Darn that Ghandi!
Written in 2008...
I know so many people that love the quote "Be the change you want to see in the world." People my age love those kind of inspiring, life-changing quotes. I love those kinds of quotes. It sounds great and makes me feel empowered. However, I find it very difficult to go beyond that impassioned feeling that makes me say inside, "yes, I think I can change the world!" to the monotonous, day-to-day difficult decisions that help me work towards being a better person.
For example, "going green" is really big right now. It's the trendy thing to do. But, maybe it's just me, but going green takes a lot of effort. I have to buy these squiggly light bulbs that cost a little more than regular ones. I have to find a recycling center and keep track of paper, plastic, bottles, and cans that I can recycle. But it is so much easier and convienient to throw things away. And that's what most people do...just toss them in the garbage.
Bono has made it really cool to help the poor, or talk about helping the poor. But since our society is made up of self-focused consumers, it's just not natural or convienient to help the poor. I mean, isn't it true that you'd much rather spend that $3 on Starbucks than to buy a few cans and donate them to a local food bank? That's been my experience.
Within the church, it's easy for people in my generation to see the immense amount of problems with Christianity in America. It has definitely left bitter tastes in people's mouths. And the ridiculous things that happen within the church make it easier for people to leave and start their own little group of worship, or clique of Jesus followers. I mean, isn't that why there are 20,000 different denominations in the world today? If you don't like what's going on in one place, go to another place and start your own thing. It's been happening since the church existed.
Now I think I could definitely go on a whole different rabbit trail on the whole situation of the church thing, but I would like to stay focused on the topic at hand: Be the change you want to see in the world. I loved that quote when I first heard for probably the same reason lots of other people in our generation love it: It sounds good, it feels good. But it occured to me recently that it's kind of a difficult quote. I mean difficult to live up to. My generation loves to be inspired. But we run away from responsibility. We procrastinate. We shy away from committment. This quote however, is heavy with resposibility.
I think the people that really impact the world realized that they really had to BE something. So if they were naturally or habitually or in an environment that made them BE something that was NOT good, they had to BEcome something else so that they could BE something that WAS good. For me to BE a green person, I have to BEcome a green person in a society where people aren't habitually green. I was born in America, where we naturally use up 70% of the world's resources, we have disposable everything, and we have to drive everywhere. So I have to BEcome something that I am not habitually. For me to BE a person that takes care of the poor, I have to BEcome someone who is less self-centered, hold off on Starbucks, and make efforts toward actually helping the poor in a society where people don't habitually take care of the poor. As far as the church and Christianity goes, it would be easy to just casually slip out the back of the church and just do my own thing. However, that means I'm leaving my family and part of the body of Christ behind. For me to BE a different kind of Christian, I have to BEcome a different kind Christian even among all of the things I don't like about Christianity. That means I have to chose to love people that I disagree with, forgive those in the faith who have hurt me and countless others. Love uncondionally. Let go of anger and bitterness. And live as someone who is different. Especially when I think of the church, change requires a change of heart and mind. I do not want to become calloused to the body of Christ. I hope I can channel my anger to do things that help others.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that being the change requires something of you. It's not something that is easy. It means sacrifice. It is not something that is always encouraging, because it means BEing the CHANGE. People tend not to like change. It's difficult for a lot of people. It requires more than just talking about it, more than just a lot of hot air. I think it requires more than just doing, too. Because people can do good things or say good things just so others will think they are a good person, or cool, or so people will like them, but not because they are genuinely good. And it's not just being different for the sake of being different. Or being an attention-hungry schmuck. It's about BEcoming someone that you are not naturally. And most of us are naturally narcissists. I think our everyday lives and little decisions we make can show that the people we care about the most are ourselves. I do. Most everything I do revolves around me. I probably say I or me more than any other word ever.
So is there hope for the self-centered, consuming, irresponsible generation of the world? I think so. That's why I'm thankful for Jesus. He's shown us a way that's better than narcissism. He knows what being the change out of love and sacrifice means. He wasn't different because he was an attention-hungry schmuck, he was different because the people of this world needed to know what God's love and justice looks like. No one else around him was like that. And then he gave us the Holy Spirit so we could be empowered to be that kind of change. Thank you, Jesus. You definitely knew that we would need you as an example. Ghandi, you're not so bad either. I hope my generation can learn how to channel their passion through taking responsibility and actually BEING THE CHANGE.
Thanks PFC leaders, Walker Street Community of Faith, and my roomates. This thought process has stemmed from conversations I've had with you over the past month or so. You all teach me a lot.
I know so many people that love the quote "Be the change you want to see in the world." People my age love those kind of inspiring, life-changing quotes. I love those kinds of quotes. It sounds great and makes me feel empowered. However, I find it very difficult to go beyond that impassioned feeling that makes me say inside, "yes, I think I can change the world!" to the monotonous, day-to-day difficult decisions that help me work towards being a better person.
For example, "going green" is really big right now. It's the trendy thing to do. But, maybe it's just me, but going green takes a lot of effort. I have to buy these squiggly light bulbs that cost a little more than regular ones. I have to find a recycling center and keep track of paper, plastic, bottles, and cans that I can recycle. But it is so much easier and convienient to throw things away. And that's what most people do...just toss them in the garbage.
Bono has made it really cool to help the poor, or talk about helping the poor. But since our society is made up of self-focused consumers, it's just not natural or convienient to help the poor. I mean, isn't it true that you'd much rather spend that $3 on Starbucks than to buy a few cans and donate them to a local food bank? That's been my experience.
Within the church, it's easy for people in my generation to see the immense amount of problems with Christianity in America. It has definitely left bitter tastes in people's mouths. And the ridiculous things that happen within the church make it easier for people to leave and start their own little group of worship, or clique of Jesus followers. I mean, isn't that why there are 20,000 different denominations in the world today? If you don't like what's going on in one place, go to another place and start your own thing. It's been happening since the church existed.
Now I think I could definitely go on a whole different rabbit trail on the whole situation of the church thing, but I would like to stay focused on the topic at hand: Be the change you want to see in the world. I loved that quote when I first heard for probably the same reason lots of other people in our generation love it: It sounds good, it feels good. But it occured to me recently that it's kind of a difficult quote. I mean difficult to live up to. My generation loves to be inspired. But we run away from responsibility. We procrastinate. We shy away from committment. This quote however, is heavy with resposibility.
I think the people that really impact the world realized that they really had to BE something. So if they were naturally or habitually or in an environment that made them BE something that was NOT good, they had to BEcome something else so that they could BE something that WAS good. For me to BE a green person, I have to BEcome a green person in a society where people aren't habitually green. I was born in America, where we naturally use up 70% of the world's resources, we have disposable everything, and we have to drive everywhere. So I have to BEcome something that I am not habitually. For me to BE a person that takes care of the poor, I have to BEcome someone who is less self-centered, hold off on Starbucks, and make efforts toward actually helping the poor in a society where people don't habitually take care of the poor. As far as the church and Christianity goes, it would be easy to just casually slip out the back of the church and just do my own thing. However, that means I'm leaving my family and part of the body of Christ behind. For me to BE a different kind of Christian, I have to BEcome a different kind Christian even among all of the things I don't like about Christianity. That means I have to chose to love people that I disagree with, forgive those in the faith who have hurt me and countless others. Love uncondionally. Let go of anger and bitterness. And live as someone who is different. Especially when I think of the church, change requires a change of heart and mind. I do not want to become calloused to the body of Christ. I hope I can channel my anger to do things that help others.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that being the change requires something of you. It's not something that is easy. It means sacrifice. It is not something that is always encouraging, because it means BEing the CHANGE. People tend not to like change. It's difficult for a lot of people. It requires more than just talking about it, more than just a lot of hot air. I think it requires more than just doing, too. Because people can do good things or say good things just so others will think they are a good person, or cool, or so people will like them, but not because they are genuinely good. And it's not just being different for the sake of being different. Or being an attention-hungry schmuck. It's about BEcoming someone that you are not naturally. And most of us are naturally narcissists. I think our everyday lives and little decisions we make can show that the people we care about the most are ourselves. I do. Most everything I do revolves around me. I probably say I or me more than any other word ever.
So is there hope for the self-centered, consuming, irresponsible generation of the world? I think so. That's why I'm thankful for Jesus. He's shown us a way that's better than narcissism. He knows what being the change out of love and sacrifice means. He wasn't different because he was an attention-hungry schmuck, he was different because the people of this world needed to know what God's love and justice looks like. No one else around him was like that. And then he gave us the Holy Spirit so we could be empowered to be that kind of change. Thank you, Jesus. You definitely knew that we would need you as an example. Ghandi, you're not so bad either. I hope my generation can learn how to channel their passion through taking responsibility and actually BEING THE CHANGE.
Thanks PFC leaders, Walker Street Community of Faith, and my roomates. This thought process has stemmed from conversations I've had with you over the past month or so. You all teach me a lot.
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