Good, bad, or indifferent, I’m the common denominator in every event and circumstance in my life. If I get to take credit for the celebration and praise-worthy instances, I must also take responsibility and credit for the lackluster and substandard occasions as well.
The way in was me, and so it is for the way out. If I want more, then I stay the course. If I want change, like everything else, that movement begins with me as well.
Simply because I’m human and share the planet, life sends me surprises. I may not be responsible for that, but I am still at the center of the space created from my own response.
Today, we had our third mass shooting in the USA in one week. We lost over 30 brothers and sisters; many were children, and over 40 were injured and/or hospitalized. Some are in critical condition.
You’re a good, law-abiding citizen. You play by all the rules. Perhaps you regularly attend worship. You don’t cuss. You care about others, and you pray for them — even for your enemies like you are told. You don’t allow wrong-doers time. You donate and tithe to good causes. You avoid gossip. You prepare meals for the ill and elderly.
You are the model of do-right.
Your only sin (error)? You did nothing in the face of the adversity and oppression of others. But wait… you sent out your thoughts and prayers — and you really did! You didn’t just say that you did! But then you sat silent. You did not move. You did not lift a finger. You did not make one attempt to change a thing, not even with yourself, not even inside your own mind.
What will you do one day if the _______________ comes for you or one of yours? Will you remember that you sat down while others were being harmed — that you watched in silence, or turned your back to it completely? Will you remember that you looked away when they showed the bodies because it was too awful to think about, to talk about? Will you remember that after you prayed for them you went back in your home, away from the hard things, and carried on like usual? Will you remember that you thought it didn’t affect you, so there was nothing for you to do? Will you remember that you thought you were only one person?
Proverbs 24 11 Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. 12 Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.
Debora Lynn: 