Done being silent

i am struggling with what it means to be a christian in today’s world. it takes a lot of courage for me to say that. it’s something that has been building up over the last four years that i am just now in a position to verbalize (or in this case type). i look at the injustices around me and wonder what people who call themselves christians are doing in response. i wonder where we get off justifying our selectivity in encountering injustice. when did we decide that some societal wrongs are more important to pursue than others?

the christian tradition i had been exposed to for twenty-one years said that there are things that can make a person a lesser member of the body of christ. it said that some things are not worth my time to care about. it said that there are more important things.

i refuse to believe this. for a while i have thought that it is worth my time to care about the role of women in the church. that it is worth my time to care about the aids-affected of africa. it is worth my time to care about the homeless. it is worth my time to care about the poor. it is worth my time to care about the subjugated. that it is worth my time to care about those who society has rejected.

but i find myself discontent with this. i realize that i am wrong in all these statements. i should not care about any of these groups. i should instead care for these people. i have been too abstract in my passion. i have been too theoretical.

i have been too quiet.

my action does not match my passion. but i don’t have to sacrifice my academic study or ambition. hospitality trumps theology every time. and the only reason i believe this to be true is because my concept of what hospitality truly means has been shaped by the theology i have grown into.

i want to make a difference. i want the word "revival" to mean something. i want to be willing to give up everything to help other people. i want my life to be a constant expression of hope and love. i desire wisdom and discernment. i want to make a difference. and everything else will just have to take a back seat. i’m ready to be relational again. i’m ready to dream big again. and i’m not going to settle for mediocre goals anymore.

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