Hue and Cry

Hue and Cry #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Ephesians 5:11 - "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

In twelfth century England, they didn't have police departments like we do today. When a crime was committed, the whole community was responsible for dealing with it. If you witnessed a robbery or an assault, you couldn't just walk away and mind your own business. The law required you to raise what they called "hue and cry."

"Hue" comes from the Old French word meaning "to shout out," and that's exactly what you were supposed to do. You'd yell and make as much noise as possible to alert everyone in the area that something was wrong. Then the whole community would come running to help catch the criminal and deal with the situation. It was their early warning system, and it only worked if people were willing to speak up when they saw evil happening.

Now, I know we live in different times, and we've got law enforcement to handle most of these situations today. But I can't help thinking about how this old medieval law applies to our spiritual lives. As Christians, we're part of a community, and we have a responsibility to each other when we see spiritual danger approaching.

Too often, we see a brother or sister heading down a destructive path, and we just stay quiet. We don't want to be judgmental, we don't want to interfere, we don't want to make waves. But Paul tells us we're not supposed to have fellowship with works of darkness, we're supposed to reprove them. Sometimes love requires us to raise a holy "hue and cry."

Now, I'm not talking about being self-righteous or gossipy. I'm not talking about pointing fingers at every little fault we notice in others. But when someone we care about is in real spiritual danger, when they're making choices that could destroy their testimony or their family or their walk with God, sometimes the most loving thing we can do is raise our voice.

It takes courage to speak up. It's risky to get involved. But in medieval England, if you saw a crime and didn't raise hue and cry, you could be held partly responsible for the consequences. Friend, I wonder if the same principle applies to us when we see spiritual crime taking place and stay silent.

The goal isn't to embarrass anyone or tear them down. The goal is to alert the community so help can come, so restoration can happen, so the damage can be stopped before it spreads.

Prayer: Lord, give me wisdom to know when to speak up and courage to do it in love when I see spiritual danger threatening those I care about. Amen

#Faith #Wisdom #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #Learning #BiblicalWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight

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