We Have Agency
Have you noticed that certain words suddenly become vogue in our vocabulary? When I first began to hear people use the word agency, I wasn’t quite sure I had a handle on the meaning of it. It’s a word that can be used in a corporate sense or government sense in that they have agencies to help people. However, I want to focus on individual agency, which is the capacity of people to act independently, make their own free choices, and shape their own lives despite social structures.
There are so many negative things happening in the world right now that if we are not careful, we can lose our sense of agency. Just this morning I was reading about a very difficult situation Jesus was faced with in John chapter 8. A woman caught in the act of adultery is thrown at the feet of Jesus by the religious leaders. They think they have Jesus trapped. They quote from the Mosaic law that if a woman is caught in adultery, she should be stoned to death.
If Jesus says, “Go ahead, stone her,” the Roman authorities will come after him because Jews were not permitted to enforce the death penalty. If Jesus says, “Let her go,” they will accuse him of violating the laws of Moses. It looks like a lose-lose situation.
Jesus doesn't walk away from the situation or throw up his hands and say, “I’m done with you people.” Jesus stooped down and began writing something in the dirt with his finger. Then he straightened up and said, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.” One by one the accusers walked away. Then Jesus forgave the woman and told her to sin no more.
Now that is a classic example of someone using their agency.
When we see what’s going on with our government, the dividing of our country over Israel, the constant twisting of truth or outright lies from the media, toxic social media, AI paranoia, and much more, we might feel like our agency is gone. But in fact it’s not. There are many positive things happening in our country today that should give us hope. Seriously, it’s not as bad as we might think.
For example, let’s say you don’t know how to fix your toilet. Go to YouTube and bingo, you can fix your own toilet. Let’s say you have healthcare concerns for yourself. You can be your own advocate with an incredible amount of information at your fingertips. For every negative there is an equal positive. Business opportunities abound if you are paying attention.
If the school your child attends is indoctrinating your child with ideas that are dangerous or unbiblical, you can go to the principal or even go over the principal's head if you need to. You have a voice that needs to be heard.
Hollywood is producing, as per usual, movies and shows full of ungodly stuff, but thanks to the Angel App there is an abundance of high-quality shows that celebrate Judeo-Christian values.
I think a lot of Christians gave up their agency after COVID. Yes, it was messy and the world changed after COVID, but Jesus lived in a society that was far more oppressive than ours and yet he never gave up on his mission, and neither should we.
We can either sit on our hands and complain or we can lift up our hands and ask God to help us use our agency for the good of the world.
Stay close to Jesus,
Steve