Monday; August 14

One day Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the cries of “Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”.   A week later, the crowds would be pleading “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”  Were the people that fickle or had something happened to change their mind?  As I look back at the last week of the life of Jesus I am fascinated by the influence the Jewish leaders had on the people.  They had been privately talking about the need to get rid of Jesus, but during that week they decided to go public with their pleas and the tide was turned.  Yes, each person who stood in that crowd would, individually, be held accountable for the choice they made and cry they shouted, but a heavy burden was laid on the leaders.  As Jesus confronted Pilate’s decision to crucify Him He would say, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”.  (John 19:11)  This may be a direct comment about Judas, but I also believe that Jesus is calling the religious leaders to account for their actions.
We live in a wonderful time that includes freedom of speech, but with that comes a responsibility.  We have the legally protected right to say just about anything we want, but there is an accountability for what we say.  If we proclaim hate and people act on it, we must answer for instigating the action.  If we lie about another person and people sever ties with them because of what we say, we are liable for the ruined friendship.  If we spread discontent at work, in church or at home; we cannot excuse the role we play in fostering negativity.
Free thought is powerful and can have some very practical consequences.  Let’s thoroughly consider what we about say because once we speak the words we can’t just mindlessly wash our hands of the mess we’ve helped create by careless talk.
Think About It!

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