| Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31) A few years ago, I was in Armenia with Project Agape—a mission supported by our Annual Conference. We visited the home of a family with four lovely children. As we walked through the house, the little boy showed us the room he and his sister shared. Upon entering, I immediately noticed the wall above his sister’s bed. She had decided, in crayon, to draw a sea scene from one of her coloring books. I chuckled a bit, imagining any parent saying, “No, don’t color on the wall; it’ll ruin the paint.” I think the jellyfish was my favorite part of her drawing. Often, I fear, we interact with our neighbors like a child coloring on the wall. We imagine what we paint or say is just a beautiful sea scene and nothing more. But I worry that we don’t fully comprehend the implications that go beyond the brush strokes of our words—or our silence. We offer surface-level kindness, never ruffling feathers, always going out of our way to accommodate and appease because we don’t want to offend or be disliked. Meanwhile, the moral fibers of our neighborhoods and society are rapidly deteriorating. Hear the wisdom of Elie Wiesel: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Doing no harm isn’t about safely sitting silently in the confines of our homes or privacy fence-protected backyards. In fact, this silence contributes to the harm running rampant in our community. In recent years, we’ve seen the ugly underbelly of our culture surface with hate, prejudice, discrimination, and marginalization. The sad truth is that these harmful, divisive storylines weren’t just created recently; they have been present for far too long. These opportunistic and cowardly traits have been given life by the silence of many. The call of the church and its disciples is not to coddle the masses at the expense of the targeted. As Proverbs 31:8-9 commands, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Take note—this isn’t a suggestion or a conditional statement of “when you feel like it.” It’s a clear command to give voice or to help the voices of the oppressed be heard. And just as oppression didn’t begin yesterday, it won’t end tomorrow. But we must understand and commit to taking a stand against it. Remaining silent and assuming someone else will act is precisely why we are where we are today. To “do no harm” requires an earnest audit of ourselves—how we live and how we practice our faith. The journey to “do no harm” is a radical, transformative, compassionate, and loving practice. This is challenging, but so are many things in life that bring true life. When we stand with Jesus, we stand for justice and mercy—and that is exactly what the world needs more of; no more surface-level paint jobs. Are you ready to “Do No Harm”? |
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