Jeremiah 26:8
“Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.”
One would wonder why Jeremiah would keep going. When you read the Book of Jeremiah, you see that Jeremiah was constantly maligned and attacked. He was not attacked or maligned by the enemy, but it was friendly fire. He was attacked by his own countrymen. It was his fellow prophets who tried to discredit what he said. When he was thrown in a pit to die, it was not foreign enemies who put him in the pit to die, but it was his own people whom he was trying to help that put him in the pit to die. Very few people would be able to take the abuse that Jeremiah faced and stay on message and not compromise.
I was recently having lunch with a person who expressed to me that they were tired of all the “infighting” in Christianity. They felt that the infighting was needless. It was interesting as I talked to this individual that they felt those standing for truth were the problem. They felt that their “divisive stand” was causing division among Christians. Yet, when I continued to talk to them about standing for truth and not compromising, they wholeheartedly agreed that compromise is everywhere. This amazed me because they were blaming those standing for truth to be the divisive one’s and not the compromisers who accuse those standing for truth of being the troublemakers.
Friendly fire is always the worst way at which to be shot. It is not that you enjoy being shot at from anyone, but you sure don’t expect to have to defend yourself from your own. You would expect that your own would stand with you as you stand for truth. Yet, I find that the majority of the time it is friendly fire that discredits and maligns those who stand for truth. Just like Jeremiah, you must not allow friendly fire to get you off message. You must always stand for truth even when your own are attacking you.
If you are the one being maligned and attacked by friendly fire, let me encourage you not to compromise. Someone must stand for truth! Standing for truth is never easy, but if truth is going to prevail then you must keep trumpeting it. Don’t let the misguided attacks cause you to quit or compromise. There are generations who follow you who need you to continue to stand so they can know what is truth. It may hurt when those whom you call your friends shoot at you for your stand, but you must confide in God and let His presence be your comfort.
To those who are tired of all the “infighting,” let me encourage you not attack and discredit those who stand for truth. They are not the one’s who have changed. They are not the problem. You need to discredit those who are compromising. You will always find that compromisers have a way of painting those who tell the truth as the problem because they won’t negotiate or change. Let me ask you, how do you negotiate truth? You can’t! Truth is never up for negotiation. What you need to get tired of is those who want to water down Christianity. You need to get tired of those who malign people who firmly stand for truth. The truth bearers are not the problem, it’s the compromisers who are the problem.
Don’t be a part of the friendly fire. When someone stands for truth, support them. It’s never comfortable to stand for truth, and that is why you must stand with those who stand. When friendly fire comes your way, don’t change! Always stay on message and don’t let the friendly fire sidetrack you from trumpeting truth.