This is probably a little out of character for me but I thought I'd share with you some of my inner ramblings. I'm a little tired of people talking about community. Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe in community but what I'm tired of is the hypocrisy. I hear things like "let's be the church for the world" and "we're all in this together, shoulder to shoulder". Or my favorite, "I've got your back".
In reality what I see right now is most people fending for themselves. In this economy I see people hoarding instead of living open handedly. How can we ever "be the church for the world" if we can't be the church for our neighbor? I'm pretty sure Jesus meant it when he said "love your neighbor as yourself."
In my opinion, there will never be revival in America because of this attitude. It takes a natural disaster or something like 9/11 for American's to wake up and not be so selfish, independent and entitled. I mean really, look at what's going on in Haiti right now. The world comes together when there's an earthquake, but not when we have 10 million people unemployed.
Silence is a lousy communicator. I have a friend whose father recently died, and most people she knows have said nothing..."Not how ya doin?," "how can I help?"... nothing. It used to be that people would show up at your door-step with food or flowers, just to say "I'm sorry for your loss" or "can I sit with you while you grieve?" Not anymore.
I'm sure I sound judgmental. Hopefully this comes across as less than an accusation, and more of an observation. I'm the first to admit that I'm a little self-righteous in all this because I have done the hard thing. We lived in community with another family for over a year, and it was hard. We had our moments of good, bad and sometimes ugly. We can laugh about it now, mostly.
Sara Groves has a song called Every Minute, here's part of the lyrics:
And I can think of time when families all lived together • Four generations in one house • And the table was full of good food • And friends and neighbors • That's not how we like it now • Cause if you sit at home you're a loser • Couldn't you find anything better to do •
(she sings that as sort of a question, and the answer is this...)
• Well no I couldn't think of one thing • I would rather waste my time on than sitting here with you •
I'd like to challenge us to do the hard thing, to reach out when you don't have the energy. Forgive when you don't feel like it. Choose love, choose community. Maybe doing the hard thing is asking for help when you're in need. So ask.
Mother Teresa said "Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."
Thanks for reading my ramblings/rant.
Have a beauty-filled day.
Ciao.
