Doing something

I have a confession to make about a way I am that actually can make life a bit difficult for me in times. It’s something few know about me, and hard to explain, but I’ll try.

There’s a lot that bothers me about my country. I love America, and I love being American, but there are certain aspects of this country that make me feel suffocated on a regular basis. The rampant materialism, the screwed up moral standards the media tries to teach us, the confusion of needs and wants, the selfishness, and so many other things. I hate it, and sometimes hate myself because I see myself as part of the problem. It’s part of what tries to motivate me away from the ministry. I simply don’t want to be here surrounded by all this stuff a lot of the time. I want to go away, and live free of all of it so that it doesn’t taint me, or taint those I love.

There’s a major reason I don’t do this, and it’s the lesson of this entry. I’m not meant to. God did not make me aware of all the problems in my society so that I could run away from them. God doesn’t run, and neither should His servants. He gave me eyes to see this stuff so I could work to overcome it. America is capable of so much good, and it’s the responsibility of those who serve the Lord to try and make sure it does more good than evil.

This isn’t something unique to me, or to my country. People across this world can see problems in this fallen place, and our instinct can be to get as far away from those problems as we can. To run. To protect ourselves and those we love from such things. That is not right. That is not why God gave us eyes to see with.

We are to shine as a light in dark places, and remember that Jesus has overcome the world. We are called to do something about the fallen world, and to save others from it. We are not called to protect ourselves. We are called to spread the Gospel, help those in need, and fight these problems. Whether that problem is corruption in society, or homeless people living in the streets we are called to bring an end to such things. We are supposed to do something about it. We are called to change it. It may be harder than running, but that’s okay. We have God on our side, and He already overcame all this stuff on the cross. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.