Rock the World (Part 1)

The world is a crazy place.  There is no doubt about it.  Everybody knows about the issues that are consuming our culture.  Everybody tells us about the divorce rate and the teenage pregnancies; the drug addictions and the homelessness. 

I don’t know how many times I have heard somebody say, “I want to change the world”; and to be honest, many times I find it hard to believe the people that say these things. 

Why?

Well there are two types of World Changers.  The emotional World Changers, and the Passionate World 

Changers.

1.      

     Emotional World Changers. 

·         These are the ones that watch the PETA commercials, and their heart breaks for the animals. 

·         These are the ones who come back from conferences and they really want to change the world.  They REALLY do… but once the emotions start to wear off, they lose that desire.   

·         These are the ones who go to a concert and come back with dreams of become a rock star.

·         These are the ones who come home every Sunday morning after church feeling great and feeling changed; only to lose those feelings by the time Tuesday rolls around.

The problem with emotions is that they are TEMPORARY. 

The problem with emotions is that although you may sincerely desire to change the world one day, once the emotions wear off that desire is GONE.

It is great to have faith that you can change the world, and it is great to think of a bunch of revolutionary and radical ways to do so, but until you actually put it into action, it means absolutely nothing.

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:14-17)

Faith without actions is dead…there you have it.

2.          Passionate World Changers.

·         The thing about passion is that it is SINCERE.

·         The thing about passion is that it doesn’t pass on.  (get it, passion..pass on)

·         The thing about passion is that even as emotions come and go, passion still remains embedded deep inside of your very makeup. 

Passionate world changers put faith into ACTION. 

²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. (James 2:21-22)

The interesting thing about this verse is this:  Abraham wasn't passionate about sacrificing his son.  Abraham was PASSIONATE about obeying and serving God.  If he was not passionate, then there is absolutely no way that he would be willing to offer his son as a sacrifice.  I try to consider myself passionate about God, and to be honest, I would have an extremely difficult time sacrificing my (hypothetical, made up) son. 

If somebody is TRULY passionate, then their actions should speak volumes.

If somebody is TRULY passionate, then their results should speak volumes.

If somebody is TRULY passionate, then even after failing 199 times, they still try with all of their heart to succeed on the 200^th attempt. 

As you can see, there is a reason behind my skeptical views on these so-called World Changers. 

Good ideas DON’T change the world.

Good intentions CAN’T change the world.

Faith alone WON’T change the world.

Good actions on the other hand, CAN make a difference.