An Inside Job

We’ve heard the saying – “Be the change you wish to see” (attributed to Mahatma Gandhi) and we get the concept, that before anything changes in the world, something must change in us. What we may not be aware of is how this reality (change inside before change outside) is nonnegotiable. Let me lay a Christian framework first so there is no confusion: When Jesus began his ministry, he began with the proclamation, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17, see also Matt 3:2, 10:7, Mark 1:17, Luke 8:1, John 3:5 and a dozen other passages). Repentance, whether we mean an inward repentance of thoughts and values, an outward repentance of behavior, or both, involves change. This same change dynamic was present through the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) as well, in every single prophet.

It has always been that, before we can hope to see the world around us change, we must change the world within us. First, our eyes cannot see what we do not train them to see. I have learned that to train my puppy properly, I must train my mind to think more like a puppy. The world hasn’t changed, but my way of looking at it has – I now notice how many squirrels, birds, and interesting things live all around me, and I am a better trainer as a result. Second, our minds cannot bring about change we have not experienced. As I and every religious leader have learned, our ability to lead others depends greatly on learning how to lead ourselves first. We do not have to have perfect lives (thank God!), but we must develop disciplined lives. Third, just as salvation occurs because of grace (“By grace you have been saved” as in Ephesians 2:5, Acts 15:11, 2 Timothy 1:9), so change occurs through the means of God’s grace as well. While we must work on internal change, we are working alongside the Lord, who works within us – “God is at work within you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

If you are still reading at this point, excellent – because now that the framework is in place, I want to introduce you to the real work that I believe is in front of all of us – the work of loving people around us, which begins by loving ourselves, because if we omit loving ourselves as God loves us, we can create more turmoil where we want to bring peace (see James 4:1-7). Why is loving our neighbors, and especially those who are close to us, worthy of our energy? Simply put, because everything we may want comes from here. If we want to see people freed from addiction, become more stable, contribute to the needs of others, participate as citizens, lead by example – if we want to see people flourish, our community become safer, our economy grow, we must love the people in our community.

A number of people have recently spoken to me about how they sense that we may be moving towards “the end of times,” and they make a good argument. Our society does seem to be spinning out of control and scriptural warnings about the end do seem to be piling up. However, the more I consider it, the more I am drawn to the prophet Malachi, who spoke of the great day of the Lord in simple terms. His caution at the end of his book is this: “I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). Simply put then, love the Lord, love yourself, love your family, love your community, change the world. The jump from loving people in our own families and changing the world seems like a huge leap, but what if we took Malachi at face value and trusted that it is all connected? What’s the worst that could happen? The world could end while we were loving the people in our neighborhoods. What would be wrong with that? And if Malachi is correct, we would be preventing a terrible curse from befalling everyone. Again, what have we to lose in any case?