Stand Up; Hold Tight

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Until a week ago, if someone had asked me, “Do you know the story of Esther in the Bible?” I’d have said “yes” but then I would have stumbled and stuttered through the details – the same way I might handle a quiz about stars and constellations. But now, after a week of living in the gravitational pull of Wilshire MusiCamp, I doubt I’ll ever forget the story of Esther.

Nor will our nephew, Ethan, who came to town for his second year of MusiCamp. He lives in rural northern New Mexico where there aren’t enough kids and volunteers for churches to hold a camp of any sort. So Ethan comes to Dallas and it’s a time of fun and learning for him – and for LeAnn and me as well.

This year’s production was “Malice in the Palace,” and Ethan came to town eager to play Haman. “I’ve always wanted to play the bad guy,” he said, but he auditioned and was cast as Mordecai instead. As kids do, he rolled with the change, took it to heart, learned his lines and had a great time. He even got a moment in the spotlight with “Stand Up,” a solo that says:

Stand up, stand up, stand up for what is right,

Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight the fight,

Be firm, be brave, hold tight to what is true,

God who saves, is standing up for you.

None of this would be possible without the amazing talent, dedication and love of Sarah Stafford and a platoon of volunteers. They take a swarm of kids and teach them a show in just a week. Nor would it be possible without the generous spirit of the kids themselves who welcome outsiders into their fold for the week. Gradeschoolers like Ethan are pretty adaptable and flexible when it comes to change. They’re also pretty good at standing up for each other.

“Stand up for what is right” is a great theme for kids to learn, and by coincidence it mirrored some themes in the new Spider Man movie we took Ethan to see on Saturday. At his age the concepts of good and bad are easy to digest, and a movie about heroes and villains paired with a song that says “stand up for what is right” comes across loud and clear.

Hearing the song throughout the week, however, I found myself drawn to another line – “hold tight to what is true” – because that is where I live. I have to hold tight to truth before I can ever hope to stand up for what is right. It is the truth that makes the fear of standing bearable. It also is the truth that keeps what is right clear in my head, because knowing right from wrong is not so easy as we get older. There’s a lot of gray fog that can cloud our judgment.

I don’t know if Ethan recognized the gray cloud in the Spider Man movie but it was there. The villain was not born a villain; he is a man trying to make an honest living for his family but is pushed into dishonesty by a system stacked against him. As in the movie, real life gets complicated and confusing, and right and wrong can get fuzzy and even trade places when push comes to shove. But somewhere behind it all is the truth planted in us when we’re children – the truth that God is standing up for us and we should stand up for each other.

Back at the MusiCamp palace, there was plenty of malice on stage but there was fun and camaraderie behind the scenes. Mordecai and Haman became buddies: Haman gave Mordecai a Pokemon card, Mordecai shared his fidget spinner with Haman, and the two sat side-by-side eating pizza after the show.

The truth of friendship is enough to hold tight to for now.