With the G8 Summit going on these days, globalization is in the air. Of course, that air is so polluted I can barely breathe, thanks especially to our presidents brilliant choice to not sign the Kyoto Protocol.
Last night I watched The Yes Men. It is a documentary following a group of guys who speak at conferences posing as WTO spokespeople. They say terrible, outrageous things about slavery, sweat shops, etc., but nobody ever bats an eye. People are saying that our world is getting smaller, but I wonder if that's a good thing...
I've heard terms thrown around like "global community," but that isn't what I see. I see global cliques and outcasts (look at the history of NATO, not to mention the quasi-demonic WTO), with each country representing a middle schooler, only instead of getting picked on for acne or braces, millions starve while thousands do laps in their heated pools. Global community? Try global catastrophe.
It's at a time like this that the Gospel has to come in with something better than pie-in-the-sky faith or health, wealth and prosperity. The Gospel has moving and profound things to say to this situation. Our God is speaking, but we don't like what he is challenging us to do, so we ignore him. What are we going to do with the fact that there are wealthy Christians in a shrinking world in which others are starving to death? Or others are being systematically raped, abused and/or murdered? The neglected are closer than ever...what do we do? Is Bono the only one that is going to do something?
It is definitely time for us to start living intentionally. No more letting life happen to us. I think the Gospel tranforming our lives causes us to happen to the world. If we let it, that is...
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Queen Bees and Wannabes. I can't remember the author's name, but it's the book that the movie Mean Girls was based off of.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I appreciate this, Matt. I thought The Yes Men was brilliant, hilarious, and tragic -- a good indicator of how far our world has fallen.
While I am all for action instead of words, I struggle with exactly how I should change my lifestyle to better the world. Do I sell all I have and give to the poor, as Jesus instructed one fellow in Matthew 19? Do I join all the protests I can to make my voice heard by the powers-that-be? Do I live like Ghandi, with nothing but the clothes on my back and a napsack, and try to be an example for others to follow?
I feel good about myself if I give a granola bar to a homeless person on the street corner. But how much good am I doing for the world? The world poverty problem seems insurmountable, and all of our writing, speaking, and protests don't seem to have much effect on the general direction of our world's economy.
I guess living a responsible (response-able) life on earth is like doing the same in the spirit -- a long and difficult process with few immediate rewards but great eternal hope. We try to live a certain intentional way because God commands it and because we believe it will ultimately be for the good. Perhaps that is all we can ask for; not to change the world, but to change ourselves -- and hope that enough of us pebbles being dropped in the pond of worldliness will cause an ever-greater ripple of righteousness and redemption.
sometimes I wonder to myself, "how I can make a difference?". What can I do to change the world? How can I get the ears of people who can change things? People like Bono are cool guys, and they are trying to change things with what they are given and the resources/position they are given.
All I really have is my art. I look at song writers like Rage Against the Machine, Tracy Chapman, Tupac Shakur, and I love what I see: people who are writing to bring forth a social conciousness and let people know that there are some pretty f@#$d up things that are going on and we just look at them and say to ourselves, "that's too bad" and go on eating our dinners.
Life sucks then you die.
Post a Comment