I put a political bumper sticker on my car for the first time. Ever. While this may seem trivial, I feel it was a mark of extreme bravery.
At some point in life I absorbed the lesson that good women don’t make waves. Good women don’t offend. But today, as it feels like the heart and soul of America and her people are on the line, I am compelled to live louder, braver, and maybe offend a few while advocating for the many.
The problem? I don’t know what to do with this newfound desire to be an advocate. I have never been taught how to speak up for the voiceless.
Schools taught us “citizenship” through student government elections that ended up as popularity contests with MIA class vice-presidents twenty years later. Churches taught us “global impact” by asking us to collect quarters in cute little orange boxes for chickens that went…somewhere… And the Internet teaches us that to speak out and be brave will result in hate-filled comments coming our way faster than I can get my chocolate from the pantry to deal with it all.
As a Christian, as someone who did the deep dive to get her 200 hour yoga certification, as a mother who is wildly attuned to and consumed with the world she is leaving behind for her sons, I consider my impact now more than ever.
I want to be responsible for actively shaping the world.
I want to be a good steward to the physical earth, help those suffering from natural disasters, sponsor a child through Compassion, and make an impact by filling a need.
But is it enough? Is it ever enough?
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Have you seen “Jesus Christ Superstar?” One beautiful moment during the pandemic was when Andrew Lloyd Weber released the newest version of this epic musical on YouTube for a limited viewing. The scene where the needy, hungry and ill are tearing at Jesus’ robes, begging to be healed, and he is overwhelmed and crowded… I shed tears.
I am simultaneously the needy one and the one trying to heal.
So the question is, in this time where suffering is all around us, what can we do to heal and help those who can't advocate for themselves?
I don’t have all the answers, but here are some ideas I can offer you.
We educate ourselves.
Yes, looking outwards and truly seeing the world’s needs requires us to first go inwards and wander our own internal landscape.
We read sacred texts, articles and books that uplift us, books about Christianity and what it looks like. We journal. We pray. We meditate. We get our own house in order and our own heart right.
Then we read deep articles with background and history, with context. For example, we dig into which child trafficking posts and memes are legit and deserve our attention. We need to know the factual landscape of the world so we know which people truly need us.
We listen to others.
Part of education, and part of stepping out into the world, is being able to listen. We need to stop trying to have all the answers.
Listening to those who need their voices amplified is the only way advocacy works. If we don’t stop talking, tweeting, posting on Facebook, or sending out emails, if we don’t sit long enough to allow someone else IN because all of us is going OUT, we miss an opportunity.
We have to listen to the counsel of those who actually have the need.
We think about others. And we love them.
I was told growing up, “you don’t have to like them, but you do have to love them.” Even those that challenge our hearts and our minds…we start with love. We don’t have to condone or accept. But we are called to love.
We must understand that anger and impatience gets us nowhere. And we also must remember that humans are complicated and complex. Be wary of over-simplification that makes it easy to hate your fellow humans.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ”
We plug in to causes and communities bigger than ourselves, ones that may stretch us.
There are so many organizations out there doing the good work of love. These organizations pay professionals who have the experience and ability to make broader impacts.
Jesus believed and advocated strongly for community. While he overturned tables in the temple where selfishly people hawked their own interests, he also created a community of tightknit disciples who lived day-to-night with him in an effort to take love and hope throughout the known world. He had a team.
I, of course, am a long-term supporter of Compassion. But there are so many organizations that need your talents, contributions and passion for whatever cause is dearest to your heart.
Don’t do it alone. Team up.
We put our energy to the places we can make an impact.
It’s not another cocktail-infused lament to someone like-minded about how terrible the “other guys” are or an anger-driven social media post. While these can feel cathartic, they sap our energy and rarely make an impact on the part of those who need it. (Or, perhaps even, they make the wrong kind of difference.)
We focus on where we get our news (make it reliable and as unbiased as possible). We put our energy into consuming with intent and awareness.
We put our energy into intimate conversations of grace and kindness with those who may think differently in an effort to understand, not an attempt to change. We role model respectful dialogue. We show others what it is like to have hard conversations around hefty topics.
We don’t allow complacency to set in. So we take time to rest and reflect.
Even Jesus took time away, and he only had about a three year window in which he was doing his work. I like this model.
Only if we are prepared and rested can we be strong warriors. Only if we stop and ruminate can we determine if we are being complacent.
We need to go to the well that fills us with the water we want to drink. We must be conscious that we are always focused on what matters, and that requires that we be intentional with our rest.
Doing the good work for others is HARD. It is a battle that is done with very little tangible reward. In fact, results from our efforts and work may not even be evident in our lifetime.
Advocating for those who need can also feel risky. What can we lose by bolding stepping out? Like the Samaritan who helped the dying man on the side of the road, we watch others walk by and wonder if there are still robbers waiting to ambush. There are so many reasons not to even begin.
But ultimately, this world is ours. And whether we like it or whether we acknowledge it, we are connected. Those who have a need are my brothers and sisters.
So we do what we can and we persist.
Sometimes that means manual labor, giving financial resources, or showing up for a cause.
And sometimes that can simply be a bumper sticker.