Especially with a presidential election on the horizon, one hears a lot about what people want "changed" about our country and world. People are calling for education reform, welfare reform, government policy reform- basically, people are calling for change. However, neither Trump or Clinton (or any of the lesser talked about candidates) can single-handedly change the world. That responsibility falls on the entire 7 billion of us.
Everyone complains that average people have no power in the world; we are all slaves to government bureaucracy. This could not be further from the truth. Sure, the vote is not always going to go your way, but do you really think that laws and mandates are the only way to change things?
A saying that I've always heard is, "you get what you give." Now obviously, this isn't meant to be taken literally. Just because you give time or money to someone or something does not mean you get time or money back. I take it to mean that in order to get something out of this crazy thing called life, whether it is meaning, adventure, or whatever else you're looking for, you have to put something into it. Personally, I think that something is service.
Volunteering is something that is simply part of human nature. My niece is almost two, and she loves to "hep." She tries helping put away laundry, and sometimes she even helps me get out of bed early in the morning, like my personal alarm clock- with no snooze button. I wonder how we get away from that? We start out with all this hope and faith in the world, ready to lend a hand and help anyone who needs it, and we end up being self-concerned adults screaming at one another and playing the blame game when it comes to the world's problems.
We need a better end result.
If my first semester of college has taught me anything, it is the importance of service. I am involved with the Bonner Scholars Program at Lindsey Wilson. In Bonner, our focus is on community service, civic engagement, and personal reflection and growth.
Service isn't just something we are meant to do, it is something we are called to do. In Matthew 25: 35-40 of the Bible, Jesus says to his disciples that they gave him food when he was hungry, took him in as a stranger, visited him when he was sick, and came to him in prison. The disciples were very confused when he said this and asked him when they did these things. Jesus' response was, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." I take this statement as Jesus saying, treat even the poorest, vilest people you know and treat them as you would the Lord. There are people out there suffering, even dying, and we sit around talking about what a shame it is.
It is time for us to stop sitting on our hands while we are, in the words of John Mayer, "waiting on the world to change." Let's take action. Let's "be the change." Serving is more fun than you might think, and you might just be surprised at what you learn.
