Standing Up For Your Belief

Standing Up For Your Belief
by Simon Akl (16)

In today’s world, numerous detractions and sins surround us. In school, we are constantly submitted to the famous false notion of evolution. Teachers are always trying to brainwash us, by forcing this common deception upon us. But as many of us know, this theory has no truth to it (compare, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults?”). In this corrupt world we need to be willing to stand up for our beliefs, even if we are facing attack and persecution. How far are we willing to go to state the truth?

Last year in my “Theory of Knowledge” class, I had the chance to give a speech on Creation vs. Evolution. At first I thought that since this was such a controversial subject, I would try to just give an informative speech, rather than becoming “argumentative.” I was a little afraid of taking the creationists’ side because we had previous debates on this subject in my class, and they, apart from myself, were all believing in evolution. I had even gone to the teacher to ask his permission to see if I could just state both sides’ arguments, and he had agreed. But after much thought and prayer, as well as consultation with friends from church, I came to the conclusion that we cannot compromise when it comes to God and His Word. I realized that in life we will always be faced with obstacles concerning our beliefs, and so we should not be afraid or back down, but instead stand up strong for the truth.

Our class speeches were supposed to take half an hour, but I ended up speaking for a whole hour. We had a lengthy debate after the presentation. All of my classmates were shooting at me, one after another, with numerous questions. Everyone tried to prove to me that evolution was not just a theory but the real truth. I was left all alone on my little island fighting off these hungry sharks. But I stood my ground and continued to state my position. Once the class had finished, the teacher congratulated me on my “outstanding performance.” As I left the classroom, my classmates approached me, one by one, and also–surprisingly–congratulated me. They explained that they respected what I had done, and understood that it was hard debating everyone by myself. Although we had different opinions, they all accepted the fact that I had stood up strong for my belief.

While I had been preparing for my presentation, there was always a little fear to go against everyone. But afterwards, the feeling of standing my ground felt great. I realized that God had answered my prayers and helped me. I also realized that we should never compromise when it comes to God, and that we should never be afraid. Fighting small obstacles, such as these, help us develop our character, and it will allow us to fight off greater challenges in the future. This is why “standing up for your belief” is so important.

©2024 Church of the Eternal God