FREE SPEECH? WHOSE RIGHT?
A HIGHER HOPE – APRIL 2024
What is free speech? Who has the right to speak up? Or even, when did Easter become ‘unfashionable’ in our culture? Recently, the White House banned the use of religious-themed designs in their Easter Egg contest. Closer to home, ABC radio presenters were told not to use the word EASTER this year, presumably to protect someone’s rights or in case it caused any offence. Really?
What has happened to the world?
Even closer to home, media have reported that our government is open to working with the Greens on the Religious Discrimination Act with amendments which would ban faith-based schools, hospitals and charities from giving employment preference to people of the same faith. The publicly touted reason is to protect the rights of people who have different beliefs. But what if protecting one group’s rights then fails to protect Christians living out their faith? Doesn’t that mean people of faith are not being protected? Doesn’t that mean people of faith will be discriminated against? Free Speech? Whose rights are more important?
Easter and Resurrection Sunday teach us powerful lessons – lessons of strength, courage, faith and the wisdom to rely on God through extremely difficult situations. In the days between Palm Sunday and Good Friday, Jesus did and said many things that both disturbed the local community and distressed his disciples. He threw out the stall mongers in the Temple and also talked with His disciples about His forthcoming death & resurrection, something they never expected Jesus to do.
Where did the courage, wisdom and fiery passion come from? From His Father, who continually led Him through those very important days. Jesus had to contend with groups who were vehemently against Him: Pharisees, Sadducees and Roman officials. Jesus walked the fine line of saying what needed to be said in ways that the people would hear but also that sent messages to those groups that hated Him.
Does this sound familiar to us today? Don’t we find ourselves trying to live out our faith, or share Jesus with others, knowing opposition is always there, wanting to shut us down? For example, calling Good Friday and Easter Sunday the March Holiday Season instead of announcing it as Easter?
How did Jesus do it? In those days leading up to the Cross, Jesus said “in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Easter is such a wonderful reminder of this truth – Jesus has overcome the world. And our only way to negotiate today’s culture is to totally rely on our risen Saviour, Jesus, who has overcome the world.
With Easter fresh in our minds, knowing that our students are continually bombarded by the negative, dark messages of today’s culture, I pray you will join me, at your school, in being beacons of Jesus’ light to them. May we continually seek the Father’s will, wisdom and courage to do and say what He asks us to do, just like Jesus did.