thank you Bono

In the latest issue of TIME magazine is an essay written by Bono. He is making a call to Europe to assist neighboring Africa, to thereby live up to the vision of what Europe was meant to be - by providing aid and protection to those less fortunate.

I've always been impressed by Bono's determination to call the attention of nations and organizations to the different issues plaguing Africa. He is using his influence and knowledge to be a force of good in our world. Whenever I hear about things he is doing, I think, 'wow, isn't that great!' and then continue to go about my life the same as before. I rationalize my ignorance about what is going on in the world, and my lack of response or action, by making excuses - I don't have the time/money/ability/notoriety etc. to make a difference. My apathetic attitude is bolstered by my own laziness, selfishness and materialistic tendencies. Instead of challenging myself to help the marginalized & oppressed, I retreat into my own little cocoon of indifference. I ignore the call of Christ in favor of the call of society to care only for myself and those dear to me.

Bono's essay challenges me to take a critical look at myself - my desires, priorities, values - and to turn these things over to Christ for review, judgement and change. In this essay, Bono states "Our humanity is diminished when we have no mission bigger than ourselves." and that "We discover who we are in service to one another, not the self.". How often have I whined and complained about my life - using the events and resulting circumstances to justify my indifference and inaction? How often have I been guilty of being so inwardly focused, that I forget about the horrors that others face - horrors that make my life seem so much more desireable in comparison? I am not a sex slave in Africa, have not had to undergo female circumcision/mutilation as a rite of passage, am not dying from AIDS, don't have to watch my son die from malnutrition, etc.

You know, I get so mad at 'a' & like to point the finger at him for his sins of selfishness, adultery, and dishonesty - yet I'm not any better than he. My sins are just more culturally acceptable. I try to make excuses and point my finger at him, but my indifference to the plight of others, my self-imposed ignorance and deliberate inaction regarding that, are every bit as sinful, and every bit as, if not more so, repulsive to God.