How
does your faith inform your action?
By: Elizabeth Coley
Do Something. That is the title of one of my favorite Matthew
West songs. Matthew West is a Christian artist that I have listened to for
years. He took time during a recent
medical sabbatical to reach out to fans and hear their stories. He then wrote
songs base on the personal stories he heard. These songs are influential,
touching, happy, sorrowful, and encouraging. The first time I heard Do Something, it spoke to me. The
backstory to the song can be found on Matthew’s website. Looking at the
website, Matthew states,
“Andrea, a
former University of Colorado student had chosen to spend a semester abroad
learning micro-financing in Uganda.
While there, she happened upon an orphanage in critical condition. The children were being badly neglected and
even abused. Her heart broke for these
orphans who had no advocate. That’s when
this college student decided to do something.
She called her parents and said, “I’m not coming home.” She refused to leave these children until
something was done to improve the conditions.
By sheer
determination and refusal to give up, Andrea and her sister convinced the
Ugandan government to close down that orphanage, which left about forty
children with no place to go. The
government handed the children to her.
Andrea brought this need back to the states with a new vision and desire
to create a safe place for these children to grow and learn. Today, Musana (which means “sunshine”) is a
thriving orphanage in Iganga, Uganda, housing over one hundred children! Andrea prefers spending most of her time in
Uganda, not the U.S. She’s a long way
from a sorority house or a college campus.
She’s reaching the world, and bringing hope to people, one helpless
child at a time. When asked what it was
that made her fight for these children she simply said, “I just kept thinking,
‘if I don’t do something, who will?’” www.matthewwest.com
While I have not been called to the orphans in Uganda, this song
still felt like it had been written for me. It helped put words to what I had
been feeling for a long time. In order to make a difference and put my faith
into action I must do something.
“I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”
He said, “I did, I created you”
I had been raised in the church from a young age, but my own personal
journey with faith started in early junior high. I went to church and was
involved with my youth group, but I did not think of myself as someone who
readily put her faith into action. It was not until college that I really felt
my calling and purpose with my faith and relating it to action. Until college,
when I thought about mission work, I always thought that I needed to go to a
third world country and help there. It never dawned on me that I could be
called to mission work in my own backyard. This realization began my acceptance
to the calling of helping others close to home. Through opportunities on
campus, in church, and through my community, I started reaching to help others
close to home. I began tutoring in a Service Learning afterschool program that
helped underprivileged elementary students. I had the opportunity to
participate in Alternative Spring Break trip 2 years as a student and 4 years
as a chaperone. I have taken groups on inner-city trips to help families in
need. I spent time in the evenings with at-risk youth as a mentor and friend. For
nearly 10 years, I have served as an adult volunteer for my county’s local 4-H
organization. Each service opportunity was different, yet all shared
similarities. It let me do something.
I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands and feet
But it’s easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s alright, “somebody else will do
something”
Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says,
“I’m gonna do something”
Going on alternative breaks was more to me than helping others.
It was putting my faith into action. My evangelical style is not necessarily to
tell you about my relationship with Christ, but show you. I strive daily to be
an individual that people can see Christ in me and see that there is something
different about me. It is putting that faith into action. I want others to see
that I am God’s hands and feet.
How are you called to put your faith into action? Are you
listening to the calling to help others? Remember, you do not have to be called
to Uganda to open an orphanage. Look around you for inspiration. Take a leap in
your faith and go on an alternative break, stand up as a leader and serve at
your local food pantry, join others to help clean up the community, use your
talents to help others, whatever it is, do
something.
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something
