Mockery doesn’t change anything — and it never gets you invited to the table.
Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
or stand in the place of the great;
for it is better to be told, "Come up here,"
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.
— Proverbs 25:6–7
There’s a meme circulating that riffs on the Cracker Barrel logo — turning it into a sarcastic jab: “Release the Files.” It’s aimed squarely at “those people” (you know the ones), mocking their obsession with culture war conspiracies and logo outrage.
The irony? The targets of this meme have been saying "Release the files" for a long time, and were once mocked for their focus on it, by the very people now saying "Release the files." It’s as if both sides are fighting to outdo each other in performative indignation — while pointing fingers across the aisle for being exactly like them.
And that’s the point.
Mockery doesn’t persuade.
Self-righteousness doesn’t heal.
And obsession with opposing the king — the boss, the president, the pastor, the principal — never gets you invited into real influence.
We live in an age where everyone wants the spotlight, the platform, the final word. But Proverbs offers a different posture: Don’t rush forward. Don’t assume greatness. Don’t seize a microphone no one offered you.
Instead, do the work. Help others. Be present. Do well — and do it quietly. And in time, if your voice is worth hearing, you’ll be called forward.
And if not? Maybe the peace of obscurity is the reward you actually needed.
In the shadow of unresolved pain, it’s easy to get addicted to opposition. You define yourself by what (or who) you’re against. You obsess over the one in charge. You replay old arguments in your mind. You spiral in endless commentary.
But healing doesn’t come through conquest. It comes through release.
Release your resentment.
Release your obsession.
Release yourself from needing to be noticed.
Then — without effort or manipulation — you might hear those beautiful, kingdom words:
“Come up here.”
