shit or get off the pot.

I've always been drawn to community service. Even as a teenager when community service was not a requirement nor pushed by either of my parents, I regularly volunteered year around. As an adult, my desire and heart for helping the needy, specifically young children and the elderly have not dissipated. In fact, it's been quite the opposite. Living in Atlanta has provided me with many opportunities to give back to my community.

Although volunteering is exactly what it means - giving your time and efforts out of the kindness of your heart, I sometimes feel as if volunteering is a necessity - a necessity to "preach the gospel". Nothing irritates me more when "liberal democrats" or "super Christians" talk the talk but never actually put in the time or effort to follow through with their prideful bullshit. In fact, volunteering has always been such a passion of mine, that I get pretty irritated/disgusted when my self-involved friends/acquaintances and family don't volunteer. By no means does volunteering "save you" from the fires of Hell or make you a good person altogether, but it has to reflect something about you, right?

When election time rolled around, nothing pissed me off more than my liberal friends screaming at the top of their lungs to vote for Obama: support giving your money to the poor and federal programs...but what if I already do support the poor with my own money based on my own conscientiousness? No offense to my flaming liberal friends/colleagues but the ones who advocated for Obama the most, were the people who were usually the laziest in community involvement, support and monetary donations. By no means do I make a lot of money, but I have convictions - enough to take action on my own accord, not because the government wants to carelessly throw away my money to programs poorly directed by corrupt CEOs and board members - I donate my money to the causes I care for the most. Why do I need the government telling me what to do with my money?

But I digress...

As I prepare for Lent, starting this Wednesday, I reflect on the homily given last night at mass...the point of this posting (besides a nice long venting session) is to get my point across. I truly do not think you can be a good Christian without giving your time and efforts as Jesus did. We are called to be like Christ. I don't think there is anything edifying by hanging out with your church friends and living in a church/Christian bubble when it gets to the point of restricting yourself from reaching out to others who are need, whether spiritually, physically or emotionally. If you're going to bitch about the crime in Atlanta, mentor a child in need. Don't like the panhandlers at the end of Ponce de Leon, volunteer at the Food Bank. Feel sad when you see the homeless sleeping under bridges at night, volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

In sum: "Shit or get off the pot."