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While our tea bags steeped, my friend lamented a dilemma. He had accidentally purchased jeans with a leather label. As an ardent vegan, he described how disappointed he was in himself. For the non-vegans around the table, though, a different dilemma emerged: Clothing labels were now a justice issue.

At dinner tables, on Facebook feeds, and in campaign soundbites, it feels like little ground remains morally neutral. Whether I’m buying jeans, shopping at Target, or brewing coffee, even my seemingly inconsequential actions can communicate—albeit unintentionally—a collage of values and political beliefs.

In an episode of NBC’s sitcom The Good Place, Michael humorously highlights the increasingly complex moral landscape we live in:

“These days, just buying a tomato at a grocery store means you are unwittingly supporting toxic pesticides, exploiting labor, and contributing to global warming. Humans think they are making one choice, but they’re actually making dozens of choices they don’t even know they’re making.”

Knowing and caring fully about every issue and cause is simply not possible. And more than that, it’s not wise. The dueling responses amid this whirl of issues are apathy and cynicism: Choosing not to care or choosing to disdain caring. But as Christians called to love our neighbors, we cannot take either of these paths. So how can we navigate the moral complexity of our cause-saturated world? Here are three considerations:

1) Challenge your presumptions: A few years ago, we showed up to the checkout cashier at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado without reusable grocery bags. Though we had dozens at home, none made it into our car. I’ve rarely felt such strong disdain. We were not just disappointing her, it seemed, but willfully killing baby dolphins. While we still use tote bags regularly, but in a surprising twist, recent research from the British and Danish governments has shown that “you would have to use an organic cotton bag 20,000 times more than a plastic grocery bag to make using it better for the environment.” Is limiting unnecessary waste a good thing? Absolutely. Are reusable grocery bags an environmental silver bullet? No. Hold to our convictions, yes. But we should leave room for the possibility that the cause that feels irrefutably clear true today may end up being murkier than we think.

2) Go deep, not wide: Jared Mackey is a friend and pastor in Denver. Recently, he published an essay at Christianity Today about why pastors should prioritize place. Jared’s writing and work is an example of choosing depth over breadth—choosing one issue or several to focus our energy and care. Jared hasn’t written essays on every topic nor delivered talks on every cause. But if there’s something to learn about the parish approach to ministry, he’s likely learned it. By caring deeply for this topic, his depth of becomes a source of insight for us all.
We cannot know everything about everything. But, like Jared, we can choose to learn most things about one or a few things and invest deeply over the long-term.

3) Share without scolding: When Bernard Worthy and Justin Straight made the case for their new business, Loanwell, it opened my eyes. Americans, I learned, pay really high-interest rates on personal loans. And, Loanwell allows borrowers to pay less than one-third of the average rate. Bernard and Justin did not browbeat the audience about their cause. Instead, with grace and passion, they communicated why they care. They didn’t lecture, reprimand, or chide us for not caring enough about the lack of access to capital nor market their solution as the best and brightest. When they finished their presentation, my understanding and compassion grew, a mark of great moral leadership in our cause-saturated world.

Justin Straight and Bernard Worthy

Justin Straight and Bernard Worthy | Loanwell (photo courtesy of Praxis)

Share your cause with others! And, when you do, do it winsomely and with a spirit of invitation, without angst or blame.

Now, if everyone just does these three simple things perfectly, we’ll solve all the problems that haunt us. Oh, and always buy leather-free denim.

See what I did there?