Lent with the Early Church Fathers Day 4

Lent with the Early Church Fathers

A daily post from Tom Bandy 

Based on Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers (Eds. Christopher D. Hudson, J. Alan Sharrer, and Lindsay Vanker: Hendrickson Press, 1999)

Bold Speech 

Chrysostom 

It is always time to speak boldly. For the Psalmist said, “I spoke in my testimonies before kings and was not ashamed.” If we happen to be around heathens, we should speak up without harshness or anger. If we do it in anger, we do it with passion and the boldness of those who are confident of their case. But if we speak with gentleness, this is boldness.  

Boldness is a success and anger is a failure, and success and failure can’t possibly go together. Therefore, if we want to have boldness, we must clear away our anger so that no one can attribute our words to it. No matter how sound your words may be, no matter how boldly you speak, how fairly you correct, you ruin everything when you speak with anger.  

Look at Stephen and how free his words to his persecutors were from passion. He didn’t abuse them but reminded them of the prophet’s words. In order to show you that it wasn’t done in anger, he prayed as he suffered evil from their hands, “Lay not to their charge this sin.” He was far from speaking these words in anger. No, he spoke out of grief and sorrow for their sakes. The Bible talks about his appearance, that “they saw his face as it had been the face of an angel,” so that they might believe his words. 

TGB: Christians always lose credibility when they are angry, and particularly so when they are angry with each other. Liberal or conservative, when we speak in anger, we are exercising our own egos. It is self-righteousness. Our very passion reveals that we are not truly speaking for God, for God is the very paradigm of love. Speak boldly. Do it gently. For gentleness is the true sign of boldness.