I was honored to find a blogger quoting my book Not in My Town in a recent post on standing against modern slavery. What surprised me was that the part that stood out to this writer were the “What if” questions I posed toward the end of my writing. In challenging Christians to stand up and get involved with this issue, I wrote:
- What if every church in America started a ministry to help stop modern slavery?
- What if every major college had an organization to fight human trafficking?
- What if every major Christian denomination and organization made it a top priority to end global slavery?
- What if in five years, when people ask who are the ones working the hardest to stop slavery, the first answer to come to mind was Christians?
What I realized is that while some people focus on fixing problems, many (myself included) are fueled by the potential of “What if.” What if people of faith rose to the challenges of the times with beliefs and actions that truly altered the future of our world?
In reality, many are. Some are serving in inner city schools to influence children at greatest risk. Others serve in countries where speaking of Jesus has serious personal consequences, including death. Some are digging wells where thousands live without access to clean water. Some pray, others raise funding for those on the front lines. It all matters, both now and eternally.
Ultimately, I believe we all want to live a “no regret” life. What is often lacking is the challenge to go for it. So if you’re reading these words today, whether on a screen, a phone, a tablet, or anywhere else, this is your challenge. What are you passionate about? What problems do you see? What could you do to change what you see?
You can’t do it all, but you can start small. Do something. Change the world. Begin with “What if.”
+++
DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Thirst No More, Undefending Christianity, and Not in My Town (with Charles J. Powell). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org.