In 1947, Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall famously prayed: “Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for—because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.”
Of course, we have all heard this famous quote, but maybe not in its entirety. We need to remember there are three aspects to Marshall’s prayer. Asking God to show us WHERE to stand, WHAT to stand for, and for the ABILITY to stand for good and right. In this three part SKOPOS, we’ll explore the where, the what, and the ability it takes to tackle the issues that we face today.
Knowing WHERE to take a stand could help Christians make such a substantial impact on society. I will tell you this; I know it’s not on Facebook. What an impersonal and cowardly place to take a personal bully pulpit. Social media should be just that, social. I don’t know about you, but I want to see my friend’s families, rejoice in their wins, pray for them, and enjoy friendships. I don’t want to hear about someone’s pseudo-intellectual stance on some issue they likely know little about! I’ve never met anybody whose worldview was changed from Facebook. If you want to make a difference, try getting personal in this impersonal society. Take someone out for coffee, engage with them, care about them, if you see them heading down a certain path that concerns you, have enough guts (really love) to reach out to them and make a focused effort. I love Christian radio, as it is real, interactive, and personal. You can hear my voice, hear my tone, my inflections; we develop a sort of relationship…you can even call into shows like Lifeline. Of course, not everybody has the opportunity to be on the radio; however, you can have a very substantial impact on those around you.
Bottom line, you’re not going to change the world through Facebook, but you just might help change one person’s world by caring enough to reach out to them and taking time to invest in a cup of coffee with them. What a difference we, as Christians, can make if we would just care enough to discern WHERE to take our stands.
Keep listening for SKOPOS as we’ll soon be discussing WHAT to stand for and how to gain confidence and strength to stand for the right things.