Elaine Ledgerwood
The other day I was reading the story of Jesus being fairly jacked off about the money traders in the temple (John 2: 13-23) and reading this was one of those reminders that after 2,000 years in a supposedly Christian society, we still worship money.
Sometimes I wonder how much we humans have learnt and on one level, we have learnt a lot. However, at the same time, I would have to say we have not learnt much at all.
In spite of Jesus, the key figure in the Christian religion, having a go at the materialism of his day — a materialism that kept people from being seen as acceptable — we still do the same. We simply have to have all the latest bits and gizmos or we just are not happy or acceptable in our society.
I have started to wonder if humanity will ever put aside our greed and work for the common good; the more I see of what people do, the more I despair there will ever be the day when all people will have their needs met.
While there are so many people out there who do not have enough, our politicians and economists are stressed because people who already have so much are not buying more. Not only that, but we are being manipulated in more subtle ways to buy more.
Last year the drum on my printer needed replacing and, to my horror, I discovered that it cost more to replace the drum than the whole printer. It was a struggle of conscience. On the one hand, I wanted to replace as little as possible because that is better for the environment. One the other, I am a student and I could hardly afford a new printer, let alone to pay more for a component part.
It would be so easy for the despair to lead into paralysis.
After all, if a large enough proportion of the population is manipulated one way or another into being greedy, then the planet is going to be wrecked anyway and what is the point of trying to do the right thing?
At the same time, I must keep hoping that one day we will live in a world where everyone has enough and the effect of our lifestyles on the environment is minimal, because if I do not, then I will also slide into consumerism, for what then is the point of doing something different?
Hope in the face of despair energises us to be counter-cultural; it is what enables me to keep going on a simple lifestyle and using minimal resources.
Hope is more than simply doing my little bit. It is about seeing that things could be different and living out that difference. Yet, for those of us who are Christian, at the same time, hope relies on God — because what we have seen over and over again is that human efforts fail or are corrupted.
For me, God does not intervene, but rather teaches us to see what is really happening, hear the cries of the oppressed and experience the world both as it really is and at the same time as it could be.
So what is the world for which I hope? I hope for a world where the principle is love — not just love of our friends and family, but also love for the stranger and those who are different. I hope for a world where all life is respected and not just human life. I still have to hope for a world where all people are equal and where other ‘values’ are not misused to control other people.
May God help me to live this world into being.
Elaine Ledgerwood is a Christian, occupational therapist and theology PhD student living, studying and working in Western Australia.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comment form
