A Better Allegiance EP3: When Silent Speaks

In today’s world, it’s easy to label hard conversations as “political” and step back. But what if some of the things we’ve placed in that category were never meant to be political in the first place?

In this episode of A Better Allegiance, Robert explores what Scripture says about how we treat people—and what happens when the church chooses silence in moments that require love, courage, and action.

Walking through James 2, Proverbs 31, and Micah 6:8, this episode challenges listeners to move beyond passive faith and reflect the full life of Jesus—not just His words, but His actions.

This isn’t about politics.

It’s about people.

It’s about dignity.

It’s about whether we’re willing to love the people God places in front of us… even when it’s uncomfortable.

And if we’re honest…

silence says something.

🎙 A Better Allegiance is a podcast about being formed by Christ, not culture, and keeping our allegiance where it belongs.

Transcript

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Hey, welcome back to a Better Allegiance podcast. I'm Robert Uribi. Before we jump into today's conversation, I want to take a moment to set the tone. This episode might feel a little heavier than the last two, not in a negative way, but in an honest way. In the last episode, we talked about loving our neighbor. And if we're honest, that's something most of us agree with in principle. We want to love people, we want to reflect Jesus. But the reality is we're living in a time where that can feel complicated. We're constantly surrounded by conversations about division. Different cultures, different backgrounds, different experiences. And sometimes those differences don't just feel distant, they feel tense. You see it online, you hear it in conversations, you feel it in the way people talk about certain groups of people. And if we're honest, sometimes the church doesn't feel separate from that. So instead of starting with a statement, I want to start with a question. What happens when we see brokenness in the world? And we're not sure what to do with it? What happens when something doesn't sit right in our spirit, but we stay quiet? Today I want to talk about something that sits right in the middle of that tension. Not division, but injustice. And more specifically, what it looks like when racism shows up in our world and how the church responds to it. Imagine someone walks into your gathering. They're well dressed, they look successful, and they carry themselves with confidence. And right behind them, someone else walks in. They don't look the same. Maybe their clothes are worn, maybe they're overlooked. And James goes on to say, if you treat one with honor and the other as a less than, you've already missed something. You've made a judgment, not based on who they are, but based on how they appear. And he says clearly, you have become judges with wrong motives. In other words, when we treat people differently based on their status, appearance, or background, we've stepped outside the heart of Jesus. Then let's turn to Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 31 gives us another perspective. It says, speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. That's not a quiet belief. That's an action. Moments where someone's voice isn't being heard, and choosing to step in, not loudly, not aggressively, but faithfully. Speaking up when it should be easier to stay quiet. Then in Micah chapter 6, 8, it brings it all together. Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God. That's a calling. To do justice, to care about what's right, to love mercy, to lead with compassion, and to walk humbly. But most of all, to stay teachable. And when you step back and look at the life of Jesus, you see that pattern everywhere. He moved towards people, others avoided. He saw people, others overlooked. He valued people, others dismissed. And this connects back to what we talked about last episode. In Luke chapter ten, Jesus tells that story of that good Samaritan. The outsider, the Samaritan, stopped. He helps. He makes sure the man is cared for. And then Jesus asks the question, Who is your neighbor? The answer is simple, the one who showed mercy. That story wasn't just about kindness. It was a challenge. A challenge to how we see people and a challenge to how we respond. There have been moments where the church lived this out well. And there have been moments where the church stayed quiet. And that's not just something from decades ago. We've seen it in recent years. Moments where racial tension resurfaced in our culture, videos that spread quickly across social media, stories that caused people to feel angry, grief, and confusion. And once again people were asking questions about dignity, justice, and how to treat one another. The church didn't always respond the same way. Some believers leaned in. They listened. They mourned with people who were hurting. They tried to understand perspectives different from their own, while others stepped back, not always out of hate, sometimes out of discomfort, uncertainty, and sometimes out of fear of saying the wrong thing. It felt easier to label it as political and move on. When something gets labeled political, distance grows. Distance from the conversation, distance from the people affected, and distance from the responsibility God has put on us. When the church steps into hard moments with humility and love, it becomes light. When the church begins to stay silent, it begins to blend into the background. The question isn't whether these moments exist, the question is how the church chooses to respond. And this is where we have to pause. It's easy to listen and to think. Yeah, the world is just broken. But at some point we stop looking out there and we start looking in here. What is my response? Following Jesus was never meant to be passive. And if we're not careful, we can convince ourselves that silence is the same thing as peace. That staying quiet is the same thing as wisdom. But it's not. Silence is not always love. Sometimes silence is just easier. And this is where we have to be honest with the church. We've made this political. And in some ways, that has given us Christians a reason to stay quiet. But Jesus never but Jesus never gave us an option. Loving people, seeing people as made in God's image, refusing to treat people differently based on their race or background. That was never meant to be political. That's discipleship at its finest. That's the gospel. Calling something political can become a way to step back, a way to justify silence. But racism isn't just a political issue, it's a heart issue. It's about how we see people, and how we see people is directly connected to how we follow Jesus. So let me ask you something honestly. Where have you been silent? Not in a condemning way, but an honest way. Where have you seen something that didn't sit right, but you didn't say anything? And maybe part of that is that idea we've heard. Let's just preach Jesus. I understand that. But if the idea is to stay quiet and just preach Jesus, then we need to preach all of Jesus. Not just his words, but his actions. And when we look at his life, he didn't just stay silent when people were being overlooked. He didn't ignore brokenness. He moved towards people. He saw them. He valued them. So if we say we follow him, we don't get to pick and choose what parts we get to reflect of his life. Church, we've made this political. And sometimes that gives us a way to step back and say, that's not my place. But what if loving your neighbor means stepping into those moments? What if silence isn't protecting peace but it's avoiding responsibility? This isn't about politics. It's about people. It's about dignity. It's about whether we're willing to love people Jesus puts in front of us. Even if that's uncomfortable. It's about getting us back to God. Jesus. Search our hearts today. Show us where we've chosen silence over love. Give us the courage to step into the moments we've been avoiding. Help us see people the way you see them. Break down anything in us that keeps us from fully loving. Form us into people who can reflect your heart in every space we walk into. Amen. Thank you for listening to another episode of A Better Allegiance. If this episode challenged you today, share it with somebody who might need to hear it. And remember, be formed by Christ, not culture. And keep your allegiance where it belongs. I'll see you next time.