If fires must happen and the Earth is needed to create the natural habitats and buildings we call home, where does that leave other elements, such as water and air? Stagnant water goes stale, whereas a running river flows and irrigates. It seems there’s a natural way for life to carry its current. Air, like water, is essential to life, yet it can be detrimental to our health when contaminated. So, it seems we are on the brink of great changes.
“Behold, I will do a new thing; it shall come to light quickly; shall ye not know it? I will again make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
From a young age, my mom instilled in us an entrepreneurial spirit—the idea of not simply sitting under others’ trees but of planting and cultivating our own garden. Planting seeds means understanding that not all will blossom, as some must die first in order for roots to grow.
Now, taking some excerpts from The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr: “We have been more secure in our small individualistic worlds as infants than in the wider world available to mature men. Our culture knows very little of the use and abuse of power, as our own world is schizophrenic on the subject of power, sometimes verging on a curious combination of cynicism and idealism, instead of working together shoulder to shoulder…”
A country’s main resources are, first, natural, and second, developed. When things get harder, it’s not the time to become cynical or idealistic, but the time to incorporate wisdom and apply resources wisely. So, if a country has an oversupply of office buildings and an undersupply of housing, what is life telling us?
Just as water must keep flowing to avoid stagnation, fire is needed to cleanse the soil, and air is needed to purify the Earth. We need to collaborate with these elements and our God-given home, the Earth. We have a responsibility as stewards of it. Therefore, development plays a key role in the benchmark of a country’s well-being. So, if something is more expensive in the present but saves millions in the future, shouldn’t that be the solution?
Instead of being suspicious of the truth, we need to adopt practices that are better for people, cities, states, and countries—all aiming to create better homes and lives while on Earth. Nature must be acknowledged and respected. The purpose of theology and ethics, therefore, is to bring awareness to our being so that we may not lose our edge, so we may continue to be the salt of the Earth. This, too, is a desired outcome.
Today's Thoughts 