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I'm often amazed at our society's knack for inaction. I suppose that the most obvious reasons why we don't take action when the need substantiates is either plain laziness or gross apathy. However, I've clearly noticed a third type of inaction: passiveness.

What do I mean by passiveness? Simply put, I'm talking about not taking action based on a belief that God is going to take care of it. This really is a tough subject to write about. I mean, trusting in God is definitely a good thing, and, by all means, I'm not trying to imply that we shouldn't. However, I am trying to say that we shouldn't let that determine what our actions will be.

I hear people who say, “God's in control, so I won't worry about the environment.”, “I don't need to do anything about the AIDS pandemic because God's in control.”, “I'm not going to bother looking for that significant other; God will bring them to me.” or “Politics isn't for me; God's the real person in charge.”. The hard part is that these lines of thinking have some degree of validity to them: of course God is bigger than these problems, so why should we worry when He's on our side? Still, does it occur to anyone how it is that God carries out His will? Obviously, when we're sick, we can trust and hope that God will heal us, but that doesn't mean that we stop taking medicine; that just might be God's way of healing us. Along that line of thought, maybe God's method for ensuring the stability of our environment is through people who take the initiative to care for it. Perhaps God will solve issues like the AIDS pandemic through people to whom it matters enough to try to fix it. Maybe God's way of finding you the right companion is by your having the courage to just ask that person to dinner. It is possible that your standing up for the things which are pure and lovely will make the difference in this cruel world of problems.

God parted the Red Sea, but that doesn't mean that we stop building bridges. Remember what Saint Augustine said: “God provides the wind, but man must raise the sails.” As you go throughout your life, keep this in mind whenever there is a place where your actions are needed.