Friday, July 17, 2009

Things to Guard Against When Taking a Stand

Another nugget from Francis J. Grimke:

When we take a stand because we think it is wise or right to do so, we must also be willing to bear whatever consequences it may entail. Under such circumstances two things we must be on our guard against:

1. We must not allow the criticism that may be directed against us to embitter us against our critics. There is a real danger here, and we need to be on our guard against it.

2. We must not allow oursleves, however severly we may be denounced, to swerve from what we believe to be right, or proper simply to avoid criticism.

From Carter G. Woodson (ed.), The Works of Francis J. Grimke, Vol. 3 (Washington, D.C.: The Associated Publishers), p. 18.

1 comment:

Doc said...

I would add that when we take a stand and come out victorious, we must guard against pride. Adventure stories frequently have a hero who is horribly outnumbered and yet wins the battle. When we win such victories, it's easy to see ourselves as heroes. It is so tempting to forget the Lord and think, "My power and the might of my hand have [accomplished this]" (Dt 817).