One Plastic Cup at a Time

Personal responsibility is the only way out of society's mess

When we are kids we are taught very clearly that we are not supposed to litter. "You might think 'it's just a plastic cup'" - we are told by our primary school teachers - "But if everybody throws one plastic cup on the ground our town would be gross pretty soon!".

As children we get it (or at least most of us do). If you don't like stuff on the ground, don't throw stuff on the ground. But we seem to be uncapable of transferring that notion to other areas of society.

If there is something in society we don't like, it's because someone put it there.

"Society" takes the blame for a lot these days, but we conveniently seem to forget that society isn't some separate entity. It's just a bunch of people, making individual decisions that ends up screwing up the many.

As Christians this shouldn't be hard to understand. The Bible is filled with individual decisions that changed everything for society. God decided to create people [Genesis 1:26]. Abraham had to decide to go away from his country [Genesis 12:4]. Rahab decided to hide the two spies [Joshua 2:12]. Esther decided to go the king [Esther 4:16]. David decided not to kill Saul when he had the chance [1 Samuel 24:4]. Jesus decided to face his execution [Matthew 26:42].

Society is pretty bad right now because people are pretty bad right now. And since so many people in the Americas still identify as Christian we have to face that our share of blame is huge.

Sure, we can talk about the bad "Christian" public figures, and about the scandalous pastors, and about the lame Christian influencers, and whoever else we choose to redirect the blame. But the fact is that there is nothing, or very little, we can do about other Christians behaviors'.

But we can and should to change our own behavior. Stop our own personal contributions to general 'world suck'. I believe that if all Christians woke up to the reality of personal responsibility the world would be unrecognizably better. And Jesus' message would spread more effectively then any miracle could manage.

The miracle of love, to God, self and others should make us aware of our actions. And it still has the power to provoke a true love revolution.

So, let's pick up the plastic cups we've thrown on the ground. Stop throwing new ones. And watch the miracle happen.