"not me" 06-24-2026

In the “Family Circus” comic strip there are four kids: Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, and P.J. But occasionally there’s a fifth, a ghost-like child named “not me”. He or she suddenly appears when mom or dad discover something amiss and ask, “who did this?” “Not Me” gets the blame. Even P.J., the youngest, gets in on the act and if you and I are honest we too have a “not me” sibling close at hand. It’s convenient. When I didn’t cause the problem, who’s going to fix it? “Not Me”. Trash on the side of the road, who’s going to get it? “I didn’t do it” so Not Me. It escalates to the car broke down, the “hungry” sign holder, the bickering neighbors. As Christians our eyes have been transformed to notice a world amiss, knowing what’s the blame (sin) and knowing the fix (Jesus) we turn toward brokenness with hope and love. That’s Apostle Paul’s message: Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17-18) A world amiss is depending on us. PK