We Aren't the World?

A smiling contestant sang “Waiting for the World to Change” one evening on American Idol. Perhaps this upbeat song reminds some of the “We are the World” optimism of the 1980’s. That song urged that because we are, after all, the world, we should change it – lend a hand, start giving, and so forth. (The lyrics are a little too sappy to print on a website that children can access, so I will have to refer you here to job your memory.)

The words to “Waiting” are quite different. John Mayer’s song does not call to action; it explains the apathy of the younger generation:

Me and all my friends
We’re all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There’s no way we ever could
Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it.

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change…

The song goes on to describe how swell things would be if “they” didn’t hold all the power. They meaning they, not they meaning us. Well, you know what I mean.

What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want.

I recently heard Mayer interviewed about his song. He said that he knew the song would never succeed if its message was “let’s change the world.” And apparently he was right: the song as it stands has been a huge hit. An excuse with a catchy tune, perhaps, but a pretty popular one. I have to give it to John Mayer, he understood what the public would and would not respond to. We are not the world – nor do we want responsibility for it!

So there are at least two responses to the broken world we face. The “We are the World” option optimistically roles up the sleeves and goes to work. Yet it runs into two problems: first, there is something about the world’s problems that is much too deep to resolve by sheer goodwill. Second, there is not enough goodwill anyway – there is a lot more apathy than we’d like to believe.

Which leads to the second option. The “waiting” option, the path of least responsibility, is the least heroic option one could possibly take. Is this the stuff that creates the next greatest generation? It’s difficult to complain that “they own the information” when you own the internet. Time’s Person of the Year is you, not them.

The biblical view of world change is not overly optimistic (or overly sappy). It recognizes that the problem is, in fact, far deeper than we imagine – and that we are part of it. Yet the biblical view of world change is not apathetic, either. Every prophet and apostle calls for action. And furthermore, the biblical approach to world change actually works. While not everything done in Christ’s name is Christlike, Western culture would be unrecognizable apart from its Christian roots. Its Christian worldview produced hospitals, universities, and concerns for equality, philanthropy, and justice.

Since this post is already long enough, I’ll cut to the chase. The most distinctive element of the Christian world view is its emphasis on personal sin. The world’s problems are not “out there.” They are right here, in our hearts. We are the world after all.

Because Christianity is a life of ongoing repentance – or should be – the results are profoundly different than “We are the World” or “Waiting on the World to Change.” We need to change the world… but it has to begin with me. And that’s not just talk. The Bible calls for a pretty ruthless self-investigation. And yet we do not grow apathetic… by the grace and work of God, we see change in ourselves. And then in our family. And then in our church. And then in our community. And then…in the world.