Take Action (EJC 43-3)

Sometimes life calls for action that is difficult to take. Often we are unprepared for what seems to come out of the blue. Truthfully if we take time to reflect we might find (but not always) that there were all kinds of clues and indicators fighting their way through the muddiness of our lives to capture our attention. We are surprised when catastrophe hits, we are surprised when great things happen. The question arises as to what are our expectations? It is true that many people are able to get through life unscathed but the numbers in comparison to those who don’t are extremely low. So then, if that is the case why are we not more prepared to respond to whatever life brings to us?

Maybe it is the “it cannot happen to me syndrome”. Maybe it is the human tendency (especially us Americans) to think we are invincible; that somehow and someway our experience on earth will be different than everyone else. Perhaps we are awestruck by our own beauty and talents, so much so that we convince ourselves that those things are our ticket to forever happiness land. Is it all possible that fear may be the culprit? Could it be that our avoidance of sitting with tough issues, our resistance to facing painful truths about ourselves, our denial of the reality another may live in all stem from fear? If that is the case then we should at least attempt some half hearted answer to the question of why?

Why would fear be at the base of our surprised response to life’s events? I believe we are afraid of losing what we have, never gaining what we desire and facing the difficult task of change related to both. We hope catastrophe does not hit because we do not want to deal with the awful process of grief, pain, recovery and healing. We hope to gain the desires of our hearts but often do not want to do the kind of internal work necessary that moves us closer to our goal. We avoid pain at all cost. It is the human response to survival. We resist change that does not come with an upfront guarantee of providing us with what we long for. We deny the pain of others and often the joy as well for fear that acknowledgement would require us to make some type of moral commitment to be involved.

Sometimes life calls for action that is difficult to take. Sometimes we are forced into a place where we can either face what life brings or retreat into a defensive stance. I am not suggesting we should live with an ever present expectation of doom but I am suggesting that we should intentionally live with a broader understanding of what living means. Is our expectation of the life experience so narrow that we only consider what feels good? According to the bombardment of media messages we receive each day the answer seems obvious. Feel me, touch me, love me, kiss me, hold me, give me money, make me happy, give me sex, give me more, give me bigger, make me laugh, do it my way, listen to me, see me and hear me. All of these messages produced in a million different ways thousands of different times have launched us into a mostly narcissistic existence; and do you know what is so sad and pathetic? The majority of us would much rather stay in that state of existence than venture into the realm of genuine living.

Hell, I obviously do not have the answer to all of life’s problems but I do have some. I can say that and confidently mean it because of the life I have led. I hate pain but I have lived through plenty of it. I am afraid of rejection but I continue to reach out to others most unlike me. I have tried over and over again to change many of my life circumstances only to be pushed further behind and deeper under but I choose to press forward making the most out of every opportunity. I am strong emotionally because of my continued choice to accept what life brings all the while determined not to remain crushed by catastrophe or overly inflated by any level of success. I have watched the last two generations become morally and emotionally weaker; consumed with the need to satisfy self at all cost. Our public policies, parenting strategies, spiritual endeavors, educational focus, financial goals and community experience have all worked together to create a foundation shuddering under the weight of self focused, arrogant, narrow minded humans. Many of us actually believe that prayer alone can bring forth a difference.
To them I say, If Moses had not lifted the staff the water would not have parted and though the angel responded to the prayers of the righteous, Peter still had to get up and walk out of the prison he was being delivered from. Yea, I got an issue. No doubt about it. Sometimes life calls for action that is difficult to take. My issue is that most of us are not ready, willing or even interested in action at all; that my friend is a sad testimony to the human experience whether you are a Christian or not. I am taking action are you? Why don’t you share with me how.

Until next time think on this: Your lack of action is responsible for everything that drives you nutty during your time here on earth. If you really want to see something change, start with yourself and then answer the call for action that may be difficult to take.