Telling the truth is always the right thing to do but it may also sometimes be a dangerous thing to do. For instance, for one prophet in the Old Testament, telling the truth was deadly – literally.

When God’s spirit came upon Zechariah while Joash was king he spoke to the people and said: “Thus God has said, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you’” (2 Chronicles 24:20).

The next verse tells us what happened to Zechariah. “So they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the Lord.” I wonder if he suspected beforehand that might happen. I wonder if it would have made any difference?

I’ve often thought of this for myself. If it were really crunch time and my life was on the line would I have the courage to be God’s mouthpiece if He asked me to? Even to a hostile audience? Thousands have had to make that choice down through the centuries and have had the courage to do so.

Most of us do not deal with religious persecution on a regular basis but millions around the world know it first hand. The number of martyrs for Christ is being added to daily.

Pray for those who are making the choice for truth today. Who knows – maybe someday it will be YOU needing someone to pray for you.