Day 7 | Greg’s Story: Convincing Truth

Reflection

Greg used to work as an environmental consultant in the marine aggregates industry. What is that, you ask? Well, big companies want to dredge the seabed to get gravel for the construction industry. But before they can start, they are legally required to do an environmental impact assessment, to protect sea life. Enter Greg, stage left.

Now, at one point in Greg’s career, certain companies wanted to extract an almost inconceivable quantity of gravel from a new area of the ocean floor. To be allowed to proceed smoothly, they needed evidence from assessments and monitoring to suggest the impact on marine life was minimal. So, they interpreted the data to suggest there was minimal impact. But Greg, looking at the same data and using robust analysis, could see this was clearly not the case.

Greg knew this habitat for sea creatures had lain undisturbed for thousands of years. And he had evidence from earlier trials to underpin his conclusions that dredging would harm fish and shellfish. So Greg refused to go along with the companies’ greenwash and published his interpretation of the data publicly. This obviously made a lot of people very unhappy. Greg stood firm, but it wasn’t easy. The stress and long hours fighting to publish the truth took a toll on him and his family. In the end, he lost his job.

So, what helped him remain confident and to keep going? Conviction. A conviction that God had called him (and, in fact, all humans) to steward creation well. A conviction that God is a God of truth, who calls us to be truthful. A conviction that God had put him in that role to make a difference.

Whatever our frontlines are like, we all need courage there: courage to live well, to bless others, to be truthful, and to be open about our faith in Jesus.

Responding in prayer

Thank you, God, that You are truth.

God of truth, convince me of the things I should be convinced of. Help me to know and trust in Your love. Help me to know my faith is based on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Help me to remember the many ways You have been faithful to me. Help me to know Your call on my life.

And as these realities soak into my heart and mind, help me to live more confidently each day.