What happens when differences between people are not addressed

Intervening in the decisions of others is a difficult activity in the modern world. In an environment where we are told that what others do is not our concern, we both neglect to speak up and are neglected in being spoken to.

A surprising degree of our common reticence to confront others comes from the cushioning surplus of modern life, where most mistakes can be easily absorbed into the unmerited prosperity surrounding us.

Ironically, it is precisely the historical paucity of reticence—at least on the part of the wise—that provides the prosperity that enables its abundance today. Throughout history, wise men and women have done all they could reasonably do to fight back against bad ideas. It’s easy to overlook just how much of the ministry of God’s servants was spent in directly refuting bad ideas. Even activities that seem completely different were actually surprisingly connected. For example, smashing idols, casting out devils, or conquering the Canaanites were all ways of pushing back against the spread of bad ideas created and maintained through falsehood.

Too often, what is said is chosen based on how easy it is to say, rather than how much it needs to be said. The most important things to say are those that are hardest to hear. Fighting falsehood always causes offense to those who love lies, but the fight is required for those few who will listen, and beneficial to all in either case.

The Lord has called us to care for his sheep.¹ Your sheep include those you are directly responsible for, as well any any for whom you could render benefit without displacing something more important. You shepherd your sheep by providing what is necessary for them to develop into their full potential, subject to the limits in your understanding and resources. This requires understanding the hierarchy of what is most important. If a shepherd has to choose between saving a sheep’s life and avoiding hurting its feelings, there is no question which is more important. Shepherds do not neglect taking care of the sheep for fear of harming wolves in the process.² In fact, a good shepherd proactively hunts wolves before they attack.³ Unfortunately, these lessons are lost on most modern Christians and parents alike, who routinely spare the wolves as if they were worth preserving, and sacrifice the sheep for fear of hurting their feelings.

Everything that everyone does matters to everyone. Every bad idea allowed to remain unchallenged affects the moral calibration of society. Immense consequences are unleashed based on whether or not truth is publicly defended. Lying is a communicable disease to which truth tellers are the only cure. Every unanswered challenge to the truth renders the conscience of all involved less willing to accept invitations of improvement and less capable of seeing the truth, paving the way for grosser violations of it in the future. Every lie told increases the likelihood of someone else lying. The more lies are told, the more that will be told, as there are many who will only tell the truth if everyone else is.⁴

If you do nothing to challenge the differences you perceive between yourself and others, you pass on the opportunity to help those who may not have the experience, awareness, or courage that you do. You guarantee that worse ideas and their effects will flow down to those who are less willing or able to contend with them than you are. The only reason that we have to say things that shouldn’t have to be said is that those who should have said something said nothing.

There is a critical cohort of people who are aware of greater truth, are able to recognize deviations from it, have the integrity to live it themselves, and have the courage to help others to do the same. Without the opposing force of those who have uncommon honesty, courage, and understanding of reality, society will execute a downward spiral where they gradually lose more and more of the wisdom they have inherited from previous generations. Truth tellers—those who are willing to tell the truth, no matter how unpopular, are the only force stemming the otherwise inevitable chain reaction of increasing dishonesty. Become such a person, and make the enormous contribution you alone can in this world full of people not yet willing to do the same.⁵