Times of hardship hold opportunities

There is a contest going on about how the world should be rendered. A contest about whether our lives should be governed by Might, Wealth, and Wisdom or Love, Distribution, and Righteousness. I am not referring to the current campaign for President of the United States. The contest is greater than the debate between the Democratic and Republican candidates. This contest is even greater than the current economic crisis or the ongoing War in Iraq and Afghanistan. The outcome of this contest will determine how we live our lives. More than that, it will determine the health of our planet and the well-being of the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

In June, Walter Brueggemann, a Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary addressed a gathering of Unitarian Universalist ministers. His address was so compelling that he inspired me to read his most acclaimed book, The Prophetic Imagination, and to consider how his message applies to our lives.

King Solomon flourished during the mid-tenth century BC. He is described both in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Qur’an as a leader of might, wealth, and wisdom. He was the third and final king of the United Monarchy, ruling for forty years over a land that divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah after his death. He was a prolific writer of proverbs and songs many of which are attributed to him in the Bible. Scriptures also attribute the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem, considered one of the ancient wonders of the world to his leadership.

Over the course of his reign, King Solomon experienced great commercial prosperity in part by trafficking in arms. Solomon virtually enslaved his nation to build the Temple and his palace. He taxed his subjects to poverty while he lived surrounded by luxury. Solomon had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. It is an understatement to say he was a ladies man—he had one thousand wives.

The life of King Solomon is one to which many nations and individuals aspire today: Might, Wealth and Wisdom as the shining goal. Only, it is a goal that will never be reached. Within this worldview is an insatiable appetite for more at any cost. When Might, Wealth, and Wisdom are upheld as the ideals of living, then everything becomes a commodity, including other people.

This is what Walter Brueggemann calls “royal consciousness.” When the dominant culture extols political power, military might, and affluence, truth becomes equated with power; as the saying goes, “Might makes right.” When the goal of life becomes “The one with the most stuff wins” then victory remains very shallow indeed. The current credit crunch and home lending disaster was fed by this myth of the good life. A life surrounded by luxuries, new toys, and pretty objects that would somehow secure our happiness; an outward show of prosperity to demonstrate our worth to ourselves, our family, and the wider community.

Through out the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, prophets present an alternative worldview to “royal consciousness.” Moses, Elijah, Amos, Nathan, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jesus were more than political activists these Biblical prophets were teachers and poets. Through their words and actions, they demonstrated the World as a Neighborhood upholding the values of Love, Distribution, and Righteousness as the purpose of living.

As Jesus reminds his disciples in Matthew 6, it is not possible to serve two masters. Brueggmann asserts that the reason so many Americans feel harried and exhausted is because we are attempting to serve two worldviews. However, it is not possible to serve two masters. For us to order the World as a Neighborhood instead of as an Empire, we must recognize our responsibility to one another including how our choices impact the interdependent web of life.

I know that you as people of conscience share in my grief over the disparity between those who have in abundance and those who struggle just to get by. I know you share my pain over the current climate crisis and the plight of our fellow inhabitants of this earth. You also share my anxiety about the current state of the economy and how it may affect our future. Grief work is a precondition for joy. Unless we fully experience life in its pain and struggle, we remain unable to truly experience the beauty and wonder of life. Although none of us would wish this economic downturn, we must allow it to break through our numbness to inspire new priorities in our daily lives.