I want to pound the table.
I want to shout, throw things, start a fight. I want to fill my social media with angry, sarcastic, indignant reactions. That’s what I want to do when I see injustice, when the words and acts of others harm innocent bystanders.
Human trafficking. Racism. Sexism. Religious intolerance. Poverty. Needless mass incarceration. The list seems endless.
I want Jesus to show up, filled with righteous anger, and punish the offenders–just like He did during His time on Earth.
Wait, what? He didn’t respond in any of the ways that seem so logical, so right, to me?
He did the very thing nobody expected, the thing I absolutely don’t feel like doing.
He sought out the sinners and asked if He could share a meal. He visited their homes, heard their stories, held their children.
I think He did that because He genuinely loved and cared for those folks. I don’t think He was trying to induce guilt trips or cause some sort of magical instant transformation. He simply wanted to love them where they were.
I don’t see myself dining with sex traffickers. There’s only so much one guy can do, but I am one guy and I can do something. You’re one person and you can do something, too.
Some ideas:
Control what I see. I chuckle at the complaint They’re force-feeding this or that to us! That thing on the coffee table is called a “remote” and it changes to another channel…there are dozens to choose from. There’s also an “off” button.
I like blogs and comments that challenge my thinking, but I’m bored with non-stop, one-sided re-posting with little in the way of personal interaction. The Facebook equivalent of the remote is the un-follow. I use it quite a bit.
Encourage what I want more of. Easy to be a critic, tougher to take time when someone writes a thoughtful post or blog to comment or share it. Hitting “like” is nice, but “sharing is caring” and helps the idea spread–a great way to encourage more of the same.
Give up on the idea of changing others. I can’t. Can’t argue or persuade or guilt or shame another person into changing. If you’re posting those informative articles over and over because you believe eventually someone, somewhere will finally get it–they won’t. You’re just wearing yourself out.
Enlarge the circle. Increase awareness. Encourage each other. Invite new members by making the circle a place people want to be.
Stay true to the core principle of the circle. Jesus said, “Love God, love others, love yourself.” He also said all the Law and the Prophets hang on this commandment.
So we love everyone, in the circle or not. I don’t know how that works, but it’s my responsibility to work at it one day at a time. And keep coming back every time I get it wrong.
No table-pounding, no fighting, none of that stuff I want to do, feel like doing.
Instead, the thing Jesus did.
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