What's your excuse?

"I would be rich, but..."

"I really wish I could, I just can't find the time."

"I would help you, but I'm running late to work."

There's a life we wish we had, but too many things stand in our way. Between work, school, family, and friends, we gaze at what we don't have but truly long for from a far distance. Like a weary traveler in the desert would gaze at a far off body of water, we marvel at the mere thought of our dreams. But after awhile, we begin to think that the life we are yearning for is just a mirage; pleasing to look at but impossible to achieve or enjoy.

I believe that we are all born with two innate qualities: passion and purpose. 

We are all born with a passion to make the world a better place. Working with children, I've learned that the younger the child, the purer the mind. This purity has less to do with innocence and more to do with a simplistic bravery to take on the world's problems without overcomplicating things. 

When I ask a child, "What should we do to help all the hungry people around the world who have no food?" I receive a simple answer; "Give them some of ours!" There answer isn't a political mantra, a solution to be found on a ballot, or a petition for redesigning global nonprofits. It's a cry for the lost art of selflessness; giving out of ones abundance to meet the need of another's deprivation.

When I ask a child, "What should we do about the wars that happen all over the world?" the answer is simple: "Teach people to forgive each other and get along!" The answer isn't hopelessly admirable, but we adults like to throw this in the pile of "impossible ideals" and say things like "If only it were that easy kid."

It is. That's the issue. It really is that easy. If we cut out the excuses, this world would be a very different place. How do you teach a foreign nation to get along with others? How do you implement a strategy to feed the whole world? How do you stop genocides, racism, crime, and hunger at a global level?

The answer isn't found in government programs, systems, or equations. It's simple: lead by example.

How can we expect third world countries to feed their poor when we have starving families in our country, yet serve SUPERSIZED meals that are half-eaten and then thrown away? How can we teach peace and civility yet glorify crime and killing in our favorite TV shows and movies? How can we expect to promote safe sex and wise decisions while simultaneously offering the most degrading and twisted semi-pornographic scenes as a form of evening entertainment?

We make excuses to cover up how far we've drifted from purity. And then, we try to justify raising our kids in the same rancid filth that corrupted our hearts and hardened us from the simplistic purity that had potential to actually change the world.

And then we are surprised when...

We get a call that our high-schooler was caught stealing at the mall.

Or a call about our son beating up another kid in school.
Or we catch our daughter sleeping with a guy she just met.


Lead by example. A concept that Paul passed down to Timothy when he wrote,

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

We can't offer solutions we aren't willing to follow through with ourselves. The practice of doing so is called hypocrisy. And until we realize that our choices affect other people just like they affect us, we will continue living selfishly as if we were the only one's living on this planet. Turn the water off while you brush, flick a switch when you leave the house, order only the amount of food you need, and understand that you don't need 20 pairs of the same sneakers in different color schemes.

Your passion will help you fulfill your God-given purpose. Whether it's on a local or global scale, there is something you have been handcrafted to accomplish in your lifetime that would help the world rather than hurt it. And when you lead by example, practice selflessness, and pray for God to speak to you, your calling will be clear.

"The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." -Jesus

Pursuing Christ,
Alexander Sosa