“Every generation must resist the temptation to become the very empire God rescued them from.”
— Rob Bell, Jesus Wants to Save Christians
🌱 Consideration
“Every generation must resist the temptation to become the very empire God rescued them from.”
— Rob Bell, Jesus Wants to Save Christians
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about that line from one of my personal rabbi's, Rob Bell. The story of Exodus, of the Israelites leaving captivity in Eygpt under Moses' guidance is well known enough that I think it's safe to use as a backdrop for something deeper, something systemic in my own life and in the lives of so many people. Suffice it to say some of this ancient story resonates today.
Everywhere I look, people are tired - not just individually, but systemically tired.
Our systems are tired. Our churches are tired. Our communities are tired.
We built these institutions to heal, to serve, to help people rise - and then watched as they slowly hardened into structures that protect power instead of people. We see it in politics, in religion, even in recovery.
We start out trying to create liberation and end up managing machinery.
We say “we’re here to help,” but half the time we’re just keeping the lights on.
And maybe that’s the bitter truth: you can’t heal Egypt while still living like Pharaoh.
The better truth? We can remember what freedom feels like.
We can stop replicating the harm we escaped.
We can build something human again.
🗣️ Communication
Rob Bell also wrote,
“You remember God by blessing those who need it the most in the same way God blessed you when you needed it the most.” That’s how systems change, not through speeches or slogans, but through acts of remembrance.
When we choose compassion over control, when we build policies that reflect empathy, when we make decisions that remember what it’s like to need - we’re rewriting the story.
Healing starts when we stop asking, “How do we fix it?”
and start asking, “Who have we forgotten?”
Because justice is what love looks like in public.
And love, when it remembers, changes everything.
🤝 Connection
This month, I’ve been reflecting on the difference between “helping people” and “healing systems.”
Helping feels good - it’s immediate.
Healing takes longer - it requires transformation.
If you’re part of a system right now (a workplace, a church, a family, an organization), maybe take a breath and ask:
- Where are we still living like Egypt?
- Who has been forgotten in our processes, our policies, our plans?
- What would it look like if compassion sat at the head of the table?
Because the movement from bitter to better isn’t just about personal healing - it’s about building better systems, too.
Let’s remember together.
👉 If this reflection hit something in you, share it forward.
And if you want more conversations like this - about growth, recovery, and the radical power of remembering - subscribe, catch up on past issues, or drop by anytime at Posts | FROM BITTER TO BETTER.
Growing with you,
Tobias
From Bitter to Better
🌐 tobiasneal.me | 📸 @tobias.neal
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🖤 Bitterness ends here. But the work keeps going.
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