I wasn’t quite finished as it turns out. Sorry about that, if you didn’t read the last blog you will need to read it first.

You can hear change coming if you know what to listen for, most change does not show up unannounced. But when we are talking about a change in Soul Climate, we have to acknowledge a difference between the internal spark that drives the change in us, and the reality of change that becomes evident outside of us in our deeds. Real change, real compassion, and real outrage always lead to action, not just rhetoric. Our last two presidents have both said that they want things in Washington to be different with our leaders putting their party differences on the backburner to work out real compromise that helps this nation, but neither, as yet, has delivered on the rhetoric. You can blame who you want to, kind of a ‘flavor of the month’ political bashing, but the results remain the same. D.C. needs a Soul Climate Change: facta non verba; deeds not words.

In John Mayer’s popular song from a few years ago, Waiting on the World to Change, we get a pretty good hunk of irony from the writer as he expresses his frustration with a generation of people who have great ideas and a desire to make a difference, but no desire for real action, just a complacent wishing that times were different. He sets this up with a pretty good juxtaposition in the video: http://www.vevo.com/watch/john-mayer/waiting-on-the-world-to-change/USSM20600598

In The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien, Treebeard says, “It’s easier to shout, ‘STOP!’ than to do it.” It’s easy to make noise about problems, it takes effort to change things. When we have a soul change, a real one, it will result in real action, not just platitudes or outrage. James, in the Bible, says that we should be doers of the Word(Bible) not hearers only. In other words, don’t just let your good ideas stew around in your head, do something about them, the right way, of course. It is the pinnacle of stupidity to act on your ideas and ethics in a way that betrays those very things you stand for.

I mentioned broken hearts in my title for these two blogs, which I will put together as one piece in a few days. My heart was broken upon reading about the abused kids in Salon, see my last post, but that matters not a whit if I only posted that piece to make a point or so I, and we, could all feel superior to the moral half-wits who perpetrate that kind of nonsense. When it matters is when we act upon it so, at the request of my friend Chris, that’s Uncle Staple to all you who love him, I am posting the contact page from the publisher, No Greater Joy Ministries. http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/footer-menu/contact-us/

NGJ ministries is owned by Mike and Debi Pearl, the authors of the book in question, so they are, not surprisingly, self-published, a practice I feel to be unbiblical as it removes a level of authority and accountability from the authors and their ideas. If you write in, be aware that they will probably not listen. If you are a Jesus-follower already, lead with your best argument about Christ and His words. If you are not, lead with the perceived injustice and inconsistency of what they are teaching from what seems to be the primary thrust of the Gospel as you have heard it. Let me know if you hear back and I will do the same. You may also want to check the Christian section of your favorite bookstores, or Christian Bookstores, or Church libraries, and let them know how you feel. Remember that we live in a free society and that the best things you can do are educate and pray. As Ghandi said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Or as Jesus would have it, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” Matthew 7:24-25