Complicity or Recusancy: When Being a Non-Conformist Is Exactly What God Wants

Good Son-Day!!!

Galatians 5:1 Amplified Version

In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].

You will always find the "Good News" here.

Summer Venues

Complicity or Recusancy: 

When Being a Non-Conformist Is Exactly What God Wants

Twenty years ago, I sat in my boss's office delivering what I was sure was a masterclass in operational leadership. I wrapped up my report, then tossed in a little aside: another department's slackness kept spilling over onto my team, creating extra work. But hey, no worries. My people were resilient. Champions, even. Overcomers of obstacles not their own.

I was fishing for a nod. Maybe a "Great leadership!" Possibly applause.

Instead, my boss reeled off two words that landed like a thunderclap:

"You're complicit."

I blinked.

"Wait - what?"

She didn't blink back.

"Did you alert their supervisor about the problem?"

"Yes," I said, already feeling the ground tilt. "I spoke with the manager. I assumed she'd follow up."

"Did she?"

Pause. "Apparently not. Since, you know. The problem persists."

That conversation wrecked me a little. Being called complicit felt uncomfortably close to being cast as Aaron, shrugging his shoulders over a smoldering golden calf: "I threw the gold in the fire, and out popped this calf!" Sure, Aaron. Sure, it did.

I didn't like the word. I thought I'd done my due diligence. Reported the issue, checked the box, moved on with my life.

Turns out "I mentioned it once" is not the same as "I made sure it got fixed."

Complicity doesn't kick the door down. It slips in through the side entrance while you're busy congratulating yourself on your team's resilience. Quiet. Gradual. Easy to miss until you're already standing in it. And without meaning to, I'd let my people absorb a burden that was never theirs to carry.

I should have been more dogged. More attuned. More like a mother bear and less like a guy filing a status report.

Here's the truth I walked away with:

Silence in the face of wrongdoing gets counted as agreement with it.

Leviticus 19:17 doesn't tiptoe around this:

Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their wrongdoing.

That's not a gentle suggestion for the emotionally courageous among us. That's a divine shove toward recusancy — the holy, stubborn refusal to go along with wrongdoing just because going along is easier.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 backs it up:

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Stand firm. Hold fast. Don't bow just because everyone else in the room already has.

Scripture, it turns out, is basically a highlight reel of professional non-conformists:

• Daniel 3 — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego take one look at Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue and collectively decide their knees aren't interested.
• Daniel 6 — Daniel hears about the new "no praying" decree and responds by praying more visibly, not less.
• Esther 3–4 — Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman, unbothered by the fact that Haman is, at that moment, extremely bowable.
• Acts 4–5 — The apostles get ordered to stop preaching Christ and treat the order as more of a suggestion.

None of these are just Sunday School stories. They're blueprints, proof of what faithful refusal looks like when the pressure's on and compromise is standing right there, hand extended, offering you the easy way out.

So here's my parting advice, from someone who learned it the awkward way:

Never stop asking God for wisdom, courage, and discernment. Think of them as your spiritual radar, the early-warning system that helps you spot wrongdoing before it metastasizes, and helps you sidestep the traps people set, whether on purpose or by sheer carelessness.

Proverbs 11:6 puts it plainly:

"The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them."

Stay godly. Stay discerning. Stay recusant when it counts.

And whatever you do, don't let complicity sneak up on you the way it once snuck up on me.

Hallelujah! Sing a New Song to GOD. Sing HIS praise in the assembly of godly people. Psalm 149:1.

"Right There", 2024, Lasha' Know, featuring Earnest Pugh

This ballad doesn't overstay its welcome. It just leaves you wanting to follow it out the door. Soulful riffs weave together beautifully. The song ends right when you're falling for it, so you're left replaying it just to feel that spark for one more minute. 

Lyrics

Verse 1:

I’ve seen it before

Again and again

I’ve been here before,

The pain won’t end

But I still believe

That you would always keep you promise

That you would never leave me

Nor forsake me

Hook:

Every time I, Felt all alone you

You’ve been right there, right there

Every time I, Felt all alone you

You’ve been right there, right there

Verse 2:

I’ve seen it before

Again and again

I’ve been here before,

The pain won’t end

But I still believe

That you would always keep you promise

That you would never leave me

Nor forsake me

Hook:

Every time I, Felt all alone you

You’ve been right there, right there

Every time I, Felt all alone you

You’ve been right there, right there

B Section:

(Through the hurt and the pain)

You’ll never leave me

(Through the storm and the rain)

You’ll never Leave

You’ve always been

Vamp:

Right there, Right there

Right there, Right there

Right there, Right there

Right there, Right there

Late in the midnight hour, tears running down my face

(You’ll never leave me)

I realize oh God

(You’ll never leave me)

(You’ll never leave me)

Right there, Right There