I find it interesting (ironic?) how—as the saying goes, things change and yet remain the same.

Walt Kelly summed up the situation concerning pollution very well on Earth Day in 1971 with the now famous comic strip. Indeed, the enemy is us. 

It’s all too easy to objectify things and people, and to externalize perceived problems. It’s this or that thing…it’s this or that group of people.

This is not who we are!

Wait! What? It’s not?

I am persuaded that many who confess allegiance to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and are familiar with the biblical stories and messages, have completely missed the point of the relationship. To turn a political phrase, it’s the application, stupid!

It took the prophetic voice of Nathan to speak directly to King David to show who he really was. Knowledge and words are only steps on the path of transformation. They must be accompanied by a willingness (in the words of Michael Jackson) for change. Just a heads up—evil can take the shape of active participation and passive complicit silence.

Might I suggest a response to the devastation all around?

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

Categories: Christian Christianity Prayer Sedition Washington

Pastor Mark

Mark, the eighth of nine children born to Reuben and Henrietta Meeks—dedicated church planters with nearly 30 congregations established across California’s Central Valley—is a preacher's kid who grew up immersed in faith and service. With over forty years of experience teaching, discipling, and ministering to communities, including the hospitalized and incarcerated, Mark responded to God's call to pastoral ministry. He holds degrees in civil engineering and public administration, as well as a Master’s in Theology from Fuller Seminary, equipping him to serve with both practical insight and spiritual depth.