𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• What comes to mind when you hear the word “protest”? Why?
• Which protest in history stands out the most to you? Tell us what you know about it.
• Why do you think it’s important to stand for the truth, even when it goes against popular opinion?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. PROVERBS 31:8–9

Is it ever right for Christians to protest?

That’s a big question hounding believers today. Some say that Christians are only supposed to focus on the gospel and spiritual matters. They should not meddle with political issues, let alone get involved in protesting government policies. Others argue that if an issue involves the poor and the marginalized, then Christians should take action as a matter of conscience. Where should the church stand?

Tucked away towards the end of the book of Proverbs, in between the exhortation against drinking and the long description of the virtuous woman, are two social imperatives: to speak out for those who can’t speak for themselves and to defend the rights of the poor and needy.

This text has a chilling historical consequence. Years before World War II, the German church was already aware of some of the misguided attempts to theologize the superiority of Aryan blood over Jewish blood. Pastors, priests, theologians, and the church in general were mostly silent. When Hitler passed into law what would become the legal instrument to kill millions of people, the church still hadn’t found her voice. Except for the few brave souls who spoke up and paid dearly for their courage, history would forever remember the silence of German Christians at a time when their voice was needed in the public square. In the aftermath of the war, the German church belatedly reflected back on Proverbs 31:8–9 and realized how they had been complicit to the atrocities of the Nazis simply by keeping silent.

Is it ever right for Christians to protest? Yes.

When people’s lives are on the line, when the poor and the marginalized are deprived of justice, when government policies have no regard for the weak and powerless, the people of God must raise their voices to speak out for those who can’t speak for themselves and to defend the cause of the poor. This is what we broadly call protesting.

One reason protesting gets bad press among Christians is it is almost always associated with public demonstrations that disrupt peace and order. That is not always the case. According to sociologists, there are at least 198 ways to peacefully and respectfully protest.2 It could be as simple as registering your disagreement about a government policy, letting your congressman know of your position on a new bill, or speaking out about the need for stricter laws on child trafficking.

Sometimes, a protest can take the form of a private civil disobedience as in the case of the Hebrew midwives who refused to kill baby boys at birth (Exodus 1:15–22). At other times, it involves courageously putting yourself at risk for the sake of the thousands who could die if you don’t do something, as in the case of Esther (Esther 4:12–17).

The question is not whether Christians should protest. Our commitment to biblical righteousness and justice in the public square demands that we speak out and defend the rights of the marginalized when necessary. The real question is how to protest in a way that is consistent with the Christian gospel that we preach to the world. In other words, what we should really be concerned about is the manner of our protest and the posture of our hearts when we disagree with government policies.

𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱.
𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘖 𝘕𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘻𝘻𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟯:𝟭𝟲–𝟭𝟴

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘴.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, “𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟱:𝟮𝟳–𝟮𝟵

When Nebuchadnezzar set up a large golden image in Babylon and decreed that everyone should bow down to it when certain music was played, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego privately refused to obey the king’s order. Idolatry is a violation of the second commandment so the three Hebrew men refused to participate—even if it meant death for them. Curiously, they didn’t tell anyone of their resolve not to worship the idol. The king only knew about it because certain Chaldeans brought the matter to the king.

The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is instructive in at least three ways:

• First, not all of our disagreement with government policies should become public. Some people protest against every single thing the government does. That’s an exhausting way to participate in the politics of the nation. If it is not sinful or unjust, you may choose to let it go.
• Second, when your silent protest gets the attention of the public, be ready to stand by your convictions. Some issues are worth dying for; others are not. Pick your protest.
• Third, maintain respect and honor. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s concern was a matter of religious conviction. They respectfully stated their case to the king without personally antagonizing him. When they were saved from the furnace, the king eventually acknowledged God and became an ally to their faith.

Something similar happened to Peter and the apostles in Acts 5. After having been arrested for preaching Jesus in the previous chapter, Peter and his companions were arrested again. Just as in the previous arrest, they argued that they would rather obey God than men. Their dissent against the highest religious authority of Judea springs from their commitment to God. Acts 5 ends with the apostles getting beaten but instead of backing down they rejoiced in their participation in the sufferings of Christ and continued preaching anyway.

What is something you have protested against? Why did you do it?

𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘪 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?” 𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝟰:𝟭𝟯–𝟭𝟰

When King Ahasuerus, at the instigation of Haman, issued a decree to annihilate the Jews in all of the Medo-Persian empire, the lives of Esther, Mordecai, and thousands of others were in peril. Haman’s accusation was not true. He told the king that the Jews do not keep the king’s law so it is not in the king’s best interests to tolerate them (Esther 3:8). In reality, he really just hated Mordecai’s impertinence because he would not bow to him (Esther 3:1–6).

Mordecai pleaded with Esther to make an appeal to the king on behalf of the people. They would all be killed if no one were to take up their cause and bring the matter to the king. When Esther did this she put herself in harm’s way but her action eventually saved thousands of Jews across the vast Medo-Persian empire. How do you think Esther’s approach can apply to us today?

𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘩𝘢𝘣 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥. (𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.) 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟴:𝟯–𝟰

Not all protests are disruptive. Non-violent resistance is a form of protest. So is holding placards, making speeches, or performing art and poetry to communicate a message about a cause or a perceived injustice. The whole point is to get your message across without violence or instigation of public disorder.

This is precisely what Obadiah did. Although he served under Ahab and Jezebel’s murderous regime, he made an underground operation of saving, hiding, and sustaining a hundred of Yahweh’s prophets. On the outside he was keeping peace; on the inside he was protesting the death of Yahweh’s prophets. Obadiah’s actions teach us that it is possible to silently protest against evil regimes in order to avoid more bloodshed. What did Obadiah do to preserve the prophets?

𝟰. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺? 𝘕𝘰! 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵.” 38𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴. 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟭𝟲:𝟯𝟱–𝟯𝟴

After Paul and Silas preached the gospel at Philippi and freed a slave girl from a spirit of divination, the slave owners dragged the two into the marketplace, accused them of disturbing the city, instigated the mob to attack and beat them, and threw them into prison. What they didn’t know was that Paul was a Roman citizen. According to Roman law, a Roman citizen could not be beaten and imprisoned without trial. Government officials who do this could lose their positions. By refusing to be freed quietly, Paul was calling the officials to account. He wanted them to publicly recognize the injustice that happened under their watch.

Protesting could sometimes look like this. It is not to shame, insult, or disparage the people in power but to call them to account and demand that they dispense their duty to the public in a just manner. In other words, this kind of protesting is asking the people in government to honor and fulfill their duty to the people they have sworn to serve. Why is this an important way of protesting? How do you think we can do this in a way that our concerns are heard?
Politics & Christian Participation Protest

𝟱. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.
𝘖𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘖 𝘎𝘰𝘥! 𝘖 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵; 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘥; 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘖 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵! 𝘛𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝗣𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗠 𝟭𝟯𝟵:𝟭𝟵–𝟮𝟰

Psalm 139 is a very good place to conclude our discussion on protesting. When we look at the political landscape of our nation, it is tempting to fall into despair or outrage. David felt the same. When he thought about evil people, he wished that God would just go ahead and slay them. He even admitted that he loathed them and hated them with complete hatred. But how he concluded his psalm is instructive for all of us. Instead of lashing out, he turned to prayer and asked God to search his heart. What if all the anger he felt was an indicator that something is wrong inside of him? This is a good question to ask ourselves, too.

While protesting is complex, one thing that should stand out in our Christian minds is that this is just one of the many things we can do to build the nation. Our civic involvement should never start with protesting but with community building, voting, campaigning for our advocacies, attending community hearings, and so on. When something controversial comes up, part of our civic duty is to fight disinformation and get our facts straight. Then as believers of Jesus, we bring the matter to God in prayer so that whatever action we take later, whether we write to our congressman, keep silent, or join a protest, our public witness is not tainted with partisan political agenda but with a genuine concern for righteousness and justice.

Identify five practical things you can do to express protest or
take action.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• Do you think people protest in your nation in a manner that honors God? Why or why not?
• When do you think you should protest and how should you go about it? What did you learn today and how will you apply it in your situation and nation?
• Who can you share today’s message with? What will you tell
him or her?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for the wisdom and courage He gives His people to stand for righteousness. Pray that you will be full of the
Spirit and empowered to do His will in your life, community, and nation.
• Pray for peace in the land and also the courage to do what is right.
• Ask God for people to stand for those who are hurting and for those who do not have a voice. Pray for God’s people to speak hope and lead people to Him.