Dr. Mac’s Minute: What Will You Do?
Passage: Proverbs 24:10-12
Focus: “Deliver those who are being taken away to death . . ..” (v. 11)
Since 2008, John Quinones has hosted a T.V. series, “What Would You Do?” It creates real-life scenarios involving people in need or danger to see how passersby will react. Will they stop to help? Will they speak up for what is right? Or . . . will they just go on their way as if they see nothing. The people in need are only actors, but the show shines a light on the different ways we respond to others.
What causes good people to remain silent? Fear? Laziness? Indifference? Solomon had another word for it . . . SIN! The Bible teaches God’s people to defend the defenseless and oppressed. “If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength is limited. Rescue those being taken off to death and save those stumbling toward slaughter” (Prov. 24:10-11).
Solomon says that wise people stand up for those in need. Why? First, because God demands it. The phrase, “those being taken off to death” speaks of those who are victimized by others. “Those stumbling toward slaughter” addresses those who don’t realize the danger they are in.
An airline flight attendant became a hero on the weekend of the 2017 Super Bowl when she grew concerned that a teenage girl was in a bad situation. She found a way to get the girl to go into the restroom where she had left a message, “Are you in trouble?” On the way out the girl nodded, “yes.” The flight crew took action and police were waiting in Houston to arrest the man sitting next to her. He was taking her from Seattle to the Super Bowl to involve her in the sex trafficking trade.
Who are those around you who are, “being taken off to death” or “stumbling toward slaughter”? Solomon warns against being hard-hearted. He speaks to those that blatantly refuse to care: “If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength will be limited.” In other words, “you will find trouble when your own times of difficulty arise.”
What will you do? Will you stand up? Will you speak up? If not, why not? If God’s demand is not enough, Solomon suggests an even better reason . . . God deserves it.
In the movie, “My Cousin Vinny,” the Alabama judge told the fast-talking New York lawyer to, “look lawyerly when you come into my courtroom.” Vinny was expected to wear a suit and tie and, “that suit better be made of cloth.” When he wore his leather jacket the next day the judge said, “Didn’t I tell you to look lawyerly!” Stunned, Vinny replied, “You was serious about that?”
The judge WAS serious . . . and so is God. In verse 12 Solomon declares that the character of God cries out for our action. “If you say, ‘but we didn’t know about this,’ won’t He who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t He who protects your life know? Won’t He repay a person according to His work?” God is omniscient . . . He knows the truth of what is in your heart. God is merciful . . . He has already done the same for you. God is holy . . . He judges our action and inaction.
Reach out to someone who is pain. Stand up for someone who cannot stand for themselves. Share the gospel with someone who is lost. “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”
The cameras are rolling. The “Director of the Universe” is watching. What will you do?