Jeremiah 37:16-17: When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”
Someone once said the trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism. It is far more comfortable to hear what we want to hear than to be told what we sometimes need to hear.
Jeremiah was faced with this dilemma when called before King Zedekiah. The prophet already had been beaten and placed for many days in a dungeon for speaking the truth (Jer. 37:11-15). No one could blame him if he weren’t eager to return there. So when the king wanted to know if the Lord had given any word, it must have been very tempting for Jeremiah to say only what he knew Zedekiah wanted to hear. But faithful preachers and prophets can’t do that. Jeremiah spoke the truth instead. He wasn’t willing to sugarcoat God’s Word in order to make his life temporarily more comfortable.
God never promised we would always make friends or be popular when we share His Word. In fact, often the opposite occurs. The world would much rather have their beliefs confirmed than challenged. It should come as no surprise, then, that people sometimes respond very negatively. Unfortunately, too often God’s servants choose to avoid the truth or make it more palatable to the world. Either leads to tragedy.
Commit yourself to speaking the truth, even if it means going against popular opinion. Be willing to say what the world needs to hear, even when it doesn’t want to hear it.
TRUTH CAN’T BE JUDGED ON THE BASIS OF POPULARITY.