"I didn't spill it, it's not my responsibility"

Going to the movies used to be a magical event.  The theater was always bustling with "mature" teens I hoped to some day be like, excited kids, adults, awkward couples, and even grandparents.  The screen was bigger than any wall in my house.  And the theater itself was generally located somewhere “exciting” (aka: the mall).  For some reason, the magic seems to have faded.  I went to the theater yesterday and it’s just not how I remembered.  First of all, I did not realize it now costs $10 to see a movie ($13 for 3D).  Secondly, the seating in this particular theater was less roomy than most planes I have been on.  And thirdly, about three rows were graced by the presence of a large soda spill. 

We chose the row with the spill anyway, walked across the sticky floor, and sat in seats that avoided the sugary mess.  We watched as group after group passed up our row because “someone spilled soda!” Everyone saw the problem, everyone saw it as a problem, but no one actually did anything about it.  Movie-goers simply hobbled over the pod of seats adorned with soda or picked a different row altogether. 

I’m guessing the general mindset was “I didn’t spill it, it’s not my responsibility.”  Isn’t that a universal truth?  When we come across any problem that wasn’t directly our fault, we avoid it at all costs.  There are so many problems that surround us: people without food, clothes, and homes.  Families devastated by the loss of a loved one.  Kids without parents.  Entire people groups who don’t know God.  You didn’t create those problems.  But does that mean you’re off the hook?  I think James 2:15-17 begs to differ:

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  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?  In the same way, faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” 

Taking action means giving effort.  If I cared enough to clean up the soda spill I would’ve had to go find the bathroom, grab some paper towels, and come back to clean it up.  But I was “comfortable” in my seat and didn’t want to stumble through the sticky, less than roomy row to deal with the problem. 

I hate the fact that some kids go to bed hungry every night.  But each night I go to bed a little overfed and less than eager to “solve world hunger.”  The effort it would take to find ways to help those kids seems like too much to add into my schedule of to-dos.

The reasoning here is lousy.  Just like finding a few paper towels (or even just finding a theater worker to clean the mess) would have been a simple task, finding ways to take action for problems like hunger, homelessness, and heartbreak is not really that difficult. 

So let’s stop thinking about the problems we hate to see in the world and start doing something about them.