Monday, June 3, 2024

Instead of Acting, Pray

My writing encourages people to act. I think it is good to act, and to try to do the highest-impact thing you can. But sometimes people shouldn't act. They may have bad personalities or bad characters. Or problems with their personalities or characters. They may be unable to do things, or not have good enough judgment. They may have mental health problems, or are tied down by life's commitments.

But it's important to care. How can you care without acting? Acting helps you care. If you care, you tend to act. It's tempting to force yourself to act, or to do a particular thing, so that you can care. But sometimes that makes things worse than if you hadn't acted.

You can always pray. This enables you to care, even if you are not the instrument for God's action in the world.