Someone has blown the whistle and we all have had to get out of the pool.  As we stand around the pool, shivering and looking cautiously at each other, we have time to reflect on what we are doing. 

As individuals, we are rather helpless creatures.  But as members of society, we can be incredibly wealthy and powerful.  Yet our society cannot end at some arbitrary border where once we cross it, anything goes. 

​We need to free ourselves of the belief that we are competing for limited resources.  The human species has survived by sharing and cooperation.  While hoarding may have limited benefits for a brief time for an individual, society has a whole cannot survive that way and the world community certainly cannot.

This vision is contrary to the vision propagated by many who are currently in power.  In their view of the world, America wins when it gets the best deal for itself even if it means that a poor nation will become even poorer, that the environment will be totally wrecked, that local people will be denied clean water to drink and fresh air to breathe.  In response to the inevitable outcry of people in poverty, we militarize our police and sell weapons to corrupt governments to put down legitimate protests.
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With COVID-19, we have been forced to pause for a moment.  If we are open to it, this could be a moment of grace.  In many ways, humanity is racing toward a cliff of extinction and dragging the rest of the world with it.  Scientists estimate that between 200 and 2,000 species become extinct each year.  We are called to be stewards of the earth.  But we cannot be good stewards if our only thought is enrichment either as individuals or as a nation.

In the United States, the wealth gap increases each year.  The top 10 percent average more than nine times as much income as the bottom 90 percent.  Worldwide, the wealth disparity is equally alarming.  Individuals owning over $100,000 in assets make up less than 11 percent of the global population but own 82.8 percent of global wealth. 

The interesting thing about amassing wealth is that there is no end to it.  Millionaires want to become billionaires.  Rich countries want to become even richer.  Human values are lost. The earth itself is in danger of being lost. 

So while we are standing around the pool, take a look. How dirty has the water become?  How much water is left?  Look at the people around you and around the border rivers and across oceans. Are they simply our competitors? Or are they very much like we are?  How do we want to relate to them?

​Soon we will all dive back into the water.  Will we resume our frantic race with each other? 
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We are in a moment of grace.  Now is the time to be open to the transforming power of the Spirit.

Our country and our world are torn apart by nationalism, racism, civil unrest, pandemic, unemployment, economic disparity, and exploitation of the earth.  Many in our country hope to return to “normal.”  But what has happened has shown the rot on which our “normalcy” was built.

The people who create our new society must themselves be people of color, women, immigrants, and people in poverty and on the margins of society.  Otherwise the rot will continue and the new structure also will be swept away.

We are called to move from nationalism to a recognition of the humanity of all people regardless of geography or race or culture.  Surely this is the vision that most if not all the major religions call us.  So long as we are ensnared in a small, tight, world of limited resources, we will limit our potential for development both as individuals and as a world community.

​COVID-19 has dramatically shown us how interrelated we are.  While maintaining social distancing, we came to truly recognize our need for each other.  Not only are the first line medical providers heroes, but so are the trash collectors and the people who work in grocery stores. 
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Now we must bring that insight into our work.  When national, state, and local budgets are developed, we need to distribute our resources equitably to ensure that those who most require our help have the resources they need.  Too easily an “America First” policy devolves into a “me first” mindset. 

​​As we let go of the solitary individual concept and recognize ourselves as social beings in need of each other, we can become less self-destructive.  We will see that when we extend ourselves to help the stranger, we become not less but more.

This shift in perspective also will help us to better love and preserve the earth.  The earth and its richness are not something to plunder but something to value and to care for.  We will better recognize the environment as an essential part of our very being.  When we harm the earth, we harm ourselves.

In terms of our relationship with other nations, we will not seek simply to get the better deal but strive for agreements that enrich each nation.  Too often, the desire for short-term gain at another nation’s expense results in long-term loss.  At first, we may seem to win but too often this approach results in civil unrest, armed conflicts, and war. 

​The change in perspective from the individual to the community also would change our trade agreements. Aside from looking at the cheapest price, we would try to look more deeply into the manufacture and transportation of goods. Is slave labor involved?  Under what working conditions were the goods manufactured.  What safeguards can we implement as a nation to help improve the working conditions of other nations?

Most of the inhumanity in the world is the result of our seeing each other and the earth itself simply as resources to enrich ourselves, our families, and our nation.  Politicians ask us, “Are you better off this year than last year?”  Perhaps a better question would be, “Is your neighbor better off this year than last year?”  This is not just idealism; it is a change of perspective that is necessary for our survival.