Tomorrow is the most important day of the year for many students on the campus: It is Good Friday, the day that Christians remember Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. When I was younger, I never understood what was so good about Good Friday. After all, it’s the day Jesus died. Wouldn’t “Bad Friday,” a name that could evoke memories of the Rebecca Black song, be more accurate?

But Good Friday is good. It is good because it is the day Jesus backed up his words with actions. If he’d just gone around telling everyone to “love your neighbor as yourself” but hadn’t actually done so, no one would have taken him seriously. Likewise, had he said “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” without doing much loving, his words would have been completely meaningless. But on Good Friday, Jesus practiced what he preached – he gave up his life out of love for us.

Mere words mean nothing compared to actions. Unlike words, actions require sacrifice. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, enduring torture and death to free us from sin, but even our small actions require sacrifice: giving up a meal at 251 North to donate more food to those in need on the campus, giving up a Saturday to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity or giving up a pint of blood to save a few lives.

This state held its primary election earlier in the week. Undoubtedly, as we draw closer to the general election, there will be a lot more political discussion and debate. While these have their place, and everyone should participate by voting, actions are much more important. Debates don’t fix anything, at least not quickly, but actions can have immediate results.

I like to take James Madison’s quote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” as a challenge. Obviously, people aren’t perfect, but while our imperfections necessitate some government intervention into our lives, we should never stop trying to improve ourselves. If we each strive to be a bit more angelic, government will become a bit less necessary. Mother Teresa once said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” If our goal is to transform society or our country with sweeping measures, we will fail. Laws can’t change people. We each have the power to make our own decisions, and if we each decide to do small loving actions we will make a difference, even if it seems insignificant at first.

I think it’s time for everyone to back up their words with actions, like Jesus did on Good Friday. To protect the environment, buy smaller cars (or a bicycle). To prevent abortions, support single mothers who choose life. Only after we begin to transform ourselves can we hope to transform our government and society. Politicians will not fix the world with all of their words (neither will columnists), but through small sacrifices and loving actions, each of us can.

Matt Rice is a freshman materials science major. He can be reached at rice@umdbk.com.