Our Garbage Tells a Story

This image is a regular scene now wherever you go in public places. Anytime I go out to get groceries or gas, I'm exposed to a whole bunch of people taking the necessary precautions to care for their health--me included. I'm equally exposed to a whole new level of garbage in these places more than ever before.

How did we get here?

And what thoughts, feelings, and motivations do we experience that compel us to simply discard our disposables on the ground? Do we think, "Well, it's not my problem anymore?"

Before you think this is a post about environmentalism, let me provide another piece of insight. I think our garbage in the streets, in the parking lots, and on the sidewalks tells a greater story about what we think of ourselves and the community around us.

Our culture is steeped in "rugged individualism." We pride ourselves in doing things on our own the way we want to do them. And nobody will stand in our way. It's our right and our freedom. Our country's first amendment to this freedom affords us the opportunity to think and act this way. We've also allowed this way of thinking to color our understanding of faith.

Me. Mine. I. My. 

It's a culture in which I don't have to care about how my actions affect anyone else but me. My faith, if we're not careful, is really only concerned with my personal relationship with God and personal salvation that lets me personally go to Heaven. So how I behave in this life personally is not of anyone else's concern.

So, of course, we would feel no shame as a culture simply discarding our expired goods any old place. Who cares? Not my problem? What difference does it make? As long as I'm living my best life, that's really what matters. And if Jesus is in the mix, I get to go to Heaven someday!

In a global pandemic, this individualistic mindset has really illuminated how we as a society have responded to crisis. But how should the people of God respond in crisis? How do the people of God come together as a whole collective unified body? How do we begin to "be transformed by the renewing of our mind" recognizing that me.mine.I.my actually does affect those around me?

In the ancient middle eastern world, it was a culture that already very much understood what it meant to be a collective; but it was also very tribalistic. So while one tribe was very communal with one another, they certainly were NOT communal with those that were unlike them.

Where it became more challenging is when Christ came to break down the walls of hostility among the tribes and the tribalism that existed among the people. He did this by making himself the common denominator. His Holy Spirit would be the negotiator to ensure unity. They had to learn that their behaviors mattered in conjunction with those around them--specifically those that were unlike them. One church, in particular, learned about this phenomenon by using the metaphor of a body. Take time to read this section of the ancient letter to Corinth. The church is one body with many parts, and each part is impacted by the whole.

Our actions, thoughts, and behaviors start with us as individuals; but they never stop there. They almost always have an impact on those around us whether we consider them belonging to us or not. And if we are followers of Jesus, then everyone has a sense of belonging to us.

Just for fun, though, let's not allow the image above to become the norm. Let's imitate Christ in such a way that brings about restoration and renewal to all creation. It's ultimately his divine plan to make all things new, but we follow in his footsteps in this life today!

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