological godfather of the Presbyterians, John Calvin, wrote his primary theological document, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, to King Francis I of France. In it he argued against the King and the Catholic Church, those with the power, because they refused to allow freedom to worship amongst the citizens. Calvin, a French native, had to flee to Switzerland to practice his faith.

This leads to an important point all those who feel led to “Speak Truth to Power” must never forget, i.e., there are dangers inherent to this calling, dangers of which a truth-speaker must be aware. Truth-speakers need to count these costs before jumping into a debate where they are claiming the higher moral ground.

First. There is a cost to taking on the prophetic role of speaking truth to power…be ready for it. For Calvin it was exile. For Jesus and John the Baptist it was execution. For Elijah it was isolation, loneliness and depression.

Second. This side of heaven, no one has 100% of the truth. Just as those with power have blind spots so do Truth-Speakers. For instance, speaking the truth to power can be a disguise for greed. I would concur that those with great wealthy might contribute more through taxes to address social needs within America. But, I also see some of the anti-1%ers as being greedy and lazy. They want what they want but are unwilling to work for it.

Third. Danger…Those who speak truth to power may be the next ones with the power. Sometimes we forget that the early citizens of the US spoke truth to King George and there was the Revolutionary War. “No taxation without representation.” Truth to Power. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (read ‘human beings) are created equal and…” Truth to Power.

Fourth. The implementation of establishing the truth when the truth is finally heard is an incremental process. We live in an age of instant gratification. Most change is evolutionary not revolutionary. We are 240 years past the Declaration of Independence, and we are still working to implement those passionate and truth-filled words spoken to those in power.

Truth to power is a must. We must have men and women like John Lewis who are the moral conscience of our communities, our states, our nation. As I reflect on the 60+ years of the Civil Rights movement, the foundational truth that was being proclaimed to people of power was simply, “It is time for you Christians and this Christian nation to do what your founder told you to do, Love your neighbor as yourself.” Truth to power.

Two final thoughts for those who participate in speaking truth to power.

First, be humble. When you speak truth you are walking on holy ground. Act like it.

Second, speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). So often it is spoken with hatred or anger or disdain. Often those to whom it is spoken do not hear the message because the attitude accompanying the message is making too much noise. Speak truth not because you hate the person on the other side but because you want the best for the whole.

Enough said for now.

Paul