Alright friends, I’ll admit what has finally pushed myself to
blog again is out of frustration. I should probably clarify, I love to blog, it’s
just finding the time, because well, kids. And allll the time I’m like “I’m
going to make time. Tonight’s the night.”
Then, well, kids.
So what finally got me here? Facebook. And other comments I’ve
repetitively heard lately.
“The world is bad. Blah blah blah. Our kids are going to
grow up in a bad world. Blah blah blah.”…. and that’s not what gets me. This is
what gets me….
“And it’s because <insert a Christian prohibition excuse
here>”
Mainly--- it is the way it is because ‘they’ don’t allow Jesus and the Bible in school anymore.
Friends, ‘bad’ things aren’t happening because the Bible isn’t
being taught in school. Bad things are happening because WE aren’t doing
anything to prevent them.
And by doing anything, I don’t mean praying. Praying is a
wonderful thing, but prayer is for the prayer, not the prayee.
God didn’t call upon us to tell Him what action HE needs to take. He called
upon us to take that action.
Pray about it then DO SOMETHING! Anything! If it’s regarding
a particular person, send that person a message of encouragement. If it’s about
a condition or an event, take action to fix it. Push yourself out of your
comfort zone.
Jesus and the Bible ARE allowed in the schools and in any
public and private institution in the world through each of us. Each of us were
called to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. And it’s our duties to teach
our children to do the same. Teaching your child to sit with the ‘outcast’ kid
in their school is bringing Jesus into the school. Teaching your child not to
bully or make fun of others is bringing Jesus into the school.
If our lives are comfortable and neat, we are doing it wrong. It’s supposed to be messy, vulnerable, and
at times uncomfortable. And I mean this when I say, I’m just as guilty as the
rest. But step one is being self-aware, right? J
Instead of watching Oprah in the break room on your lunch
break, go to a local school and have lunch with a child whose world has just
been turned upside down because they’ve been removed from their home because their
parents are drug addicts, to show him that there are LOTS of people who do care
about him and he is worth so much more than he could ever imagine. Instead of
buying your daughter 20 new outfits for back to school, buy her 19 and buy a
child whose family can barely afford to put food on the table 1 new outfit that
they can feel proud and confident in. Instead of complaining about that person
begging for money on the side of the street, give money to United Way who is
providing skills and interventions those individuals need to be able to support
themselves.
None of us are above being a part of the solution to the
problems that exist in our community. It is on each and every one of us,
Christian or not, but especially those who proclaim such as that is what God
has called us to do. That is our purpose.
And when you feel overwhelmed, just listen to one of my
favorite songs, Do Something by Matthew West then let’s have lunch and talk
about alllll the ways that you can make a difference!
