Here I Stand

He was a heretic, a disgruntled Roman Catholic priest who took issue with many things about the church. One of his biggest beefs was that the church was so rich, while so many of those sitting in the pew lived in abject poverty. The church had the audacity to sell indulgences, to require folks to pay up before they could have their sins forgiven. He tried to change things from the inside out, but that rarely works, and didn't for him. He put together 95 theses, a long laundry list of everything he thought was wrong with the church and how it could be changed, and nailed them in dramatic fashion to the door of the church in Whittenberg. He became a fugitive, with a price on his head. People were forbidden to take him in or feed him, and anyone who killed him would be granted legal immunity. He said, "Here I stand. I could do no other." It was as if he really didn't have a choice, as if who he was demanded that he take a stand, and a very costly one at that.

He wasn't the only one who was unhappy with the status quo. There was a group of runaway nuns who fled the convent around the same time, and wouldn't you know it but soon Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora met, fell in love and were married. They started the first Protestant church and set an amazing precedent: clergymen that were allowed to marry. In his writings, Luther refers to his wife as his "beloved Katie," saying that he would rather live in poverty with her than have all the riches in the world. The Luthers had six biological children and raised four other children who had been orphaned.

Martin Luther was far from a perfect person, but I will give him this. He knew who he was, and he wasn't afraid to take a stand for what he believed in, or for what he didn't believe. There was really nothing else he could do.

Susan

Saying It

"You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say." Martin Luther

I'm not an overly chatty person. I am certainly less talkative than the average woman. I love quiet, and the adage "Silence is golden" resonates with me. I can go for hours without talking, especially if I am involved in a hobby or project. I rarely say something that I later regret. I can keep a confidence and never spill the beans. I both understand and live the idea that I am responsible for the words that come out of my mouth.

I am also responsible for my silences. Silence itself has its own energy. While I may be holding back because I don't want to be negative or hurtful, I'm really not fooling anyone. By my facial expressions, my body language, my energy, I am still communicating, and quite loudly. I think I need to just own it, to just say it. It is sometimes kinder and more honest to do that. I should have enough confidence in my ability to communicate to know that I can say something negative in a kind, tactful way.

Every day I encounter people who could use a word of encouragement or kindness from me, and I am responsible for all of those words I leave unsaid, too.

Susan