I'm so sorry.
Can I just apologize right now for the jerks that so many Christians have been to you?
I'm sorry that I break off contact with you when you're going through a life transition and you need me most.
I'm sorry I ignore you when you're standing with your cardboard sign at the freeway offramp.
I'm sorry that I sit in my warm home protecting my way of life while you freeze outside.
I'm sorry I mocked you for voting Democrat.
I'm sorry that I pretend not to have any spare change so that I don't have to deal with the fact that I am afraid of you.
I'm sorry that I think putting a check in the offering plate absolves me from offering you a hot meal.
I'm sorry for polluting the sky you sleep under with my overpowered SUV.
I'm sorry for advertising on my shirt companies that mistreat people around the world.
I'm sorry for killing the plants, animals, and people that God calls me to protect by buying the cheapest coffee on the shelf.
I'm sorry I shop at stores that mistreat their employees.
I'm mostly sorry for thinking that I'm better than you.
Christians are called to live in another world. A world that reflects the values of the Kingdom of God. The early church lived in a manner where there was no one in need among them. And we should still be living that way.
But we slacked off. We let our corporeal desires and needs take over and we forgot the greatest commandments: to love God, and to love others. And if we really did love others as much as we love ourselves, we certainly wouldn't let them go hungry.
Oops.
Christians should be the most eco-friendly, the most socially responsible, the most demanding of corporate accountability, the greatest peace advocates. And yet, we're not.
Somewhere along the way, someone taught us that the US is a "Christian" nation, and so we got confused. We thought that if we could be good "Americans", then that translated over and made us good Christians too.
Again, oops.
So now we live in a world where the average American consumes as much as 520 Ethiopians per year. Where we buy cheap food that is harvested by people who aren't paid enough to feed their own families. Where driving a nice car is more important than the people who were mistreated while building that car in the factories in Myanmar. Where people harvesting cotton to make our clothes are exposed to toxic chemicals that kill thousands worldwide.
I can't promise to change the world.
But I can promise to change myself.
So now it begins. And it's not easy. I have to ask where everything comes from. I have to commit to buying only brands that support my values. I have to find ways to save energy. I have to commit to treating people like Christ. I have to love everyone, regardless of their lifestyle and circumstances. I have to change.
This is the beginning of my new life. We'll see how it goes.
Love,
Kath
4 comments:
Wow, this was powerful. I'm reminded of a song by Wayne Watson: "That's not Jesus, he doesn't carry on that way, just some flesh and blood like you and me, somehow gone astray..."
We who proclaim a love for Christ will love the oppressed and he will HEAL the brokenhearted. My broken heart is being healed daily.
Great post.
-Lori D
Wow! Beautiful. And dead-on, too.
May your passion and conviction be contagious.
Have you read "Irresistable Revolution"? I can't remember if I put it on your list or not. If not, I should have, and you should go and get it right now.
Seriously, right now. Why are you still sitting here reading this?
:P
May you not grow weary while doing good.
Have you read Jesus for President? I think you'd like it.
Depends on your theology. If you think you're saved by cheap faith and are just hanging around waiting to go to heaven then what's the big deal. Jesus loves me.
On the other hand, if we Christians actually wrestle with Jesus' message we'd see that what we call often heaven is actually "The Kingdom of Heaven" = "The Kingom of God" = "The Reign of God" and it's supposed to be coming here!
Time to get our planet cleaned up in time for that Big Event for it is God that works within us.
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