I don’t want to be among the nameless crowd who knows something is amiss, but waits for someone else to be brave enough to speak up. I would rather be an Azariah: willing to be personally inconvenienced. I want to be a Berechiah, willing to stand out awkwardly from the crowd of onlookers. I want to be a Jehizkiah, making a difference in someone’s life–or an Amasa, enduring temporary inconvenience in order to have an eternal impact.
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Scripture
2 Chronicles 28:12, 15
12 Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war…
15 And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.
Observation
The children of Israel were experiencing some family drama. The kingdom of Israel was at ware with the kingdom of Judah! It seems that God allowed the conflict to happen in order to judge Judah. The war was a terrible thing to start with–but the men of Israel took it far beyond the bounds of reason. Not only did they win the fight…they also took 200,000 captives, and gutted the kingdom of Judah in gathering spoils of war to bring home.
Online 4 men stood up for what was right: Azariah, Berechiah, Jehizkiah, and Amasa. Though there was a price to pay, they stood for what they knew was right. They forfeited the spoils they could have pocketed, and took time away from their own responsibilities to personally make sure that the captives were treated well and returned home in safety.
Application
“Someone should DO something about that!” How often I’ve heard that phrase! I’ve heard it said as a fire raged out of control. I’ve heard it said at the scene of deadly traffic accidents, and spoken over people experiencing medical emergencies. It seems to be a natural reaction when something is going wrong, to wait for someone else to step up and take action. It’s so common in fact, that psychologists have a name for it: the “Bystander Effect”.
The same thing happens in families, churches, organizations, relationships, and teams! We see the catastrophe unfolding in slow-motion, and think ‘someone should DO something!’ The truly sad part is, the thing that needs to be done is often quite simple. A bully needs to be confronted. An apology needs to be offered. A face-to-face conversation needs to be arranged. A clarifying question needs to be asked. An uncomfortable truth needs to be shared. A gentle reminder needs to be given. A word of encouragement needs to be spoken. A personal sacrifice needs to be made.
I don’t want to be among the nameless crowd who knew something was amiss, but waited for someone else to be brave enough to speak up. I would rather be an Azariah: willing to be personally inconvenienced. I want to be a Berechiah, willing to stand out awkwardly from the crowd of onlookers. I want to be a Jehizkiah, making a difference in someone’s life–or an Amasa, enduring temporary inconvenience in order to have an eternal impact.
Prayer
God, help me to see the world around me–not with the passive gaze of a bystander, but with the active and engaged awareness of Azariah, Berechiah, Jehizkiah, and Amasa. Give me boldness to speak up when truth must be spoken, and help me to never value my own peace and comfortability more than the wellbeing of someone whose life I could impact for you. Help me to get more comfortable, with being uncomfortable.
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