“We’ll sing and we’ll shout” ” (William W. Phelps, “The Spirit Of God”). As we strive to be ambassadors of Christ and advocates for the welfare of our brothers and sisters, we will find that we may need modify our approach depending on the context of the situation in which we find ourselves. Ideally, our interactions with others, especially with those who may not share our particular beliefs or cultural values, should be like a multi-part song, harmoniously weaving our gifts and talents and melodies with those of everyone else with whom we are serving and singing alongside. Christ as the Master Conductor can take all of our seemingly contradictory notes and chords and make a beautiful song of redeeming love. But what about when singing is not enough? What are we to do when all of those around us are deliberately and belligerently raising a cacophonous din to drown out our tremulous notes in the hope that we will simply choose to silence ourselves altogether? We should always try first to sing but if singing is impossible and all we have left is to shout, then shout we must. When a mob is screaming that right is wrong and wrong is right, then we have to shout the truth louder than their screams. When everyone is keeping up a relentless barrage about how everything is terrible and there is no hope or any use to try at all, then we need to shout the good news of the gospel louder than the laments of the damned. We will sing if we have the opportunity, and we will shout if we have the necessity.
