"Speech"

Freedom’s not an issue,

Unless you make it so,

For some it means agreement,

With what they think they know.

But if you believe different,

Than what they say is true,

Then there goes your freedom,

And all your rights go, too.

See I have my convictions,

And freedom to express,

All that I believe in,

Yours, too, no or yes.

You might think I’m crazy,

And oh so very wrong,

And I might think the same of you,

But yet we all belong,

To this great old republic,

Where our freedom of speech,

Is guaranteed to everyone,

Not some, but all and each.

So what you say may really stink,

And seem all wrong to me,

But I defend your right to,

‘Cause here we both are free.

Let’s learn to really listen,

And grant each one respect,

Guard all our great freedoms,

it’s what we should expect.

“,,,It is by declaring your faith that you are saved…” (Rom. 10:10, NLT)

What we say matters, and it matters that we have the freedom to say it. What if we lived in a country where you could not say what you thought? What if it was illegal to share your faith? Such is the case in many places across the world. Here in America we believe freedom of speech is a God-given part of our existence. This does not mean I always agree with what I hear. I often do not. Many times I disagree with people who are saying what I believe but I don’t like the way they express it. Bottom line: they have a right to speak up just like me. But we as followers of Jesus have an even more powerful belief. If we believe in Him and confess Him as Lord we will be saved. Ours is a distinctively verbal faith. If unverbalized it is considered incomplete. Living it is a must , but saying it is equally non-negotiable. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

Lord, help us verbalize our faith, in Jesus’ name.

Photo by Brent Price. Used by permission. Thanks, Brent, and God bless you.