“By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

I John 3:16-18

I’m as guilty as the next person, and to some extent I think it’s a natural coping mechanism to feeling understandably overwhelmed. In our 25/7, mobile, digital, matrix of information society, we are inundated constantly with tragedy, injustice, inequality, oppression, victimization, poverty, hunger, the list goes on and on…….and on………and on. You can no longer avoid it by turning off the 6:00 news. It’s on our phones, our ads, our social medial outlets. It’s everywhere–this overwhelming brokenness that cries out for healing. And we find ourselves somehow trying to process these truly massive world problems in the midst of an increasingly hurried, demanding, exhausting life pace which can often feel like you are dog paddling at full capacity just to stay afloat and on top of things like bills, housework, and sleep. So, while I’m trying to just make all my ends meet, I’m confronted with things like gun violence and genocide and war and hunger and homelessness in 30-60 second intervals. It’s daunting.

Personally, I tend toward two knee-jerk reactions in response to these humanitarian and social justice issues. Frequently, I sympathize with Prince Henry in “Ever After” when he says, “I used to think that if I cared about anything, I would have to care about everything, and I’d go stark raving mad.” So, I avoid the news for a few days, log in to social media to post an update but don’t scroll through the numerous articles and blogs shared by my friends on difficult subjects. I take lots of long walks in quiet nature and read Jane Austen and sip cocoa. And I try not to think about the rest of the world for a while. I try not to know, because if I know, then I will have to care. And I don’t know what do when I care. How can I possibly make a difference in the face of such bottomless needs.

This first response, of course, is not defensible for very long, even to myself. It’s completely self-obsessed and literally places my own sense of comfort and ease above the very real needs of my fellow-man. Pretty obviously a direct violation of the “love your neighbor as yourself” command. So, if my pride and ego are at all active and desiring to justify my existence, I cannot remain in the first camp for too long.

Which brings us to the second response and the topic of this entry. My second knee-jerk reaction to a world in need is to become a vocal activist–an awareness rouser, a moral commentator, a “voice.” I feel that I should have enough compassion for my fellow-man to look at their struggles and do something. So, I repost and share articles and blogs. I pontificate about the plight of those in distress and the call to compassion for them. I blast the selfishness or cold-heartedness of those who are either failing to recognize the humanity of illegal immigrants or the dependency of the poor, or the helplessness of the refugees in Europe or the unborn child, or the…you name it. And by logging in, sharing a post (such as this one), calling out our hypocrisy, etc., I feel good about myself. I feel like I have done something; I have overcome my indifference and my fear and I have taken a stand! I have given a voice to a need! I have contributed! Aah, my conscience gives a sigh of relief, and I can go back to my cup of cocoa and my Jane Austen novel with a clear conscience, knowing I have fulfilled my God-given duty.

But have I? Lately, I have been increasingly convicted that it is easy to say you believe something and it is an awful lot harder to actually believe something–to the point that it changes you, to the point that it requires something of you, to the point that you have to actually follow your words with your life. I wonder if the new “activism” of taking a digital voice and speaking on behalf of issues is actually just a new way of avoiding true compassion? I see it everywhere from Facebook to politics. It’s a lot easier to take a stance on an issue than it is to seek a solution to an issue. Stances are easy, and often require very little from me whatsoever as they come already pre-packaged and wrapped in neat little bows, complete with a cheering section to pat me on the back and tell me I’m a good person. Service? Solutions? That’s hard. That’s time-consuming. That’s up close and personal and risks my getting entangled with real people with real needs that are bigger than me. Rhetoric is easy, especially if you’re a writer by nature. I can log on and write some moving paragraph about humanity and compassion and the gospel in five minutes or less and hit “send”, “post,” “reply.” Response? Taking responsibility for a need, for an issue, for a person? That’s hard. And scary. Criticism is easy. Here’s my stance and my cheering section, and we’re here to point out all your hypocrisy and failures and selfishness and self-righteousness, Mr. Opponent. How dare you? You are not worthy; you are not a humanitarian. You do not really care about these people in need! We are so glad we are not hypocritical and self-righteous like you. Compassion? Recognizing that Mr. Opponent is a flawed human being like myself, who may not be evil incarnate and may actually be trying to make a positive difference, even if he’s misguided? That’s hard. Actually doing something for the people in need that Mr. Opponent isn’t truly helping? That’s hard.

So this is the challenge that the Holy Spirit has been putting to me lately: for every issue I post on or share a post on or comment on a post regarding, when is the last time I encountered a human being connected to that issue? I say I care about the sanctity of life. When was the last time I prayed with a teenage mother? Or volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center? Or gave financially? I say I care about the poor. When was the last time I actually encountered a homeless person? And talked with him or her? I say I care about poverty. But, who do I know who I would actually consider poor? Jesus was pretty forceful in condemning the Pharisees for speaking on behalf of God and being poster children for righteousness while actually neglecting the least of these that are so close to God’s heart. Jesus is not calling me out into the airwaves (or satellite waves, or idk whatever scientific magic is involved in sending things to the interwebs). Jesus is calling me out into humanity–to respond to actual people, not issues. Once again, I find myself in the shoes of the Pharisees, stumblingly trying to trade them in for a pair of dusty sandals that go places that scare me. I can’t, of course, fix everything. Nor can I cure every ailment or fill every need. But, God doesn’t ask me to be God. He is already there–in each neighborhood, issue, struggle. He has unlimited resources and compassion. All He is asking me to do is show up and be included in what He’s doing. As I step out in faith, God will meet me and stretch me in ways I couldn’t have imagined, and He will teach me new depths of my dependence on Him and of His sufficiency for every dark corner. So, here are my new focus words:

stance    SERVICE

rhetoric   RESPONSE

criticism/condemnation   COMPASSION

Wish me well. It’s going to be a bumpy ride full of lots of opportunities for humble pie, awkwardness, and fear. But, while God’s adventures in my experience don’t usually involve smooth rides, the views are breathtaking.