The 2021 storming of the United States Capitol on Wednesday, January 6th will forever be a stain on U.S. history. I don’t care what side of the political fence you stand on, the actions of that day were horrific and there is no amount of words that could justify the actions of those that participated. As I sat on my back porch Thursday morning I found myself asking God, “What is wrong with this country?” Then I opened my bible and began to read my passage for that day, which was Isaiah chapters 1 through 5. As I read chapter 1 I got a gut check. Here’s what I read:
…cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Isaiah 1:16-17
As I read these words I realized that America has lost its way and that I (and many, many other Christians like me) are responsible for today’s America. This lostness didn’t just happen over night, it’s been going on for some time now. We have been drifting further and further away from God’s ideal for our lives. We are guilty of relegating our authority to be salt and light to others – namely politicians and national leaders. We have decided to sit this one out and that one out and now we find ourselves right where we were designed to be. We have shrieked our responsibilities as followers of Jesus Christ and now we are lost.
You might ask, ‘What responsibilities?” Well, look at Isaiah closely and you will see 3 really important and specific mandates that the prophet Isaiah spoke to the Hebrews and to us today. They are the same ones that the Israelites chose to ignore and they too found them selves lost. Funny how history keeps repeating itself. Let’s look at these three responsibilities:
STOP DOING EVIL
Now I know what you are thinking. I’m not an evil person. You’re right, if you compare yourself to monsters like Adolf Hitler or Charles Manson you are not an evil person. And that’s the problem. We compare ourselves to really bad people and say, “Well I’m not as bad as…” The problem is evil exists in our lives in much more subtle ways. Evil is present when we show anger towards a person. Evil is there when we lie to our spouse. Lusting after our neighbor – evil. Giving the finger to guy that cuts you off in traffic – more evil. Making ourselves more important than others – evil. We may not be murderers but we are prone to acts of evil and we must reign in our evil ways.
LEARN TO DO GOOD
Let’s be real, we have become a “me” centered nation. It’s all about us. We have forgotten what it means to do good for others just because. It seems like when we do good there’s always strings attached or we do it to boost our street cred to make us look good or to make us feel better. We must find our way back to doing good out of our love for God and our love for others. How do we do that? The best way I know how is to look at how Jesus lived and do those things. He loved and accepted everyone. He broke bread with those who were not like him. He sat down with the outcasts. He touched the lepers. He showed mercy towards the downcast. He is the epitome of what it means to do good. We must get back to doing good for no other reason than that is who we are called to be.
ACTIVELY SEEK JUSTICE
I am great at doing acts of mercy. I will gladly go serve at a soup kitchen, feed a homeless person, or spend my spring break serving those who have nothing. But actively seeking justice? This mandate hit me the hardest. I recognized that I have not done a very good job of speaking up and standing up for those who are oppressed, exploited, or abused. I will be the first one to volunteer to pray for these but that is where my efforts often stop. As I read Isaiah’s words I became keenly aware that God is calling me to get up off my knees, leave my prayer room and do something about it. It is not enough to simply pray for God to end racism, that I must physically stand up against racism. I must stand up for my brothers and sisters of color. That I must stand up for young ladies that are being sexually exploited. That I must stand up for those who have no voice for themselves.
CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME
As I read this passage it became obvious that if America is ever going to find it’s way out of the mess we are in it begins with me and maybe it begins with you. I must recognize the evil that is taking up space in my own life and get rid of it. Oh, and I must do this regularly. I must intentionally look for ways to do good daily. And I must actively seek moments to seek justice.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was so impacted by these words from Isaiah that he created his 3 General Rules based on them: do no harm, do good always, and love God as much as you can. You can read more about these rules here. Our country has lost its way and I am convinced that if it is ever going to find its way back there must be change. I am even more convinced that the change that is needed begins with me and the change begins with you. Change is hard and change requires doing hard things. It requires us Christians to stop expecting others to be agents of change, get back to our roots by stop doing evil, do as much good as we can and to seek justice for others. Will you do the hard things?
