Today's Scripture Reading (August 24, 2020): Zechariah 3
Derrick Bell, in "Ethical Ambition:
Living a Life of Meaning and Worth," notes that "We live in a system
that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with
wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained." The American Dream, which is really just the dream of any free society,
is that by working hard, we can distinguish ourselves on an equal playing
field. We are beginning to realize that we have a lot of work left for us to
make our playing fields fair, but it is the dream. But in practice, we
celebrate wealth, power, and celebrity, no matter how those things are gained. While
we say that we are a merit-based society or a society where you are honored by
what you make of yourselves, in practice, we celebrate the spoiled and lazy, who
have wealth but have no merit and who refuse to work hard at anything. The
Canadian rock band "Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) summed up these people
in the 1970s "I love to work at nothing all day" (Taking Care of
Business, Randy Bachman, 1973). We love to watch and talk about the partiers, those
who have made the most of an unequal society. This has really become our
definition of prosperity, not those who have by merit and hard work
distinguished themselves, but those who have accidentally fallen into the lap
of wealth and power. For us, prosperity is wealth without responsibility.
But the Bible offers
us a different perspective on the idea of being prosperous. Prosperity is
summed up by the ability to sit with your neighbor in your back yard and just
enjoy their presence. It is an ability that is impossible unless we live in a
society dominated by peace and equality. Prosperity is sharing the vision with
others, knowing that our community continues because we all carry our share of
the load. It is being in relationships with people who have no intention of
harming you, and who love you just the way you are.
This kind of
prosperous world is where I want to live. I am tired of conversations with people
where the only purpose seems to be to tear down someone else so that they can
be elevated. I yearn to sit in my back yard with my neighbors, wanting the best
for them and secure in the knowledge that they want the best for me. It is the prosperity
of a society that has indeed developed an equal playing field, one where race
and gender have no part in any discussion. It is a world where trust abounds.
And where we love each other as we love ourselves.
And I hope that
someday that is what you find under your fig tree.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah
4
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