Rough Draft: Faith Is A Verb
Great. Congratulations. Have a cookie.
I just realized that I’m one entry short of hitting thirty-one for Write Every Day in July (minus the reflection). I did not finish this piece for #WEDJ2019 but I thought that the meat of this entry was worth getting out into the universe.
Peace & Love. — Ci
“I’m not one of those pro-life hypocrites.” “I believe in marriage equality.” “Our church is inclusive.”
Great. Congratulations. Have a cookie.
Have you ever addressed the hypocrisy? Have you provided a safe space for a LGBTQIA teen who has been ostracized by their ultra-conservative family? Have you gone beyond posting Bible verses after an officer-involved shooting and stepped into a house of faith that’s origins were not White? What we all must ask ourselves in this time that feels so divisive is why we haven’t acted out our convictions. Why are we so afraid to turn into active allies. What has us so shook to shake things up and remember that ‘faith’ is a verb?
At some point we get tired of complaining and yelling at walls.
Or pretending as if we’re warriors for social justice when we’re really out here wimping out at every chance to do the work.
The danger of going against the standard — going rogue or rebelling against the status quo — is that we trick ourselves into believing that the simple act of voicing our rebellion is enough. That’s peak bravery. Saying something and catching Hell on Facebook is the ultimate chess move. You made Aunt Sally mad. Cool, cool.
That isn’t enough, especially when folks who don’t have much to lose are doing much more than you or I could ever do behind these keyboards, yelling at “people” who we “disagree” with.
I think we also forget that spreading the Gospel and living the Word is the ultimate form of protest. Everything about this world says that we aren’t supposed to love each other or pursue justice or care of the voiceless. You don’t need a following. You just need to exist.
This is my attempt to write every day in July. To read more, follow the hashtag #wedj2019!
