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Is there enough for everyone? ...

Wednesday, Jan 21, 2015. I have something which is more a question than a statement. Somehow it is also a kind of guess or conjecture. It is about the question: is there enough for everyone? Do we have enough food, enough love, enough appreciation, enough housing, enough space, enough work, enough challenges, enough protection, enough security, enough guidance … for everyone?

Status Report …

The first thing you might say is: of course there is not enough for everyone currently. See people suffer. See people starve. See people unemployed. See people without love. See people without guidance. See people without security. There is not enough for everyone - that is a fact currently, it is an obvious status report.

But perhaps I should rephrase my question: could there be enough? Is there enough food on the earth to feed everyone? Is there enough space to have some bed and a desk and a window for everyone? Is there enough love, such that everyone gets the attention she or he needs? Is that possible? Could it be?

There are political streams of thinking which approach the problem as a political question. There is the strong left, who wants to take away from those who have and give to those who do not have. This approach might seem to be a quick solution, but usually it does not take care of the way how weath is generated in the first place. It cannot just be moved around easily - it will be distroyed in the process!

How Jesus approaches the core problem …

There are political approaches, and to some extent we need actions on the political level. There are also philosophical approaches, and of course it is also a philosophical question, which touches the philosophical layer of life. There are social solutions, which try to build community, there are solutions on the legal level, approaching this from the legal perspective. It touches our monetarian system, it touches our tax system, it touches our institutional and public system, and it touches every single individual with his or her choices.

Jesus approaches the problem from a very basic level: the level of faith. Before you can solve all the human problems, you need to be reconciled with the Lord, with the source of life. He is also the source of peace, of real peace, since he is the source of forgiveness and the source of full life. He is called “love” himself, full appreciation, full dedication, trust - pure trust.

I believe that there can be enough for everyone. It is up to us to make it happen. Everyone can contribute, by working in a reliable way in his environment, by being a blessing through faith in Jesus, and through his or her actions, words and behaviour. God has given us great riches, to every single human individual, and to each and every human community. That does not need to be money, it can be joy, it can be a nice environment, it can be music, love, excitement, … all different kind of things. We need to let these riches develop and grow, we need to take care and nurture what we have, and we will experience his deep and far reaching blessing. With him, all this becomes possible! (RWEP) ... more texts