Pacifist Activist

Is that an oxymoron? Can you be vigilant about pacifism or can you radically stand for peace? Interesting thought. I would think that sometimes, standing for peace may not be peaceful and I think that our strongest stance against some things may be on our knees or just sitting.

I am becoming more and more convinced that "traditional," "conventional," and "universal," are no longer words we can use to describe how we are to do things. We have become so "standardized" in our education, our institutions and our commerce, that we have lost individuality, creativity and diversity. "Sameness" is great for the economy. The more you produce of the same thing, the cheaper it is to produce and the more profit you make.

But my question is, "is profit king?"

Profit leads to wealth and wealth leads to a sense of independence and that is what our country is founded on. Right? At the risk of sounding like an ingrate, I don't know that what our country was founded on was so right.

We were created for dependence and interdependence. "Freedom" is a very misunderstood word. It is not a right, it is a privilege, that carries with it a very high price. And that price has often been paid with lives. From Christ to soldiers in war, freedom costs something.

Now I am not advocating that all war is for freedom or that all lives lost are worth the price, but we do have to be careful when we advocate peace or war.

This brings me back full circle to the pacifist activist. I don't think the lines are easily drawn in every situation. “Peace” is not always the goal. “Action” is not always the right move. So for me it boils down to the only thing I know to be true consistantly. My actions are not determined by the task at hand, but by the heart of God for that situation.

There may be times when I am to "be still and know that He is God" when action seems logical. And there are times when I am to "fight the good fight" when peace would be easier. What determines it for that moment is what Christ said to His disciples. "I do nothing unless my Father tells me and I don't do anything that my father doesn't tell me to do." Complete dependence. Absolute obedience. That doesn't sound like freedom, but it is the truest, purest form of it. The freedom to obey empowered by the desire to obey brings the greatest freedom anyone could experience.

I am not a pacifist. I am not an activist. I am not a liberal or a conservative. I am not a fundamentalist or a leftist. I am not Baptist or a Charismatic. I am a follower of God who may have to actively pacify or liberally conserve or fundamentally lean to the left or baptize with charisma. I don’t want to be known for what I stand against. I want to be known for what I stand for.

God is in the business of loving people to Himself and I want to be in tune with His Spirit in every situation to respond to His call for me. As active or passive at it may be.