In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King envisioned the day when the black community would be at equal footing with those who oppressed them. And yet, I wonder if even Dr. King could have dreamed of an African-American president so few years after paying the ultimate price for seeking equality.
But to say that the occupant of the White House is in the same category of Dr. King and his many colleagues who suffered humiliation and persecution would be wildly inaccurate.
I wish that Mr. Obama had heeded the wise words of Dr. King regarding “silence,” but alas, when it comes to the persecution of Christians around the world, he has not.
One longs to hear a word of compassion from our president for Christians who are being killed or mutilated, and for the churches being destroyed—some of them ancient churches with great historic significance.
One would love to hear a word of sympathy for Christians burned alive or crucified in Nigeria, Central African Republic, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Pakistan; or a simple word of concern for the Christians being persecuted in earnest in more than sixty countries.
One would love to hear even the mildest of protests against the Iranians (for whom he lifted sanctions) on behalf of tortured and imprisoned pastors, such as Pastor Saeed.
One would have expected his conscience, as an act of integrity, to compel him to some modest level of fair-mindedness—if anything just to balance the advice he receives from the Muslim Brotherhood, the now-outlawed terrorist organization in Egypt.
But all we hear is the sound of silence.
Mr. President, if you claim to be a Christian and a friend of Christians, like Dr. King, then please heed his advice and break your silence.
Christians expect evil words and deeds from the enemies of Christ. But surely the silence of a world leader such as yourself, who claims to have knelt before the cross and asked for Christ’s forgiveness, is a more powerful statement.
We all know the mainstream media and the ACLU will go after Christians with a vengeance, depriving them of any right of the public expression of their faith. At the same time, those groups will maintain the silence of cowards in the face of Islamist tyranny.
But even those who have supported you, Mr. Obama, must have thought that all those sweet words of the campaigns would have translated into fair-mindedness in governing.
But who can really blame you when so many evangelical leaders are right there with you, also falling silent about the persecution of Christians? As some of them hawk their self-help books, or even diet books, they become tongue-tied when faced with the plight of their fellow believers.
It is difficult to know if the president is influencing them, or if they are influencing him. Only God knows.
Regardless of who starts it, however, their message is loud and clear; their silence is deafening. But they must never forget that there is a God in heaven who will reward the faithfulness of the martyrs, and who will never forget the sealed lips of the earthly powerful.