Could we be part of the problem? I remember going to a doctor once and asked if my diet and general health could be part of my medical challenges. He was not happy with my questions. Why do you Christians always think it’s all about sin? he ranted. Why do you always believe someone has to be blamed!
Needless to say, that doctor and I never became close. But he did make me think. In previous, more religious times and in more religious cultures, when bad things happen people ask Could we be part of the problem? Could we be doing something wrong that is causing this season of difficulty, illness or pain?
I recently watched an amazing Netflix documentary called Kiss the Ground. https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81321999
The central message of the film is that there is a lot wrong with the way we are living on Planet Earth. No news there. The message sounds negative, bleak and preachy. This movie, however, presents a message full of hope. If we are doing something wrong, then maybe we can change. Things might stop getting worse… and might actually start to get better… and those improvements might even begin to happen quickly.
The idea that we might be part of the problem sounds judgemental and negative, but quite the opposite is actually true. If we are part of the problem, then we can be part of the solution. At the heart of the gentle Nazarene’s message was a call to repent.
But unless you repent, you too will all perish. - Luke 13:3 (NIV)
Repent means ‘to turn around’. If we are walking away, we need to turn back. If we are lost, we need to find the path. If we are headed for disaster, we need to do a U-turn. If we are stalled and have lost the wind, we need to tack and find the breeze again.
Could we be part of the problem? leads to the even more scary thought, Could I be part of the problem? Scary…yes…but hopeful too. If I am part of the problem, then I can also be part of the solution.
Michael Jackson might not have heeded the song’s advice, but the sentiment remains timeless.
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
(If you want to make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change…
As G.K. Chesterton wrote in his letter to the Times,
ReplyDeleteDear Sir: Regarding your article 'What's Wrong with the World?' I am. Yours truly,
G.K. Chesterton