Sometimes, the place you are isn’t necessarily the place you want to be. And other times, it’s exactly where you want to be. In fact, it’s the perfect fit. But this all depends on the day and time. Sometimes the place you are is exactly where you need to be.

Sometimes, the place you want to be isn’t necessarily the place you should be. And other times, it’s where you’re heading whether you like it or not. But it could also be the perfect thing.

Not everyone gets to change where they’re at. Anyone can dream or think or hope or wonder, but not everyone gets to act. Not everyone can change where they are at and learn from it and think of doing something else.

Be grateful for the place you’re at. No, not those of you who find yourselves oppressed by the system and are unable to move. But those of you who can move freely. Be grateful for what you can get from it. For those of you who are able to act or do something different and have the ability to learn and grow and move on to bigger and brighter things, then be grateful. There are many who will never get this chance. There are many who are stuck and the systems that we have in place and can’t move. They can’t go up, right or left, they can only stay where they are or go down.

It’s our job to call out those taking advantage of the system and profiting on the backs of others. It’s similar to when Jesus overturned tables in Matthew’s gospel (Matt. 21:12-13).  Jesus tosses furniture because he’s got the ability to do it. He knows that people are being taken advantage of and it keeps them from truly worshipping God and living into that potential. These money changers and bird sellers keep others from freely worshipping God as they should, instead they convince them they should do it so that the “brood of vipers” benefits.

So, it’s our job, those of us who have the abilities to move freely in oppressive systems, to make sure others can move freely. It’s our job to remove the barriers, because we’re in places where we can and have the privilege to speaking out, speaking up, changing the system. So, we must.

Silence is not golden. Silence is death. Unless you’re at the movie theater.