Frankly, if you really care about something, get involved.

Do something about it. Not what "they" tell you is something about it. Do something real.

Back when the tsunami hit Indonesia, my husband had a coworker who came to work the next day looking terrible. My husband asked how he was doing, and he said not well. He was exhausted from staying up all night watching the news coverage of the aftermath. He said he felt so horrible for the people, for all the destruction, for the lives lost, that he couldn't stop watching. So my husband (being who he is) asked: so you're going over there to help? And the guy looked puzzled and said no. My husband then asked if he had donated to the Red Cross or some other disaster organization. Again, the guy was puzzled and said no.

So then my husband said: so all you did was watch the news all night?  Yeah, the guy said. And my husband said: you know that doesn't help anything, right? And the guy said: but the news kept saying to keep watching and they'd have more up-to-date coverage. And if felt wrong for me to just ignore it and go to bed. Like I didn't care about what was happening.

And that's why news coverage is the way it is.

It kept this poor man's eyes on it all night long, making him think he was doing something valuable. All while he was doing nothing.

Know this--if you care about a cause, you need to do something about it.

Something real.

He could have joined the rescue, sent money, sent supplies, prayed, and all those things (or any of those things) would’ve served those people. What he did instead only served the advertisers whose ads he watched all night, and the news station, who had proof of eyeballs on their coverage that got them more advertising dollars.

If you're just watching a cause, you're not helping it.

Sharing posts to bring "awareness" doesn't help either.

Most of the time that's about things already in the national or international spotlight. Everyone is already "aware" of those. Raise awareness about local issues that few people know about. And don't just try to tell them about it, encourage them to DO something about it.

Those national and international issues? If you're really passionate about one of those, don't just post--get involved. Donate money or time, lift it up in prayer.

And never, ever feel like you have to post "awareness" posts because if you don't, people might think you're a horrible human being. They don't know you. They don't know what you've done or what you're currently doing about that issue.

Ignore them.

Those awareness posts are lip service. Lip service is easy.

You know what's not? Real service.

So you do your real service, in real ways that matter, and ignore the naysayers. Because your real service matters more than thousands of those "I care about this issue" posts where that's all that person ever does about it. (Which means they must not care about it all that much.)

And you--the non-poster--you show how you care in real ways. Ones that matter.

Keep doing that work.

Act local. Act with passion.

Bring awareness and action to the things that matter to YOU.

Those are the ones that need you.

Those are the ones you're called to do.