Why has that become our first response?
One day my daughter brought home her U.S. History textbook from school. I asked her if I could flip through the pages and quickly noticed that the historical timeline had been divided into multiple sections, each a decade or two long. The sections were called units, and each unit introduction used this same structure: identify the pressing issue for that time, and then ask, “How can the government fix this?”
What I learned that day was that the class wasn’t just teaching history, it was also teaching a worldview. Multiple times a year the students were presented with a problem and then asked, “How can government fix this problem?” It was indoctrination that I should have been concerned about, not historical inaccuracies.
I recently posted a question on social media and asked, “If you could do one thing to make Henry County better, what would that be?” Surprisingly, most of the answers were statements about what “we” should do - “we” meaning government. Very few answers included a personalized, “Here’s what I would do.”
However, personal responsibility goes further. What are WE going to do? You and me, not government. What is OUR responsibility? We are not powerless, we’ve just forgotten that we each have the power to make a difference.
They thought, doesn’t he know how many people there are and how much money it would take to purchase the food? We don’t have nearly enough workers and we don’t have the authority to do anything that would make a difference. Yet this unreasonable command still hung in the air. “You feed them.”
In moments they would find out just how much they could accomplish with a little boy, who was willing to give everything he had, and the blessing of God.
Here we are, once again. Overwhelmed by a crisis. Our culture desperately looking to government with open mouths and begging, “Feed me!” But that cannot be our first response; not if we want to live free.
Our first response should be, “What can I do to make a difference?” “What is my responsibility?” “Where are our ‘troubled teens?’” “How can I protect our children?”
Our first response should never be, “How can government fix this?” We are called to respond to one of the most shocking commands ever given. In the face of overwhelming need, and recognizing our inadequate resources, how will we respond to this command? “You feed them.”
Will we be like hungry baby birds in an unsteady nest, or will we give what we have, in child-like faith, knowing our efforts will be blessed?
The choice is yours. Choose well.
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| Photo Credit: Pinterest |
Another crisis, this time a school shooting, and grief and anger sweep over us in a sea of emotions. The response is the same as the last crisis, the last dozen crises, nearly every crisis we experience - “How can government save us?”
We’re like baby birds in a nest that has just been jostled. We open our mouths and expect someone else to feed us.
Prior to that moment I was concerned with whether U.S. History was being presented accurately. Most errors in history books are not found in what they include, but in what they selectively and systematically leave out. A good editor can shape what we learn by how the information is organized and presented, and what information they intentionally refuse to show us.
I believe that people should be held responsible for their own actions. Personal responsibility. You can dodge, deflect, and blame someone or something all you want, but each of us is responsible for our own actions.
One of the most striking things that Jesus said was when he looked at the hungry crowds and said to his disciples, “You feed them.” They were dumbfounded.
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