It's not my problem

I wonder how often you hear someone moaning about some issue. It might be the NHS. It might be the fact that the roads are in a state. Or a problem with litter. We're always wonderful about moaning about it. And it's always "Why don't they do something about it?"

H.G. Wells once wrote an essay on that tribe of people he called the "goodness sakers." These are the people who see something that needs doing, or see some social evil, or detect some moral shortcoming, and they stand and wring their hands, and say, "For goodness sake, why doesn't someone do something about this?"

It is WE who have been called to do something. We cannot answer the question why there should be hunger in the world, but we can do our part to see that some of the hungry are fed. We can't answer the question why sometimes healthy adults with families are struck down in midlife, but we can be there to bring comfort and to supply both material and emotional support.

A young university student once visited the German writer and poet Wolfgang von Goethe. The student asked Goethe to sign a copy of a book. Goethe signed the book, thought a moment, and then wrote: "Let each person sweep in front of his own door, and then the whole world will be clean." Each person doing his best, linked to other persons exerting their best efforts, can accomplish great things. That is our calling. We cannot solve all the world's problems but we must do what we can.

There was huge cynicism (and I think much of it justified) when a few years back David Cameron trumpeted "The Big Society". His grandiose idea that if everyone in society mucked in a great deal would be achieved. And not long after cuts to public services happened. In some areas people stepped in e.g. to run public libraries. But "The Big Society" couldn't ever hope to replace public services that have been culled.

That said we all can make a difference and we all should be prepared to play our part.

When I was a child, I dreaded the annual Sunday School Anniversary. I'd be made to perform a "Recitation". A piece of worthless doggerel with a corny moral. The trouble is some have stuck such as this:

A simpleton went in to a bank
And said with the greatest of ease
I'd like to draw out fifty pounds
In Ten Shilling notes if you please

The cashier replied "Ah well, well, well.
You must pardon me sir if I grin.
But you cannot take anything out
If you haven't put anything in"

The moral is easy to see
You've seen it already no doubt
If you put little into each day
I'm afraid you won't get a lot out!

It's hardly Keats or Wordsworth is it?

That said we cannot moan if we won't try and do something about the situation we live in. We all have our part to play.

And the same is true in prayer for we are constantly asking God to solve the world's problems in our prayers. Meanwhile He is asking us to do the same thing. We need the spirit that Winston Churchill embodied so memorably. As Great Britain was fighting for its life during World War II before America's entry into the war, Churchill wrote to President Roosevelt, "Give us the tools and we will finish the job."

That ought to be our approach to prayer too. Rather than praying for peace in the world, we need to pray that God would make us peacemakers. Rather than asking God for special favours, we need to pray that He show us someone less fortunate than ourselves who needs our assistance. Is your faith mere superstition or is it authentic Christian faith? Do you attempt to use God or are you willing to be used by Him?

A politician was trying to convince the electorate that he was open and accessible. He told the audience at a rally once that he would be pleased to speak with them any hour of the day or night. "In fact," he said, "here's the telephone number..." and proceeded to recite it. There was a sudden outcry from one of his assistants. "Hey!That's my number you're giving out!"

Isn't it true that if God needs something done, we really hope that He will call Mother Teresa's number or Billy Graham's number or at least someone else in church’s number! We hope He calls anyone but us. When really we should be waiting for God to call us.