i?ve been struggling a lot in the past couple of days with whether it?s appropriate to take such a strong stand on the issue of Wal-Mart coming to our small town. and i?ve been spending a lot of time wishing i could just be oblivious, wondering what the heck i?ve gotten myself into. working for something that goes against the tide of the dominant culture is difficult, anxious work and having a distinct issue makes everything more immediate and consequential.
i fear that, as others perceive me, this is a stereotypical, hot-button issue and i?m fitting into some pre-determined mold for the radical social activist. i don?t desire that my work add up to a collection of issues, but that it emerge from a deep and active understanding of who God is and who i am in relation to God. my work should be my spiritual act of worship, not just an effort to win a fight.
these things are for certain: that God?s victory is already decidedly won in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that God does not need my work, but welcomes my participation in cultivating the Kingdom to come. my efforts to resist Wal-Mart, while representative of the vision for a just and perfect Kingdom, will not deter the reign of Christ.
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