A Fresh Perspective: Let’s start at the very beginning

By T. Scott Burgess

About a year and a half ago, I discovered through the Internet the school choir of P.S. 22 from New York City’s Staten Island. I enjoy music of all varieties, but I especially appreciate passionate singers. What makes this group of children so dynamic is how emotive they are when they sing in their own exquisite harmony. I have watched many of their videos, and I have great affection for a number of their interpretations of songs. However, the song and video that has most impressed me is their rendition of “Let There Be Peace On Earth.”

I read with great interest the responses to this column because, in essence, I want to see people discussing some of the thoughts presented. I am not writing because I think that I have the final word on spiritual topics; rather, I think it is important that conversation takes place and that it becomes more cross-generational.

Thus, I read with anticipation some of the comments that people posted online in regards to the first column I wrote. Someone suggested that if the United States of America had stronger moral principles, then perhaps things would be different. I do not necessarily disagree with that thought. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

We live in a world that believes in few absolutes. Contemporary society seems to say that anything is all right as long as you do not hurt others. We live in a modern culture that preaches to do whatever makes you feel good. It is all about “me.”

To those that agree with this last paragraph, let me give you something to ponder. If that is true, then there is little that we can do to change our world. However, we can change as individuals. The second line in the song “Let There Be Peace On Earth” says “and let it begin with me.”

I often think how ineffective I am as an agent of change in the world around me, because there is much in me that still needs to change. However, though I am not perfect and there is a strong probability that I will not be perfected while I am here on earth (1 John 3:2), that does not mean that I cannot change.

At my work, I was talking to somebody who said that she was “a selfish pig” (her words, not mine). She decided that she was going to volunteer some of her time this holiday season to those less fortunate than herself. If that is the perspective of the world, how much more does the church need to change? It is not always the things that people see that need to change, but sometimes the unseen things: our thinking, the words that come out of our mouths, or maybe our attitudes. No matter what it is, there are things in all of us that need to change.

As the world becomes increasingly voyeuristic (YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, to name a few vehicles), it is more essential than ever that we become who Christ called us to be both individually as Christians and communally as the church. But this change has to be authentic and not just for the sake of portraying a religious façade. Otherwise, the world will have plenty to say in response and, believe me, it will not be peaceful.

T. Scott Burgess is Youth and Young Adult Leader at Hope Christian Fellowship in Canastota

A Fresh Perspective: Let’s start at the very beginning

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