Who Wrote the Rules?

Does anyone else have outrage fatigue? I'm honestly tired of being upset. It's hard to get my outrage meter above empty nowadays. Every day seems to bring its own outrage. The outrage de jour is Chick-fil-A. If you are for LGBTQ rights, then you are supposed to be outraged at Chick-fil-A. If you aren't, then you are supposed to be outraged at people who are outraged at Chick-fil-A. Or maybe you want to go back to Aurora, CO, where the gun control debate fired up on all cylinders before the victims of the shooting were even buried. The rush to judgment was faster than Missy Franklin's record-breaking swim at the Olympic Games this year. And so... I have outrage fatigue. Which is too bad, really.

There is much more to be outraged at. I continue to bump up against the reality of hurting and suffering people. Friends of mine are bearing the weight of incredibly hard circumstances. Other friends of mine struggle to find meaning in a world that increasingly denies meaning. Yet other friends of mine woke up this morning to find that their bodies have deteriorated, their memories have dulled, and their homes will see only loneliness today.

Somewhere, a friend of mine is going to be made fun of, in particulars or generalities, because of his sexual orientation. Somewhere, someone is going to laugh off people of my generation because "we don't care." Somewhere, someone in my generation is going to blow off the wisdom of an elder because "they are irrelevant." Somewhere a friend of mine is going to curse his failing body because it keeps him from feeling productive in a society that demands men to be productive and busy until the moment they die. Somewhere a friend of mine is going to stare at a wedding ring that doesn't hold the same delight it once did, wondering where it all went wrong.

If I have learned anything in my short ministerial career (and I have... lots, in fact), it's that the struggle for God's justice on earth will not be won by my irritation at the news. It won't be won with me posting articles or even this blog post. It will be won when I set the laptop down and sit before the Lord in prayer. It will be won when I tell my neighbor that "gay" is not a synonym for "unfortunate." It will be won when my outrage fuels my compassion.

Outrage is a powerful force. Powerful enough to pick up a cross, powerful enough to stand in the gaps, powerful enough to spark a holy fire to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.