1502) My parents raised me in a Christian home and took me to church regularly, which was fortunate for me. I loved the Bible stories and would give them great thought after I got home from church each week.

One story I thought about is the trial of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels. I thought Pontius Pilate was a good guy, after all, when the crowd asked him to crucify Jesus, he asked in Mark 15:14, What has he done wrong?

My childish brain only heard Pilate’s question and did not focus on verse 15, which tells us he gave in to the crowd, had Jesus brutally whipped and let the Roman soldiers do what the people asked.

Sometimes it’s easy to think that because we did not directly involve ourselves in something the Bible teaches us to not do, then we aren’t guilty, sort of. But, failing to speak up when we should; not defending who we need to; not giving of ourselves when we can, all of these fall under the umbrella of disobedience.

Maybe our prayers should regularly include asking God for courage and strength to do what we know to be right, even if it concerns something we are not directly tied to.