Revolution

This is prob. the best blog I never wrote. I went to mattmahermusic.com and this was posted, Matt himself posted it....I felt that I should share it with you.
revolution.... 
is a scary thing. 
for everyone involved. 
When i say that word, you might think of many things. What does that word even mean? The Latin root word is revolutio, which means "a turn around"....the word was first used In astronomy and related fields to describe when one body moves around another ("orbiting")....later it changed to describe rapid social change that happens in a short period of time. 
One body orbiting around another. rapid change. Interesting.........
In less than 15 years, i have watched the internet and telecommunications fundamentally alter the way that people process and perceive and relay information, culmination in the advent and summit of social networking. 
Yes, i believe we've reached the summit. Why do i believe that? Well, because at this point the only thing that will change is how more integrated it gets into your life. Maybe a webcam in your glasses, or a chip in your head that allows you to interact more....but the concept of being connected isn't going to be any more revolutionized. 
So the revolution has happened. But whose side of it am i on anyways? Am i on the side that's counter cultural? That is about "real" connections with people? Or am i just riding the surface with everyone else....
Take the new MTV show, "skins". It's a horrible portrayal of a teenagers life in America today. The irony is, it's based on a show that takes place in England, lol.....so much for continuity....anyways, a parent's group complains, because it's basically a mild form of child pornography, and MTV doesn't back down. 
Then Taco Bell pulls their advertising money, and all of a sudden, there's talk of canceling the show. Why? Because in our culture, the revolution will be televised as long as there's money behind it - as long as there's scandal. 
So what's the revolution there? That money still wins? So i guess nothing is new under that sun....
Take another revolution - the ones happening in North Africa...
I got in an argument two nights ago on twitter, because i retweeted this statement;
"Hey Egypt, hurry up. You only have three more days until America loses its attention span"
An acquaintance (who i humbly admit was kinda right) accused me of being insensitive to the situation, and not being the best steward of my platform of having 14,000 twitter followers. At first, i thought, "wait a second. I didn't ASK any of those people to "follow" me....and if i can't be honest, then why should i waste anybody's time just tweeting always inspirational (almost on the verge of trite) 140 character encouragements. 
So we argued, and i apologized, because i didn't do the best job of respecting their arguments. 
Later that day, Kenneth Cole (a popular clothing designer) tweets, "People are rioting in the streets of Egypt. They must have heard about our spring collection"
So yet again, how commercial America is choosing to bring about "revolution" really isn't revolutionary at all. 
So what is revolutionary? Is it movements like the rise of Fascist Germany in the 30's, or Communist Russia at the beginning of the 20th Century? A bunch of people following an ideal, following someone? Is atheism truly revolutionary? To join the ranks of doubters and non believers who go all the way back to the beginning of civilization? Is humanism revolutionary? to think that man is called to just "self improve" and evolve to a higher state of being with each other and the world around us? 
What about love? 
What Jesus did at the cross was revolutionary. Unheard of. One laid down His life for many. Even for those who don't even believe in Him. So we could lay down our lives for others. One body orbiting another. Rapid change......
Is the Church truly living and breathing with the revolutionary love of Jesus at the center? I am seeing it in Christians forming living chains around Muslims as they pray their prayers peacefully. Not the hired thugs in support of a dictator (who has been supported by our Government)...that is revolutionary. 
How are we to support the revolution here? Certainly by not ignoring it. But real revolution doesn't start with political rallies; real revolution doesn't start on twitter. Real revolution starts with the human heart, rising up against oppression inside yourself. You're trying to find a place to be really free - from everything thrown at you, just so you can be yourself and not an image of what you think everyone and everything wants you to be. 
God, start a revolution in my heart. Let it pour out into everything i do; and inspire those around me to do the same. 


~Bobby