A Troubled Walk, Part I | Your Average American Christian College Student Encounters Social Justice

By Cameron A. Andrade | TRINICY.org

The small doughnut shop wafted the wonderful smell of freshly baked Vanilla Cream and glazed doughnuts frosted with nearly every niche flavor one could imagine. So, as Tony was walking to class, he couldn’t help but allow his long, lanky legs to carry him inside so he could order his favorite maple sugar doughnut.

​Tony had always believed he knew God; he’d been going to the same Baptist Church in Missouri he’d been baptized in as a child. He loved God, he always had, or at least he thought. He had many memories of the praise and worship team singing his favorite songs, the pastor preaching about God’s love for the poor and downtrodden, and how his plan for your life was always better than you could ever imagine.

So, when Maria from Comp Sci invited him to her school’s chapter of Get Justice Now, Tony was very ecstatic. After all, the God he believed in loved the poor and the helpless, so wouldn’t he want Tony to do everything and anything in his power to be a good servant of those who truly needed him?

In fact, it was this feeling of congratulatory self-satisfaction which preoccupied his mind as he was munching down on his maple sugar doughnut. 

Such was the rush with which Tony dashed out of the doughnut shop so as to not miss his Microeconomics class that he was already a couple hundred feet from the Econ building on his campus.

Just outside the building’s entrance stood several bright blue grated steel picnic tables, their surfaces bare as they stood like astute blue islands in a sea of ash white concrete.

As he was now briskly walking to class, Tony was giving the pamphlet Maria gave him a cursory review; his friends had dubbed him the king of multitasking for a reason. He was reading about the necessity of combating the inequality and division so often seen in society by recognizing that everyone’s misery could be better contextualized and addressed by understanding that everyone was really the victim of the same hateful system that had oppressed them all.

“So, in order to defeat the scourge of systemic inequality, we must recognize our intersectional oppression by the heteronormative, capitalist elite.”

Tony read that last part aloud.

Then he read it again, his brisk walk turning into a slower stride.

This all seemed very confusing to Tony.

“What’s all this talk about intersectionality? I just want to help people,” Tony thought to himself as he neared the Econ building entrance.

As he opened the door, he brusquely shoved the pamphlet into his back pocket and sprinted to the open classroom door. Professor Rosenbaum had just started speaking. Tony could hardly pay attention to the lecture as his mind was preoccupied with what he had read only a few moments ago.

“I may not understand everything that’s in that pamphlet, but if God wants me to help people, then I guess I should be willing to be open minded.”

Despite being confused by the strange language he was confronted with; despite some lingering doubts welling up in his chest combined with a feeling that something just wasn’t right, Tony walked out of Professor Rosenbaum’s class, fairly confident that whatever he was getting himself into, he was doing the right thing. 

Had Tony committed himself to a study of God’s word daily, had he surrounded himself with other believers who could have built him up in the faith, had he received spiritual mentorship grounded in the truth of God’s word, he would not only have not been lead astray by the world and its teachings, but also could have more easily stood up to ideas that, while appearing good, actually lead people away from service that actually helps people and gives glory to God.

Fortunately, many amazing ministries like TRINICY exist to ensure that believers like Tony have a firm foundation in the faith and are surrounded by people who will lead them and build them up rather than distract them and deconstruct their biblical worldview.

​Whatever your political leanings happen to be, it is always important to remember that if you are more involved with worldly change on earth than you are with pleasing your Father in heaven, you may want to consider directing more of your creative energy towards serving God.

​If this story spoke to you personally or if you want to know about what it truly means to be a Christian, then you should definitely continue to explore TRINICY further or, better yet, pick up that Bible that’s been collecting dust on your nightstand and see if God may be trying to tell you something. 

Photo by Armin Rimoldi

CAMERON A. ANDRADE

Cameron Andrade is young man passionate about serving the Lord in any way he can. New to the TRINICY team, he is resolved to write articles that encourage believers to consider the state of their spiritual health, pointing them also to TRINICY and our plethora of resources for believers on college campuses.