"Not Good"

  One of my favorite passages in Scripture is in Nehemiah 5.  In it, Nehemiah confronts the nobles and officials.  Basically, they are charging high interest rates to the people of the land.  These are bankrupting the people who are trying to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, and they are struggling to eat during a time of famine.  When Nehemiah realizes what is going on, he summons the lenders and says, bluntly:

"The thing that you are doing is not good"

  I love it.  I love the simplicity of it.  He doesn't beat around the bush and make sure that they know how special they are.  Also, he doesn't attack them personally--he doesn't say that they are not good, but it is the thing they are doing is not good.
  It works.  The people hear Nehemiah's explanation, and they agree.  They restore everything to the people and demand no more from them.

  There is a time and a place when we need to echo these words of Nehemiah.  There are things in our society that are not good, and we need to not be afraid to name them.  May we do so boldly and wisely.
  Also, our lives need to be an example.  Nehemiah is upfront about his own generosity--he leads out of his integrity.  He doesn't ask the people to do anything he's not doing himself.