Be the change. Make the difference
A recent cartoon in my phone showed a group of people tremulously pushing at a door marked “2025”. No wonder given all that we see on our screens. Continuing wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Military threats from China and Russia. An ongoing climate crisis. Here at home worries about access to medical care and social care. The worst of it all is most of this is outside our control. Decisions on these matters are dependent on people at a higher level than us and we have to hope that they will get it right. If that’s the case the question becomes, “Is there really any way that I can make a difference in this world”?
It’s certainly true that I can do little to influence the big issues of the day. I can, however, do an awful lot in my own corner of the earth. Jesus made two amazing statements to his first followers. He said, :”You are the salt of the earth’ and “You are the light of the world”. In his day salt and light were very important commodities. The former was used not only to flavour food, but also to preserve it (No fridges then). The latter was needed especially at night in a time when there were no street lights as we have today. My attitudes and my actions towards others can make a huge difference. I can be salt ,flavouring the lives of the people around me. I can bring light into other people’s darkness. I can visit that lonely person, bring an encouraging word to someone, practice compassion and forgiveness rather than resentment and bitterness. I may not change the whole world, but I can change mine. I can make a difference in my own back yard and if enough of us take the same approach we might make a bigger difference than we imagine.