When you study the prophets, it is clear that they were not just criticizing conditions in their society. Certainly that happened but it was something deeper than the types of analysis that often becomes part of secular columns in newspapers. In our most well known prophets, they were often reluctant but felt compelled to speak. Remember Jeremiah’s response when he first sensed God’s call.
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” (1:4-8)
As Jeremiah and most of the other prophets in Scripture demonstrated, being a prophet is often costly. Yet they were trying to articulate a truth that was bigger than their personal wisdom. In doing so, they looked both back and forward. Their analysis was a theological analysis based on God’s truth as revealed in Scripture. In effect they were saying, God has said that you should live in this manner and if you do not pay attention, this will be the result. Their future prediction was based on their understanding of what God had said in the past.
You don’t choose to be a prophet. God chooses through whom to speak. But if you feel compelled to speak out, you need to ground what you say in the foundations of our faith. That does not mean that then everyone will listen to you but it does mean that you are seeking to speak from a greater wisdom than just your own.
