Turn On The Switch

“And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’  For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”  And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.  And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?”  Luke 18:3-7 

There was a book that I often refer to called Switch.  It focuses on how to create change when change is hard.  It speaks of the dynamic of three key elements.  There is the rider, the elephant, and the path.  The rider represents our rational side of things.  The elephant represents the emotional side, and the path speaks about the environmental factors.  The goal is to ‘instruct’ the rider, ‘motivate’ the elephant, and ‘shape’ the path.  I will put it into current relevant context.  When we look at what has been happening over the George Floyd incident, all three dynamics are in play.  First, there is the rider.  The rider sees the video, and thinks, “Who in their right mind lays on someone for over 8 minutes to arrest a person?  That is ridiculously wrong!”  Now, there is the elephant, who reacts, “They are killing him!  We have to do something!!!”  Notice the difference between the two?  The path becomes movement toward change.  As we have seen, there were many pathways chosen.  Some were lawless and destructive such as rioting and looting.  Others chose the lengthy processes of pushing for legislation and ideas such as police reform.  Then there were the marches and peaceful protests.  These have proven to be the most impactful because it not only caused less damage but placed great pressure on others to act because of the sheer momentum of people that joined the cause.  That has become the chosen ‘path.’  Having said all this, I began to wonder.  Why is all of this happening now, and where is God in all of this? 

God is a lever for change when the time suits His will.  Police brutality has been happening for decades, but no one acted on it.  Why?  It reminds me of the story of Moses in his talk with God, and God saying, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.” (Exodus 3:7)  Getting back to the ‘Switch’ model, there was no motivation to change policing in most people’s eyes (an elephant problem), and others had no vision for what changes were needed (a rider problem).  The sadness of this all is that it took something so heinous and obvious that people could neither ignore the vision (all are created equal – a rider solution) nor sit idle and accept it (need to right the wrong – an elephant solution).  This bring us to where God’s plan comes in.  What does God’s path look like?  To be able to understand it, we must first trust in God to guide us for as Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Next, we are to pray continually for our journey and path to be taken. 1 Thessalonians 5:16:18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Finally, we must act with the love of God.  Today’s verses are about action.  Whether it be through marches, financial support, volunteering, or other way of supporting the cause, we are to be as persistent as the widow.  No man can withstand the will of God if He is with us.  This is how God’s will is done. 

God’s work requires many elements to make change for His Kingdom and our lives.  It requires wisdom to see His vision, the strength to love to move mountains, and submitting to guide us toward His will being done.  Many will disagree that God does not need us to make societal change.  However, if that were true why did He use Moses?  Wouldn’t Goliath have been slain without David?  Would we need Jesus to act on our behalf to free us from the bondage of sin?  Jesus understood the power of action stating: 

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” Matthew 25:37-40 

Let us move boldly and relentlessly to achieve that which God would want for all of us.  Where is your vision to change lacking?  What is your heart prompting you to change?  My prayer is we lean on God as listed earlier in Proverbs, and simply turn on the ‘Switch.’  Amen.