I was born in the little town of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania that is); therefore, I grew up in a family that brainwashed me into being a Penn State University fan (kind of…really, I am a Steelers fan)! So, when SportsCenter reported the firing of Joe Paterno the other night (11 9 11)…I was shocked, angry, disappointed, and confused…and yet, I realized that there is a huge need for justice and redemption (considering that this entire situation is MUCH bigger than football)!
After much reflection and prayer, I have come to the conclusion that the ultimate problem with this entire situation was a lack of action and a lack of genuine love! For those of us who are followers of Jesus, we MUST be people who take action against injustices (this should flow out of our genuine love for God and others)!
One of my all time favorite scripture passages is:
“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” -James 4:17
A famous quote that echoes the theme of this passage is:
We can’t be content with simply not doing bad things! We need to be people of action…people who notice injustices, suffering, and brokenness around us and actually DO something about it! Tragedies and injustices (like the PSU scandal) should break our hearts and remind us to be people who take action when we see injustice…we can’t just pass the responsibility off to others to handle the injustices that we see around us!
Are your eyes open to brokenness around you? Are you taking action against the injustices that you see? Are you genuinely loving those whom God puts in your path? Will you be someone who stands up against evil and injustice?
Here is the best blog post that I’ve seen about this PSU Scandal:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/11/12/love-notices-wet-hair/
Oh…and by the way, I married into a family of Michigan State University fans….and I think that I am finally switching my allegiances…GO SPARTY!
November 15th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
The Penn State situation is very sad, but your quote about good men doing nothing hits right to the heart of the matter. What would our world look like if even once a day we took the time to right one wrong thing in the world, whether it be giving food to to a food bank, or picking up litter on the street, or something much bigger. By the way, it’s about time you turned to Sparty! GO GREEN!