For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. - I Peter 2:5

It's easy to believe that you have to engage, verbally defend, and argue to shut the mouths of those people. You know, those people, the ones who say you can't, you won't, you shouldn't, and you aren't enough for the task at hand. It's easy to get caught up focusing on those people.

That isn't God's way. He says, focus on me. And that doesn't mean think you are better than them. It actually means the opposite. When we take our eyes off of those who criticize, bully, or simply disregard us, we can see them as us, simply people trying to make it in a difficult and often cruel world. We can't serve them as long as we are fighting them. And we are called to serve everyone.

In truth, most of what people "say" to us isn't said out loud at all. It is an echo in our own minds. There was a look at the table - they must be against me. There was one comment, but it has been on loop in my mind for months. We had one epic Facebook battle that I've been replaying like it was a top 40 song in the 90's.

You don't need their buy in and you certainly don't need to rehearse the reasons why you can't do what you are called and needed to do. There are too many gaps to fill in this world!

Bottom line: stop asking for permission to do good. Carry the message of hope without excuse or apology.

You don’t have to be believed to carry the message
You don’t have to have a position to carry the message
You don’t have to get permission to carry the message

We don’t silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by arguing with them. We silence them by DOING GOOD.

Gaps don't care if you have a title or a pedigree or even a very good plan. Gaps just want to be filled. Maybe you won't be first or the last, but will you choose to do the good that you can do today?

Stop allowing your internal dialogue to take strength from your hands, and courage from your heart. Stand up. Lean in. Lead out. Love big. And shut their mouths.