It's tough
It's unrealistic
It can't be done
I'm not perfect
It is tough and unrealistic for broken imperfect human beings to follow Christ and live according to the ways we are called to. You know I see the word "prophetic" used a lot in United Methodist Circles these days. Typically it's applied to someone who has spoken out in favor of changing the UMC's stance on homosexuality. Every time I see something like that I think of myself. I think of how many times I've watched someone take a stand for something or someone only to sit back and cheer for them. Why do we do that? Why do I do that? Is it in our nature to be slacktivists? I think it is. It's so much easier to cheer on someone from the sidelines who is doing what Jesus is calling us to when he says "deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me" Matthew 16:24. It's not just that issue it's issues in my own life. We take the easy way out. Standing up for people and doing what is right is hard. It's tough, It's unrealistic. It may cost you friends, family, your job, or various other things. It's so much easier to stay on the sideline and cheer on from afar. The sidelines are safe. Pastors don't lose their credentials on the sidelines. Pastors don't lose half their congregations on the sidelines. We don't lose half our friends standing on the sidelines. We don't shake up and move the idea of comfort and personality we have built by ourselves by standing on the sidelines. It's what we do. It's the easy way, but we are called to more. By ourselves we can not do more. I grow to realize this more and more every day. I've been deeply convicted of times recently where instead of offering a kind word to someone I chose to be harsh. It harkens me back to times in my life that instead of standing up for someone I piled on to fit in. It's the safe action. I also remember that grace covers those failures and by God's grace I can continue on towards perfection of Christian love for all of my brothers and sisters around me. I have to remind myself
It's tough
It's unrealistic
I'm not perfect
Notice it can't be done is missing. It's missing because it can be done but not alone. Not with the power we receive through Christ. I often grow frustrated with my friends who will post a litany of posts on facebook about issues in the world and how terrible they are, yet those very people are too comfortable to take action to change anything. Friends we are not called to a comfortable life. We follow a man who could have very easily sacrificed his principles and joined in rather than standing up and lived. However that was not the life he was called to and it's not the life he calls us to. Take chances. Put yourself on the line. There is no reward for doing the right thing. Doing the right thing will not make you money. It won't make you more friends. It won't give you lasting peace. What doing the right thing will do is let you know that you are laying yourself down for the betterment of those around you. You are living the sacrificial life calls us to even if it means losing your job, your friends, or your family. If we truly feel someone is being prophetic and a voice in the wilderness then are we not failing ourselves to follow? Do the right thing. If you feel that something is the right thing to do then be willing to lay it all on the line to make it happen. Don't lead a church and complain about gay rights if you aren't willing to lay your credentials, your pastorship, or your pensions on the line to make it a reality. Don't complain about violence if you aren't willing to sacrifice your social status, your friends, or even your family to help bring an end to it. Don't post stories about how sad it is that someone has been bullied when you are unwilling to end your role in the bullying itself. Choose true activism. Choose the "road less traveled". Choose to put yourself on the line to make the world a better place for those around you and allow Christ's light to shine through you.
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