Everyone seems just to do what everyone else is doing.
There is no expectation of anything more.
A visiting Rabbi once said, "I have been preaching liberal Judaism for 30 years. But do they do it? Of course not."
And this is the problem.
God may prompt us to do good in the world but if we refuse He cannot force us.
The Old Testament Prophet Zechariah said, "Thus said the Lord of hosts: Render true judgements, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets." Zechariah 7:8-12 (NRSV)
We prefer our justifications, our rationalizations, our social and business conventions.
And what are these things but petrified fears.
We rationalize our position by endorsing traditional customs, mainly in relation to money.
Prosperity, non-disclosure, privacy, secrecy, tax evasion, private property, inheritance, dividends, shares, status, self-righteousness, amorality, and selfishness.....
All these things are firmly entrenched in our society.
But does anyone ever challenge them?
Not in my Church.
So from where will change come?
Change will come only if we address the fears upon which these things are based.
Fear of poverty, starvation, failure, guilt, ostracism, rejection,and violence.....
And how can these things be overcome?
Through faith and love.
Faith that God will provide.
And love that is unconditional.
[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]
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