Very few people seem happy with the world today. This is hardly surprising when you see endless pictures of conflicts and hear continual news of exploitation, murder, lies and the rape of the planet. Older people have the common refrain, ‘it was better in our day’ whilst bemoaning the attitude of the younger generation; ‘Gen Z’ say, ‘we have nothing to hope for’ whilst feeling that this is the legacy given them from complacent ‘Baby Boomers’. History is punctuated by various protest movements for change. Many have been led by dictators exerting political control backed by military muscle – Stalin, Hitler, Mao Zedong. Martin Luther King, Wilberforce, Cicely Saunders, Tarana Burke and Greta Thunberg brought social pressure to abolish slavery, to found hospice care, to confront sexual exploitation and call for action against climate change.
What about you? Why might you want a different world? Is it the wider world ‘out there’, ‘my world’ or even the ‘interior world’? Could such things lead you to protest on behalf of vulnerable people, for increased recognition in your job or against factors putting stress on your own mental health and wellbeing?
- ‘Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset’ – Saint Francis de Sales
- ‘No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world’ – Robin Williams
- ‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world’ – Mahatma Gandhi
- ‘Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world’ – Desmond Tutu
John Lenon imagined a world where people shared the world in peace in a brotherhood of man where possessions were shared. This didn’t quite line up with his own immense wealth and investment portfolio including a Rolls-Royce Phantom V and property such as The Dakota. The Beatles’ powerful song declared ‘all you need is love’. A world like that would be very different but ancient and modern history show it to be out of our reach, or is it? Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and John Lenon all wanted a different world – they were all assassinated. Gandhi had a deep respect for Jesus but saw a mismatch with those who follow Him to consider: ‘I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ’.
‘You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisations to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as through it is nothing more than a piece of literature’ – Mahatma Gandhi
How do you see the Bible – as dynamite or a dusty document? God tells us that it is His ‘living word’ and that Jesus Christ is His Son, ‘The Word of God’, to Whom we should listen. Imagine we took the Bible seriously and that we listened to Jesus – it is then that your world and the world around you will change.
World Shakers – Five Ways To Change Your World
Seeing things the right way up – without light you will stumble in a topsy-turvy world of obstacles
‘The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness’ – John 12:45-46
Take the peace and share it – don’t settle for a life of anxiety. Peace is there to take and share with others
‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ – John 16:33
Worlds apart – true safeguarding makes a world of difference
‘I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it’ – John 17:14-16
True dynamite – living a different way with God at your side
‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will’ – Romans 12:2
God’s unfailing power for you – as the world’s power fades, so God’s blessings remain unchanged
‘For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever’ – 1 John 2:16-18
A different world
Tom Holland’s epic book Dominion investigates Christianity’s impact on the world as he looked at the rise and fall of empires, the actions of kings, the arguments of thinkers and the course of revolutions. Holland’s conclusion was that the impact of Christ Jesus was to change the world for ever. Identifying himself as an historian rather than as a Christian, his verdict is a powerful one.
If you want to change your world, turning it over to Christ is the best and most significant thing you can do.
Bob Dylan’s world changed when he encountered Christ. Choosing to serve Christ as Lord, he wrote this thought-provoking song:
Your world can change – try it and see.
For future reading: