Don't Be Slack

There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. So Joshua said to the Israelites, "how long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?" -Joshua 18:2-3

That phrase "how long will you be slack?" tickled me.  We all get slack from time to time, but it was funny to be reminded that it happened even back then. The Israelites have been brought to the Promised Land and cleared it of all the civilizations living there. They were "at rest" from war and apathy has set in.

Our country has seen its share of apathy. After the civil uprisings of the 60's and 70's, we all just kind of let things go for a while. There have been issues here and there over the years that have stirred us up, but it is not until the last few years that we have seen some serious action. Some of it quite violent. 

We can look back on the things happening in the past and view it with a historical lens and see that it all needed to happen for change to happen. It's a lot harder when it is all going on in the present. Those that see an urgent need for change keep pushing their ideas. Those that just want the world to stay the same as they've always known it begin to push back. Sometimes it results in violence, but in a healthy nation, good change will win out. It usually doesn't go to the extreme that was being pushed, but we make baby steps of progress. Twenty years from now, the people that many now see as rabble rousers and instigators will be known as our national heroes.

God of the Past and of the Future,

Help us to imagine a world that loves; a world that is just. And then give us strength to not be slack in doing our part to create it. Amen.