Should you be afraid to do the right thing even if that means confronting others? In my opinion the answer is no. However, my wife does not 100% agree and thinks that I am going to get myself shot.
Do not get me wrong, she agrees with me in the fact that people are wrong most of the time, but she does not agree with my methods on how I handle the situation. I agree that you cannot fight every battle as that would be very exhausting, but there are times when you have to stand up when people are doing the wrong thing. Being afraid to confront someone because they may shoot me is not excuse to not confront the person.
Think what would have happened had Jesus denied being who He was when Judas kissed Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. I am not Jesus so do not think that is what I am claiming. The point is that Jesus did what was right always despite the consequences which ended up with Him being crucified.
Here is where it all diverges. Jesus usually confronted people out of love because He wanted people to repent of their sinful ways. I cannot say that I approach people because of my love for them, but more like you are a “Dumb Ass” please just think before you act because what you are doing is stupid and dangerous.
If I confronted people out of love, it would probably be a different situation. However, that is very difficult for me because of my general nature which is typically blunt and to the point in as few words as possible.
If you ever meet me or my wife, just ask her about the word “Sure”. This has three meanings for me. Yes, No, and maybe. It all depends on the inflection in how I say that word. So instead of taking a sentence to say something, I say it in one word.
When i confront people it is usually in a very passive aggressive way and then turns to completely aggressive if they respond. If they respond I know that they know they were wrong. Otherwise, why would they respond because I could be talking about anyone.
This happened at a gas station where I said something in general when I got out and the guy asked if I was talking to him. I responded with I can if you like and then I got aggressive in my mannerisms and tone and proceeded to tell him that he needs to learn to stop at red lights. This guy just blew through the red light. Yes he slowed down, but did not stop and the last time I looked, a red light means stop. Of course he denied it, but he knew I knew he did not stop and I called him out on it and he did not like that.
I need to learn to approach people in a more gentle manner that does not appear threatening. The only way that is going to happen is if Jesus is in me and I am in Him. This is really only going to happen if I surrender my life to Christ.