Today's Scripture Reading (September 9, 2020): Isaiah 60
Early twentieth-century Baptist
pastor, Joseph Fort Newton, argued that "Men build too many walls and not enough bridges."
There continue to be too many things that separate us. Walls have historically
been an important security feature of a society. Walls and fences keep things
out, and as well as corralling stuff so that it cannot escape. And that becomes
part of the problem. What helps protect us can quickly be transformed into a
prison that separates us from the rest of the world.
Isaiah speaks of a day of
prosperity for Israel. And it is interesting to note that one feature of this
day of economic triumph was that the gates set into the walls of the city would
always remain open. According to Isaiah, prosperity results when we stop
building walls and start building bridges, or in this case, leaving the gates
of the city always open. It is something that some economic experts have been
trying to tell us for years. Everyone benefits when we stop putting up barriers
to trade and begin to do business with those who have traditionally existed
outside of our walls.
It has also been an argument that
we have been hearing from Africa for years. African businesses have been asking
for a generation, not for handouts from the wealthy First World countries, but
for a level playing field where they can compete with the world's businesses.
The idea is that if they are given a chance, they can bring prosperity to the
continent without needing humanitarian assistance from the West. (And, yes, the
problem of corrupt African governments and war would also have to be solved for
this to be a possibility.)
But the reality is that we still
live in a world that has walls as its main feature. Not all of the walls are
physical, many of the barriers take the form of tariffs, trade barriers, and
other forms of protectionism, but they are still walls. And regardless of
whether you think these walls are a necessary feature of our international
relations, the reality, according to Isaiah, is that when we can finally pull
these barriers down, when we can, at last, put our efforts toward building
bridges or leaving the gates to our cities open, then we will know that the day
of prosperity has arrived. And that prosperity will not just be for Israel, but
the world as well.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah
61
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