2 Corinthians 5:18
We've been back now for five days, and it is amazing how quickly things go back to normal. The first day or so, I was amazed by the smallest things: smooth roads, green grass, houses of brick and shingle, new cars and new clothes. I took the kids to the park in Greenville, which was also amazing, and on the way there, we drove down East Parkins Mill Road. I noticed, as if for the first time, the size of the houses and the property there. I guess its the American dream, big house, two car garage (or more), nice yard with green grass, maybe a boat, if you're into that. The thing that struck me was that this is not the Haitian dream. I don't think you're average Haitian wants all of that. I mean, sure they would take it over living in a shack with a leaky roof and starving. But the Haitian dream is probably a little simpler: a job, a two room house with solid roof, food on the table. What I'm struggling with is what is the standard of living that we should expect, not as Americans, but as citizens of the world?
Now, if you live on East Parkins Mill, please don't take this as a condemnation. I'm not trying to say we are evil for having so much when others have so little. What I'm trying to come to grips with is the statement people often make when we get back from Haiti or Salkehatchie. "It makes you thankful for all the blessings we have, doesn't it?" I don't ever say this to anyone, but what I always think is "No, it doesn't." It doesn't make me thankful for what I have. It makes me think I have way too much. It makes me question whether or not our wealth in the US is actually a "blessing from God" or a curse of our sinful greed, nationalism, racism, and casual disregard for the people of the rest of the world. Remember, Jesus says its super-hard for a rich person to find the kingdom of God. Maybe we aren't individually making evil decisions to hoard wealth while others starve. Maybe we are caught in systems of sin, set up long before any of us were born, that perpetuate the status quo while our broken theology gives us peace of mind by making us "thankful for the blessings we have." One way to talk about this is white privilege. Basically, that means that for the last 600 years the dice have been consistently loaded for white people to accumulate wealth at the expense of people of color, from slavery to colonialism to voting laws and property laws to redlining and unfair loan practices to educational opportunities and segregation. I'm not saying people didn't work hard, invent things, and use their God-given gifts to make a good life for themselves and their children. All I'm saying is that it is very questionable to assume that the accumulation of wealth propped up by systemic sin is actually the way God blessed us and intends us to live. Somewhere between Haiti and the American dream lies the truth of God's intent for us as a species.
Now I'm guessing that after you read that paragraph, you either already agreed with me before and are now nodding your head self-righteously, or you sniffed out a "liberal agenda" in what I wrote, already disagreed with me before you started, and are shaking your head at my lack of patriotism and judgmentalism. I didn't write the above to make you feel good or bad about yourself. I wrote it to try to bring you in to this new vision of the world God has given me through my trip to Haiti. I want to give you a glimpse of what our world looks like post-Haiti. All I can give you is a glimpse. If you want to gain clearer vision of the world as God sees it, you have to come with me to Haiti. And you can't go to Haiti just to "do some good" or "help some poor people," although those are noble pursuits. If you want to really do some good, you must go to build relationships with people in Haiti. Relationships take time and effort. And they are the only thing that really matters, that can really change the world.
That's what I understand the Gospel to be. God is saving the world by restoring our relationship with God, through forgiveness of our sins and restoration of our broken nature. God is doing this by restoring our relationships with one another, through peace and love. When this happens, faith replaces fear and hope replaces despair. The power of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, unleashed into the world, the church, and each one of us by the Holy Spirit, is the power of reconciliation. That's the litmus test for everything a Christian says, thinks, or does: does this further the ministry of reconciliation? Does it improve my relationship of love and peace with God and my neighbor? The good news is that God has not abandoned us in our wealth or the people of Haiti in their poverty. God is bringing us together so that we may find a more excellent way to live. Thanks be to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment