From Ben – 27 March 2022

It was a week or so ago that a Russian national broadcaster, Marina Ovsaynnikova, did a heroic and courageous act.

As you well know Russia has invaded Ukraine and is exerting its full force to suppress and crush this free democratic nation, subduing it so as to incorporate it into Russia. The Russian news broadcasters have been broadcasting the state prepared propaganda and state lies about the invasion and the reason for it. Putin has used the media to portray a false narrative of Russia only attacking military installations and so saving the motherland from terrorists and Nazis. They have been spreading misinformation about no civilians being targeted, when all the while hospitals, schools and high-rise apartments are being bombarded.

Marina Ovsaynnikova, a media worker, could no longer stand by these lies, so during a live news broadcast to the nation, she burst onto the set with a placard denouncing the media lies with the words, “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, you are being lied to.

”This was an extremely brave protest that has cost her job and could lead to a 15-year imprisonment. She was no longer prepared to hide the truth but stood up for her convictions.

As I reflected on her extreme bravery, I thought of us as followers of Christ. Are we prepared to stand up and tell the truth about Jesus and His saving grace? We too are living in a world that speaks a false narrative about God and biblical truth. Let us be like Marina and speak up, speak out, making a statement at personal cost for the truth.