I am an activist

I am an activist. I wasn’t always this way. Maybe it was the social justice class I took a while back. Maybe it was hanging out with friends who cared about what was happening in the world. Maybe it was my own research into environmental and humanitarian issues. Or maybe it was a combination of all these things.

The point is, I’ve found myself getting into more and more trouble over my beliefs.

At Christmas, I offended my mother by refusing to wear a pair of shoes she had bought me until I found out whether or not they can come from a sweatshop. She felt I was being rude for not just accepting the gift. I think she was very hurt by it.

I also offended a woman I stayed with during the holidays. I made it clear I thought America should be pursuing peace instead of profit. She thought I was not paying attention to all of the facts and turning my back on my Christian upbringing. We were both so angry at each other by the end of our “conversation” that we were both crying.

The other day I firmly rebuked someone for throwing paper out instead of putting it in the recycle bin. I think they felt I was invading their personal space and telling them what to do. I probably was, but it was for a good cause!

Recently I was asked to name some of the most important things in my life. I named environmental and humanitarian issues as two of my real passions. I was then asked if I had given them to God. To be honest, I hadn’t. I had heard of giving God things like, relationships, time, energy, etc. But these are REALLY BIG issues. I’ve never prayed for world peace or to save the rainforest.

My friend says its all useless because the world’s coming to an end anyway. She says no matter what we try to do, its all coming to an end and therefore, our efforts are pointless. I suppose she has a point. Why clean the house yourself, when the maid service is on the way?

I gave it some thought. I thought about it long and hard. I came to a conclusion. I don’t agree.

God is supposed to be a BIG God. He’s supposed to be able to tackle even the biggest problems, right? Someone once told me,

“Don’t tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big your God is!”

My friend is right, “God is coming soon”. But He’s been coming soon for quite some time now. And while we wait, we shouldn’t trash the waiting room or abuse other people in that room.
I guess all this should bring me to a closing paragraph. What are my conclusions? I’m still an activist. I’m still likely to offend you by telling you off for knowingly buying products made in sweatshops. I’m still going to take my paper (and yours if you’ll let me), to the recycle bin. But now, I’m more willing to pray for peace or for God to save the environment. I know it sounds funny. I mean, even I laugh when I read it, but hey, what can it really hurt?