Have you ever thought about changing the world? Have you ever thought there’s no point? Have you ever wondered what a world peace would look like? Have you ever wondered what the implications of world peace would be for you? Have you ever thought about any of these things?
I have never faced the horror of war. I’ve never experienced the terrifying command to run from a trench into a hail of large calibre machine gun fire or watch a friend die in action. In fact I can’t really imagine what it would be like.
Likewise I have never face chronic hunger. I’ve missed a few meals along the way, but there’s always another one to be had. I’ve never witnessed the death of a child from starvation or observed the human cost of genocide.
I live a pretty quite life. So why would I want to get involved?
Well the honest truth is, I don’t. It’s much more straightforward to send a few bucks a month to World Vision than to engage my mind and change my life. Too often we’re more afraid of what we don’t know than what we think we know. In fact the latter is more dangerous than the former.
In all honesty I don’t understand all the motivations that began the gulf war – few do. I can’t begin to understand how Americans felt on 9/11 anymore than I can understand how Iraqi’s feel about the chaotic results of the subsequent invasion. I can’t climb into the common mind of political martyrs who blow themselves apart for a cause they believe in – it makes no sense to me. And because I understand so little what can I do?
Yet we are regularly plagued with the question, “what do I do with the life I have?”
When men signed up for front line action in world war I & II they did so because they believed in something. Something complex – part nationalism, part religious, and part heroic. It was the same for Vietnam and Korea. Of those who returned, some were heroes, others seen as political villains. The same can be said for pacifists. Rightly or wrongly they all engaged their lives in order to do make a difference based on what they believed.
I enjoy history, not so much for the facts and details, but rather the nature of the human stories. In modern liberal societies quest to stomp on the graves of misguided generations, we often fail to grasp the sense of engagement that took place.
What is that you believe? Is it big enough to engage with your daily life? Do you believe that what you believe can make a difference?
I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe he made a difference and continues to do so in the world. Following him demands that I make a difference in my space and time. Understanding is not the starting gun, acting on what we believe is. Understanding comes with the journey that began with a belief.
© Digby Wilkinson 2007