Our society, American society, (I know there are problems of epic proportions all over the world, but I am an American and so I will address American issues) is a mess and it disgusts me. We find it not only acceptable but commonplace to use others misfortunes as entertainment. Like in this clip of Chad Johnson's firing from the Miami dolphins. We read posts like this about the current horrors of late term abortion and yet do nothing. We read magazines in worship service and those of us who don't feel righteous by condemning those who do. Ann is right that we have no idea how to really live.
What disgusts me most is that I am to blame. I am no less guilty than the partying stars of Jersey Shore or the cold reporter on the evening news. Just a few miles from my home in either direction, woman are trafficked and I turn a blind eye.
My struggle is how to balance the weight of sin with the incredible grace that makes me no longer guilty but free? I know I cannot solve or even address every issue in our culture but how can I live in a way that says, "I care" and share the hope of Heaven that I have?
Are you disgusted by our society and your own sin? Facing the enormity of our problems how do you avoid complacency to live a meaningful and engaged life?
Pick one person, one corner, one issue to make a difference in. Find one or two or thirty others who will join you. I think we try to play God sometimes by thinking too big. If we start small and find some "success" we can allow God to build on it if he wants.
ReplyDeleteI think too that the "weight of sin" is a motivator to us to do something, rather than a ball and chain that drags us down. If it drags you down, then you aren't walking in the freedom of grace. On the other hand, most of us walk in so much freedom and grace that we don't allow the enormity of the sin/error/unrighteousness to affect our lifestyles. That's probably the biggest problem in American Christianity.
So I love that you take personal responsibility for it. You are a beacon to the rest of us, showing us the way to go. Praise him.
So good, Brian. We can each do well the things God has equipped us to do and made us passionate about. I just never want to live as though the things my society deems as "permissible" are acceptable.
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