"It's hard for us to even comprehend that two people living on the same planet could live in such utterly different worlds. The gospel isn't asking us to be do-gooders or altruistic, the big white fathers and big white mothers. I think it's calling for something that's really much harder than altruism and generosity (although that certainly is asked for in cases). The gospel is calling us into solidarity."(R. Rohr "Radical Grace" p.179)
One of the more enlightening moments I have had is when I've had to engage people from a different economic perspective than mine. Rather than just throwing money at a situation, the time that I have spent bagging food and engaging the folks who will receive that food has given me a greater appreciation for what I have and also a desire to seek ways to raise up those who don't.
Not every disparity in the world can be addressed overnight. But if at a minimum my eyes are opened to that disparity and not in a way that makes me look down on others then there may be some hope.
Of course there are other ways that I'm sometimes surprised by how two people can live on the same planet and view the world so differently. How even two people can read the same Bible and come to radically different conclusions. The question is am I willing to engage those folks as well. Find some common ground in which to engage in meaningful dialogue, rather than the usual superficial name calling. If more people would begin to try, perhaps the other systems that are in place, might also be transformed as well, and bring us back to the original point.
Blessings,
Ed
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