Courage

Joshua 2: 3-6

“Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land…” She said, ‘I don’t know which way they went.’… (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid on the roof.”

 The Hiding Place is the dramatic story of the Ten Booms, a Dutch family of Christian clockmakers who placed their lives on the line to protect fugitives from the Nazis in occupied Holland during the Second World War. For over four years the Ten Booms lived a double life as quiet Dutch clockmakers and as a safe house within the Dutch underground. The Ten Booms lived in violation of Nazi law in an effort to provide safety and protection for the enemies of the Third Reich.

Yesterday we looked at speaking the truth in love. How about lying; is it ever appropriate less than honest—to tell a lie? Are there exceptions to this rule?

Consider Samuel’s mission to anoint a new king over Israel. When God rejected Saul as King He sent his servant Samuel out to anoint a new one who would replace Saul at some point. Samuel feared for his life. Look at 1 Samuel 16:2, “But Samuel said, "How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, ’I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’” Samuel’s assignment was to anoint a new King, not to sacrifice a heifer. God instructed Samuel to say this to protect his life.

There are several examples in Scripture where servants of the Lord did not speak the complete truth. God does make an exception in the case of life. If we are doing or saying something that is dishonest in an effort to protect the safety or very life of a fellow human being, or even our own life, then we are doing the right thing.

Exodus 1; Joshua 2; 1 Samuel 16; Hebrews 11:31

Father, help me be sensitive to the needs of those around me, and if ever given the opportunity to help someone in need, give me the courage to be bold and to stand for what is right.