Speak or be silent?

Today I read Jeremiah 6:24-8:22 and 1 Timothy 4:12-5:16. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 8:14-15 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. 15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!

1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Jeremiah speaks to God’s people who have sinned to such an extent that God has put them to silence. He evidently was tired of listening to their lies and excuses. He had patiently told them what He required as their God—they were to serve Him and Him alone; they were to listen to His words and obey His commands. But they were obstinate and disobedient and chose to serve other gods which had no power to help them. The result was that when they wanted to live quiet, peaceful lives, all they found was trouble. They sought health, but it was denied. I can’t help but make a comparison with what I see in our country today—has there ever been so much sickness and disease as we see around us now? There is a great deal of publicity right now about the H1N1 flu; as a blood donor, I am reminded frequently of the impact of AIDS on our society; and it seems that every week we add new cancer victims to our prayer list. We should learn from the past instead of going down the same road of disobedience and destruction. So what can we do? Just what Paul told Timothy! Pay attention, study God’s word, and be a witness. Paul told Timothy that he could save himself and those who hear him. They can’t hear us if we don’t speak up; we must be about God’s business and be vocal about it. Before the final judgment comes, we want to see as many saved as possible—there is much work to be done.