FEBRUARY 4, 2017
Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
A Time to Speak
There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens . . . a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking. (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7)
At the entrance of my home, on a table by the front door, sits a hand- some bust of Frederick Douglass. The prominent position is symbolic of the place Douglass holds among those who have made an impact on my thought and life.
I attended Frederick Douglass Junior High School in the Harlem section of the borough of Manhattan, New York, where I was born. From my earliest days, I knew Frederick Douglass as the name of a school before I knew of the person for whom the school was named.
Douglass was a prominent abolitionist who challenged other abolition- ists as well as those who supported slavery. His eloquence as an orator made him a popular and sought-out speaker. His intellect allowed him to debate other prominent speakers on the subjects of slavery, equality, and women’s rights. President Abraham Lincoln would confer with him and valued his opinion and perspective. Douglass knew the power of words and used them with full effect.
Douglass spoke truth to power, ignorance, arrogance, and prejudice. He was persuasive because he was thoughtful, and he understood that ideas are best challenged and changed with other ideas—ideas backed by passion and whose goal is to persuade is a powerful force.
Even now we can learn from Douglass, whether in a classroom discus- sion, a discourse around the dinner table, or a debate at the church confer- ence. Words are about ideas. Ideas are changed with other ideas. Douglass, through the force of his commitment and the logic of his argument, en- gaged those who disagreed strongly with his positions. Some were won over; others were not. But none were confused about his position. He spoke, and he spoke eloquently, forcefully, and convincingly.
Douglass understood that the America in which he lived was at a his- torical crossroads, and at such a time he could not be silent. It was a time to speak. His speaking made a difference.
Prayer: Dear God, teach us to know when to remain silent and when to speak, and may our words always be pleasing to you. Amen.