What I Cannot — And Can — Do
As I type these words, it seems like our world is coming apart at the seams. Nations are at odds with one another. Our own nation is divided in too many ways to try to mention here or discuss in any meaningful way.
I’ve been doing a little thinking about some things I cannot do and what I can do about all of this. While there is a long list of things that, by myself, I cannot do, I’ve thought of a few things that I definitely can do. Let me suggest just a few.
I cannot decide the economic, military, social, etc. policies for our nation. I can, and in fact am commanded to, pray for those who have those responsibilities. I don’t see anything in the Bible that instructs me to pray only for those with whom I may agree. When the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write those words, there were no such things as elections. It didn’t matter if citizens agreed with the decisions made by the government. If Paul, by inspiration, could write that people must and should pray for Roman officials who gained power because of heredity, military might, corruption, etc. surely God would expect us to pray for our elected leaders today.
Along those lines, I also cannot solve all of the differences of opinion that exist along political, social, and moral lines. I can, however, treat people with whom I may disagree with dignity and respect. I can refuse to engage in name-calling, character assassination, labeling, etc. I can also resist the urge to use any platform of social media to “fan the flames” on some particular issue. I can ask myself if I know of anybody anywhere whose mind has been changed because of seeing something on one of those platforms.
I cannot undo years and years of racial and/or social injustice. I cannot do much about the “systemic racism” that many are saying currently exists in our society. I cannot undo decades of unfair treatment that some people have endured merely because of their skin color, economic status, educational attainment, etc. I can, however, realize that every single human being is an eternal soul and is made in the image of God. Hopefully, that will help me treat everybody with dignity and respect.
It seems to me that this sort of “spills over” into how I treat people whose lifestyle is totally foreign to anything that would please God. Seemingly nothing about the lives of some people would in any way indicate a desire to honor Him. I cannot undo whatever has caused these people to choose to live as they do. Among other things, I can remember how the Lord treated a woman who was brought to Him after being found committing the actual act of adultery. You may remember that, while Jesus in no way condoned her sin, He treated her with much more respect than those “religious leaders” who brought her to Him and were questioning Him about how she should be treated. The fact that Jesus was kind in His treatment did not keep Him from making it clear to her that He expected her to refrain from engaging in sinful activity in the future. I can keep the Lord’s actions and attitudes in mind as I deal with others.
You may have your own list of “big picture” problems for which there seem to be no solutions. I’m sure that these few are merely the tip of the iceberg as you view things. Maybe they are not even on your radar screen. I’m just hoping that they are also food for thought.
It may be that all of us, definitely including me, need to commit ourselves to doing positive and helpful things within our own spheres of influence. None of us know what kind of positive effects that may have.
My sphere of influence may radiate out just far enough to connect with your sphere of influence. Maybe your sphere of influence will overlap with another one or two. It could very well be that, if enough of those “little things” we can do begin to overlap, some very big problems might diminish. I could even very well be that some of them might actually disappear.
What do you say to the idea that we give it a try?
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
