Have you ever felt you needed to speak up about something, but you didn’t for fear that others wouldn’t receive it well? Maybe you were afraid your spouse would be angry. Maybe you were afraid your boss would turn on you. Maybe you were afraid you would lose friends. Whatever the reason, you were afraid to speak up.
This was Abraham’s problem in Genesis chapter 20. He and his wife Sarah had journeyed to the land of Gerar. While they were there, the king of that country became attracted to Sarah and wanted to take her for his wife…not realizing that she was Abraham’s wife.
Abraham and Sarah were afraid to tell the king the truth for fear the king would have Abraham killed and take Sarah anyway. So they told the king that Sarah was Abraham’s sister.
Before the king consummated his relationship with Sarah, God revealed to him that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and that the king had committed a grave error for which there would be severe consequences. The king professed his ignorance of God and then quickly went to Abraham to confront him about his deception and make things right.
Abraham’s fear kept him from speaking up, but his failure to speak up put the king and others at risk. Ephesians 4:15 calls us to speak the truth in love because avoiding the truth can cause us and others harm.
Where does fear keep you from speaking up when you should? How might your hesitancy be hurtful to you and to others? What do you need to do?
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.