If you haven’t been on facebook for the last few days then maybe you haven’t seen it. The video titled “Kony 2012” is a 30 min. mini movie/documentary talking about who Joseph Kony is and why he is the most wanted man on the plant.
The film has gained much support from social media. You can’t go a day without seeing someone share the film on facebook or twitter, its everywhere. The organization behind the film and the movement is called Invisible Children. To learn more about them go to their site and look around.
The reason I am writing this post is three fold:
1. First, I wanted to see how attached people are to the movement. Many times when a movement comes along and gains support it is because the heart of the movement strikes at the heart of that particular person. What I have seen over the last few days are many people that are going full force into this movement. They want to see justice! Who doesn’t? We all want to see an end to pain and suffering. However I see a “love it or leave it” mentality when it comes to this movement and those like it. What I mean by this is if one sees to be against Kony 2012 or if someone doesn’t share the same passion as a supporter does they are branded as “not caring” or “heartless”. The very title of this post may have made your mad. You may have come here to tell me how horrible I am.
Hear me when I say this. I support your cause. I want justice for all. However when we get so behind a movement and forget everything else we become unbalanced. We begin to think that “THIS CAUSE” will solve all the problems when it only really address a few. I can’t help but see similarities between movements like this one and the German film “The Wave”. Though the idea behind the two are different “The Wave” does highlight just how quickly a group of people can become so focused on their ideas they forget everything else.
2. Secondly, I wanted to see why this such a big deal all of a sudden. Its not as if the atrocities in other countries have been unknown for so long. We have known about and even see the suffering on T.V. for a long time. What makes this any different. As far as I can tell the only thing that makes this more tangible is that there is not a face to the evil. Now that there is a tangible enemy people will rally behind the cause. People will send money into an organization (again one that is doing good) in attempts to catch a man that may never be caught (I mean how long did Osama bin laden say hidden and we where looking for him). The pros are that people are rallying behind a cause and giving too it. The con is that if Kony isn’t caught within a year or two all that time, energy, money and support will all have been for not.
3. Thirdly, I am interested in how many of us put our hopes in false gods (no matter how good they appear) in hopes that they will deliver us the justice that doesn’t not seem to be present now. We see horrible things occurring in our world and ask “why”. We look for ways to stop them and for good reason. We give our time, money and energy to things that will and do bring forth hope in our world. But we must be careful not to place our hope in people instead of God. My caution to those that jump on the Kony 2012 bandwagon is simple this. Check our hearts before you do it.
If your are after justice, go for it. God is for justice too!
If you want to comfort those that have no comfort, go for it. God wants the same!
If you want to stop evil, go for it. God will one day stop all evil!
If you want to bring hope to those that have none, go for it. But be careful not to put our hope in an organization. If that organization becomes an idol to you there will be a shift. You will defend that idol against all that oppose it. You will exclude those that don’t also worship that same idol. When that idol fails you there will be a great since of loss because your hope was it in.
Let your hope be in God! Put your trust in him, THEN go after the cause!
Pastor Mike Moore 