Everywhere I Go: Learning to See JesusSample

A TIME TO SPEAK A wise person knows when to speak, and when to keep silent. I have wished many times that someone had whispered in my ear to be silent. There have been times, too, when I have been silent and should have spoken out, when I have wished someone had said, "Okay, Edwin, this is your cue. Speak up!" Those in attendance at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast, held in conjunction with the National Religious Broadcasters' Convention, witnessed a time for speaking when Mother Teresa took the podium and pleaded for the lives of unborn children. Barely tall enough to be seen over the lecturn, this tiny nun began her address by reading a portion of scripture, then stunned the assembled dignitaries, including the President and Vice President of the United States, by saying, "The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion - [for] if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell people not to kill each other?" "Mother Teresa," wrote Charles Colson after the event, "was invariably polite and respectful. She did not flinch in speaking the truth. She demonstrated civility wedded to bold conviction, confronting world leaders with a message of biblical righteousness." Clearly, she viewed the breakfast as a time to speak.