Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 88; Isaiah 47:1-15; Luke 3:15-22; 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
I’ve been a political junkie since I was in the 7th grade. I remember back then (1979-1980) debating my social studies teacher about whether or not the government should step in and help Chrysler during their time of financial crisis. It should come as no surprise, then, that my political radar has been heightened in these days dominated by news of last night’s State of the Union address and next week’s Super Tuesday Primaries & Caucuses. What lies at the core of my interest in politics is that politics is one of the purest expressions of our values as a people. We may SAY education is our top priority in our nation, for instance, but how does that value compare to our desire to invest in mechanisms that will secure our national borders? Which of these values is TRULY most important? Just follow the dollars in our national budget and find out. Today’s passage from Isaiah connected with my interest in politics as the passage dealt with the Virgin Daughter of Babylon and her sins – one of which is arrogance. The NIV translates Isaiah 47:8 as follows: “Now then, listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me…” And again, in Isaiah 47:10: “Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’” These quotes remind me of the arrogance of another entity: our own country – The United States. When it comes to combating issues like global warming and our willingness to acknowledge our interconnectedness to the whole of creation and our fellow human beings, what has been our collective response? I am, and there is none besides me. When it comes to envisioning a just economic system that factors in not only our own well-being, but the well-being of people from developing countries around the world, what has been our collective response? I am, and there is none besides me. Do you see a pattern developing? These are just two of many examples I could give of how we have gotten sucked in to the mindset of the Virgin Daughter of Babylon. All of this got me to wondering how we as a people might move beyond narrow self-interest to a driving interest in God and the well-being of ALL of God’s creation. My personal belief is that this shift starts at the level of the individual and then spills over to the collective consciousness. I stumbled upon a new resource on the web this morning that I’m planning to use to help me explore this shift in commitment – it’s an organization called the Simple Living Network (http://www.simpleliving.net). I haven’t explored it thoroughly so I can’t explicitly recommend it yet. I do offer it as one tool that might help us begin to move beyond the “I am, and there is none besides me.” One of the quotes on their website that caused me to think this might be a helpful resource in this effort was written by Vicki Robinson; it said: “How you spend your money is how you vote on what exists in the world.” May God strengthen us and give us the courage of conviction to embrace a guiding principle other than raw self-interest for living our lives. Til next time…
I’ve been a political junkie since I was in the 7th grade. I remember back then (1979-1980) debating my social studies teacher about whether or not the government should step in and help Chrysler during their time of financial crisis. It should come as no surprise, then, that my political radar has been heightened in these days dominated by news of last night’s State of the Union address and next week’s Super Tuesday Primaries & Caucuses. What lies at the core of my interest in politics is that politics is one of the purest expressions of our values as a people. We may SAY education is our top priority in our nation, for instance, but how does that value compare to our desire to invest in mechanisms that will secure our national borders? Which of these values is TRULY most important? Just follow the dollars in our national budget and find out. Today’s passage from Isaiah connected with my interest in politics as the passage dealt with the Virgin Daughter of Babylon and her sins – one of which is arrogance. The NIV translates Isaiah 47:8 as follows: “Now then, listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me…” And again, in Isaiah 47:10: “Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’” These quotes remind me of the arrogance of another entity: our own country – The United States. When it comes to combating issues like global warming and our willingness to acknowledge our interconnectedness to the whole of creation and our fellow human beings, what has been our collective response? I am, and there is none besides me. When it comes to envisioning a just economic system that factors in not only our own well-being, but the well-being of people from developing countries around the world, what has been our collective response? I am, and there is none besides me. Do you see a pattern developing? These are just two of many examples I could give of how we have gotten sucked in to the mindset of the Virgin Daughter of Babylon. All of this got me to wondering how we as a people might move beyond narrow self-interest to a driving interest in God and the well-being of ALL of God’s creation. My personal belief is that this shift starts at the level of the individual and then spills over to the collective consciousness. I stumbled upon a new resource on the web this morning that I’m planning to use to help me explore this shift in commitment – it’s an organization called the Simple Living Network (http://www.simpleliving.net). I haven’t explored it thoroughly so I can’t explicitly recommend it yet. I do offer it as one tool that might help us begin to move beyond the “I am, and there is none besides me.” One of the quotes on their website that caused me to think this might be a helpful resource in this effort was written by Vicki Robinson; it said: “How you spend your money is how you vote on what exists in the world.” May God strengthen us and give us the courage of conviction to embrace a guiding principle other than raw self-interest for living our lives. Til next time…
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