At times I think the truest image of God today is a black inner-city grandmother in the United States or a mother of the disappeared in Argentina or the women who wake up early to make tortillas in refugee camps. They all weep for their children, and in their compassionate tears arises the political action that changes the world. The mothers show us that it is the experience of touching the pain of others that is the key to change.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the power of compassion as a catalyst for political and social change.
In this quote, Jim Wallis emphasizes that the image of God is reflected in the compassionate actions of marginalized mothers who suffer and weep for their children. Their deep empathy and connection to the pain of others inspire transformative political action, demonstrating that true change stems from understanding and addressing the shared suffering within communities.
In practice
Using this quote to inspire a discussion on social justice at a community meeting.
Trade is now clearly designed to favor the wealthiest and most powerful corporations at the expense of the rest of us. The three wealthiest people on earth now control more assets than the combined incomes of 600 million people in the world's 48 poorest countries.
Last year, Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas. Clean water for the whole world, including every poor person on the planet would cost about $20 billion. Let's just call that what it is: A material blasphemy of the Christmas season.
You change society by changing the wind. Change the wind, transform the debate, recast the discussion, alter the context in which political discussions are being made, and you will change the outcomes... You will be surprised at how fast the politicians adjust to the change in the wind.
Healthcare should be a human right and not a commodity for sale.
Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to reveal a social disaster.
Fidelity to the law of your own being is an act of high courage flung in the face of life.
Because my husband, Peter, died young, I've already faced the scariest thing in my life. Now I live out the dreams for both of us.
One person can make a difference, even if it takes forty years.
Bite your lips, little brother...Don't cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now...Wait. Clench your teeth and wait.
...for the first time in my life, a voice went off in my head:'You have no power over what happens in your life. Drugs dictate exactly what you're going to do. You've taken your hands off the steering wheel, and you're going wherever the drug world takes you.' That had never changed. The feeling would well up inside of me, and no matter how much I loved my girl or my band or my friends or my family, when that siren song 'Go get high now' started playing in my head, I was off.
The muffled drum's sad roll has beat; The soldier's last tattoo; No more on Life's parade shall meet; The brave and fallen few. On Fame's eternal camping-ground; Their silent tents are spread, And Glory guards, with solemn round; The bivouac of the dead.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.