Once you know, you can’t “unknow” the injustice,
the cruelty, the inhumane, the grotesque you just witnessed from a friend’s
Facebook post or Twitter feed. And you have already made a rally cry using your
own keyboard, posted your own versions of the same issue, relied on friends for
more of the story or interpretations, and social media is “blowing up.”
So now what?
Here are a few things that will prepare you when
stepping away from your screen to fully join the campaign for legitimate social
and political change:
- Pray really hard and without ceasing. It’s just that simple, and yet so complex and powerful. One can sit on a computer all day, but crying out to the Lord is where the action is and always will be. God says so.
- Put on the full armor of God. See Ephesians 6:10-18:
Finally, be strong in
the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so
that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces
of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of
God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground,
and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with
the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up
the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of
the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all
the Lord’s people.
3.
Do your homework. Research
and then do more research and then ask the experts and then ask a few more.
Cognitive dissonance and an inability to understand all sides of the issue
could be the chink in your armor and a deterrent to those who need you the most.
Research will also allow you to experience empathy and sympathy, which are
powerful tools of change.
4.
Take care of yourself, too.
Spiritually and emotionally—so you are able for the long hard road ahead. You
might be stuck in the trenches of outrage, fear, and disappointment in the
sinful world for a while. You need to be healthy for the fight. The
effectiveness of your actions rely on the force in which you are able to make
them, even the small ones.
5.
Show up at home before you
head out the door. Generationally, change starts at home. How we raise our
children and influence our family in deed and in word creates godly strongholds
and good citizens. Sometimes, activism gets caught up in the big picture with a
microphone, but campaigns start among blood and friends. Then, it hits the
streets and the polls and the world. You may or may not be able to make the
national rally, but you can show up at the dinner table, to the local polls and
the classroom, and sit in the pews, and listen at the townhalls, and write for
local papers’ editorial sections . . . but, most importantly, show up at home.
(Remember, you can vote from home these days too.)
There are vast measures and small measures that
one can take in the name of change and sometimes that requires leaving the
comfort of Facebook ranting. Get prepared: it’s going to be a long (think generations), hard fight.
Note: While social media
is an extremely powerful tool when social and political change is in order, it
is not our only option. Often social media becomes an emotional dumping ground
for one’s beliefs and not a healthy interaction to win over hearts and minds.
While there are many logical, thoughtful, and Biblical posts, they are not
always as powerful as prayer, volunteerism, forgiveness, and literal hand
holding . . .and, above all, love.
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