It's about the starting place

The last post did not mean that I am allowed to become passive, or turn a blind eye to injustice and need. That is clear throughout the law, the prophets, the gospels, and the rest of the Bible:

Don't take away justice for the stranger or the orphan, or take a widow's cloak as collateral. Remember your own slavery in Egypt? Remember how God rescued you? That's why I'm giving this command.

paraphrased from Deuteronomy 24:17-18

Man, he showed you what's good and necessary: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.

paraphrased from Micah 6:8

Here's your misery, you theologians and legalists–hypocrites! You'll donate a tenth of your spice rack, but completely ignore what the law says about important things: justice, mercy, and faith. You should have done these things, without ignoring the others.

paraphrased from Matthew 23:23

If your brother or sister lacks clothing or food, and you just wish them well (without actually doing anything to help), what good is that? So "faith" that doesn't involve action is just dead.

paraphrased from James 2:15-17

There's no shortage of people who will point out how much better the world would be if they were could only fix someone else. And there are certainly injustices and needs that must be pointed out and addressed vigorously. But if I allow vigor to become bitterness, and become contemptuous of the people I hold responsible, I am at grave risk of becoming contemptible myself.

I must begin to deal with circumstances by first dealing with myself.

And in practice, I have to deal with the next five minutes, not the state of the entire planet. How do I regard the co-worker that cuts me off in a meeting or the driver who cuts me off in traffic? How about the brother or sister who makes the same mistakes again (and again)? What about the person who interrupts my agenda, who gets credit for my suggestion, or who doesn't do something I was expecting?

There are times when I may need to respond to the circumstance or behavior, but I am not allowed to write off the other person as hopeless or worthless. I am a work in process, and have received the grace that allows me to continue to grow, to produce the fruit that has not yet appeared in me. That calls me to extend the same grace to those around me, minute by minute.

Always.