Don't ass-u-me.

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. –Desmond Tutu

Something has to change. Somebody should do something. I can’t believe these awful things keep happening. Why doesn’t somebody do something?

Well-meaning people say things like this all the time. When things are going badly, we don’t like standing idly by, but we don’t always have a clear idea of what to do.

So we wring our hands and assume things will change, simply because we think they should.

Or we assume someone else will do what we are afraid to do, or choose not to do. Someone else will surely pick up extra food for that Food Bank. Someone else will speak out against corruption and poverty. Someone else will surely write enough letters to Congress, that surely laws will change and the world will be a little safer tomorrow than it is today.

Here is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Do not assume things will change unless we all get into the business of changing them.

Monday Let peace begin with you. During the day, do less. Give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. Do something to extend freedom to another. Numbers 6:24-26

Tuesday Pray today, by name, for a friend or family member whose life is in need of peace. Perhaps it’s a friend or neighbor; maybe a stranger you’ve seen on the street. Pray that God’s holy peace would fill their soul. John 14:27

Wednesday Find an opportunity to do an extra kindness for someone you do not know—just because. (If you can do this anonymously—bonus!) Thank God for the gifts he has given you; ask God to reveal even more opportunities to use them. Colossians 3:15-17

Thursday Pray for our peace officers, those men and women whose vocation is to protect and serve, keeping us safe on a daily basis. Give thanks for their service, and thank them in person when the opportunity arises. Isaiah 58:5-7

Friday Pray for our nation. Pray for those enduring chaos or confusion, whose lives seem hopeless or pain-filled. Pray for God’s presence in the hearts of those affected by conflict. Philippians 4:4-7

Saturday Another chance to pause in silence. Remember a time of God’s faithfulness in your life and be thankful. Isaiah 61:1

Sunday Pray today, by name, for a nation in conflict. Pray for the Holy Spirit of peace to be made manifest in our world. Give thanks for this faith family of love and peace. Isaiah 58:9-14

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, 
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. 
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. 
In fact, violence merely increases hate. 
So it goes. –Martin Luther King, Jr.