Just look around. Malls are full of folks with nearly maxed out credit cards but pressed to buy even more. Folks are going home for the holidays often with little to say after “how have you been?”, “how’s the weather back home?”, and “how was your travel?” Wars in both Iraq (56,000 still there) and Afghanistan (nearly 100,000 troops), cost an estimated, $7 billion a month. Home grown and international terrorists scheme daily attacks on America. North and South Korea stare one another down at their common borders, playing “war games” that impact nations like ours. Added to all that . . .the New Year is just days away and the challenges of gang violence, sex trafficking, Haiti relief, immigration, home foreclosures, jobs shifting overseas, and slow American economic recovery are begging for leaders with courage, integrity, and commitment to the poor and underserved to show up.
What does all this mean to you? Do you feel a spirit of joy and peace about your future? Your job? Your home? Your life? Or. . .are you feeling that there’s something more you can do to make the world where you live and work just a bit more joyful and peaceful?
Let me suggest two things that you and I can do right now to make joy and peace a reality in 2011. Remember that happiness is based on circumstances that come and go, but joy is rooted in a sense of spiritual and emotional well-being whether things are good or bad in your life. Peace is based on harmony within and among people. Often, conflict and hostility come from self-centeredness and obsession with self, e.g. “me first” and “look out for number one”.
First, to bring joy and peace into your world, find a cause bigger than yourself that helps someone less fortunate than you where you can make a real difference. Big or small. . .it does not really matter. How does that sound to you for starters?
Second, get to know the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, who came into the world to forgive sins, save souls, and bring peace among people. Spend time in His love letter to you . . .God's Holy Word (the Bible). Talk to him like you would a close friend about the kind of leaders we need. . .like the ones you see on television or the Internet whose decisions impact your world and mine. St. Paul, the writer of two-thirds of the New Testament, as an older man, told a young man named Timothy, who he was mentoring, how to bring joy and peace into the world. He said, first of all, before you do anything else, pray for everyone, including those you do not like, and especially for rulers and those in authority that we might live peaceful lives.
In other words, he was saying that there is a direct relationship between the kind of planet we live in and how often we talk to God about leaders. Their decisions can bring joy or conflict; peace or pain; poverty or prosperity to us. To put it another way, we have the kind of leaders we pray for! Why? Because prayer does not change things. . .prayer changes people. . .and people change things!
Believe it or not, you and I have much power to change our world, our cities, our neighborhoods, our schools, our families, and even our own lives, through our prayers. Don't get me wrong. Praying does not mean we stop voting, writing letters to elected and appointed leaders, and to the newspaper editors; Blog, Tweet, testify and organize to change our world. We must do it all. So, let’s use both the power of prayer and the power to organize for change, now, and in the New Year, to create the joy and peace we want, personally, for those around us, and for our global community. Have a blessed Christmas and a fantastic New Year using the incredible power you possess to talk to God. He loves hearing your voice!
