| “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” |
| —Proverbs 31:8 |
In life, there is a time to be silent and a time to speak. Sometimes, it’s hard to know which is which. I know that I especially have a great deal of difficulty remaining silent, especially when I hear someone state something that I know is not fully accurate, or completely true. Please let me offer this illustation:
Some time ago, I read a public statement from a security official regarding the automatic fire sprinkler protection in the hotel buildings that he oversaw. He stated that whenever an automatic sprinkler actuated in a fire, it would discharge more than 80 to 100 gallons of water per minute. As a fire protection engineer, who has the honor of having been awarded the designation of Fellow with the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, I was startled by his assertion.
Over the course of my career, I have designed many automatic fire sprinkler systems, and reviewed the plans for many hundreds more. I know that the mathematical formula for determining the discharge from an automatic fire sprinkler head specifies that the flow of water from a sprinkler head measured in gallons per minute is equal to the discharge coefficient of the sprinkler head (nominally 5.6) multiplied by the square root of the pressure. Even if the pressure at a sprinkler head was as high as 100 psi—a most unlikely situation in the vast majority of buildings, except those equipped with an automatic fire pump—the maximum flow of water from a single sprinkler head would normally equal no more than 56 gallons per minute. With each sprinkler head covering between 100 to 120 square feet, that gives a discharge density per square foot of between 0.56 gallons-per-minute to 0.46 gallons-per-minute—that is about one-half a gallon of water each minute.
Since the vast majority of the public water systems have far less pressure available than 100 psi, including the water system serving the particular buildings to which the individual was referring, I knew that the security official’s statement was significantly in error. And, I just couldn’t keep this information to myself. So, I told someone in the management of the complex about this mistatement.
Should I have done that? Probably not. What difference did it really make? Most people wouldn’t have known or cared about this mistaken information. I most likely should have kept my analysis to myself.
On the other hand, there are definitely times when we should speak up with no hesitation. King Solomon addresses one of those situations, as recorded in Proverbs 31:8:
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
When we see someone being abused, mistreated, or greatly in need, we must speak up. All the more so, we must do this because we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot turn a blind eye to the genuine needs of the people around us.
Is someone hurting? Then we must speak up for that one and offer comfort. Is someone hungry? We must speak up for him or her and offer food. Is someone in fear? We must speak up for such a person and offer protection. Whatever genuine needs we observe, we must speak up and act as instruments of God’s mercy, grace, and love.
As Christ’s ambassadors, let’s keep an eye out, this new day, for people who need help. Then, let’s lovingly and joyfully speak up for them and offer aid to them, in the name of Jesus. After all, God knew we needed salvation from our sins and He willingly sent His one and only Son to die in our place. Speaking up and helping others in genuine need is the very least that we can do to honor this magnificent God who loves us so very much.
