Matthew 27:17-18<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTherefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, \u2018Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?\u2019 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to do right irrespective of what people think. We should not play politics with the lives of men or on the issues of justice. Once we are convinced about the truth, we should be bold to defend and enforce it. Speak up for the oppressed and the less privileged. It\u2019s a crime to be silent when you should speak up for the innocent. Don\u2019t court popularity through defrauding justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pilate knew that Jesus\u2019 trial was founded on wrong motives. He understood that envy was behind the entire scenario. And yet, despite knowing the truth, he chose to play politics rather than stand for righteousness. It is wickedness to abrogate your duty to stand for the oppressed, only because you want to please the oppressor. Wickedness is using politics to keep truth and righteousness suppressed. Wickedness is choosing to favor an evil minority autocracy to the detriment of the masses. We have to stand for truth, and not bow to the pressures of power brokers. We are called to reject all forms of wickedness. This is the way of those who fear God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLord, I am not a politician, and I choose not to be one. May I always stand for truth, and may I give justice to those to whom it belongs. In Jesus\u2019 name. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matthew 27:17-18 \u201cTherefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, \u2018Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?\u2019 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.\u201d We need to do right irrespective of what people think. We should not play politics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-reflections-from-matthew"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t