Be the change - no matter the sacrifice

I try not to watch TV too much. It’s bad for my health and the hours I spend glued to it are nonrefundable. Last night though for whatever reason I flipped on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Before I knew it, my cheeks were blackened from my running mascara. (Trust me… I feel like an even bigger nerd for admitting that to all of you.)

In last night’s episode, the Martinez family received not only a new home for the six of them, but also a new community center and a second home to help others start a new life. The Martinezes purposely moved into a crime-ridden neighborhood in Albuquerque with the dream of ministering to the people and really changing a community. As I watched this story of one family’s radical commitment to do all they can to better a miniscule corner of the world, I was struck with pride – absolute beaming pride – in their hearts, in their clear communication of their mission, and in how they have been humbly glorifying God day after difficult day. Here on my TV were brothers and sisters in Christ truly living the call.

Since moving to their broken community eight years ago, the Martinezes have seen incredible changes in the hearts and lives of their neighbors, as well as in the crime statistics. They still have a lot of work to do, but they are determined to fulfill their calling.

It is often stories like these that inspire me the most. I tend to see the world as being filled with fantastically unending opportunities for betterment, but when complacency kicks in, negativity isn't too far behind.

When neighborhood kids blatantly stole my bike off my front porch a few years ago, I couldn’t get them or their father to confess to the police, so I vowed to start working with the troubled youth in an attempt to somehow right what was wronged. When I went to China to work with orphans, I vowed to be a part of the solution and return one day to adopt a child of my own. And when my car was spray painted earlier this spring, I vowed to get to know the teenagers in the area so they could have a face to put with their crime and a lifestyle to stand in positive opposition to their actions.

I think we all know the unfortunate phrase in that last paragraph is ‘vowed to…’ and when my intentions didn’t manifest into actions, my words devolved into complaints dripping with pessimism. I am also guilty of applying this methodology to all institutions in my life – church, family, career. Even shopping experiences.

This weekend I went to two different Christian retail stores in search of three specific products. $0 spent and two hours later, I returned home defeated, aggravated, mystified, and decidedly done shopping at either of those establishments in the future.

But where is the betterment in that decision? If I think a Christian retail store looks like it’s stuck in the 1970s, where’s my paintbrush? If I think a company’s customer service is severely lacking, where’s my giving of time to coach them even in the slightest? If I think something could be done better, where’s my gentle spirit actively pursuing a positive solution?

I read a book recently that said this post-modern age is all about personal discontentment and voicing that discontentment as loud as possible. But complaining only takes you so far. Supposedly the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Well, maybe it’s time the squeaky wheel brought the grease instead.

Why? Because some of our members, both supplier and retailer, have devoted their lives to doing exactly what the Martinezes are doing: being the change in a community no matter the sacrifice. And I, the consumer, have done nothing but ridicule that calling.