As I sit on the boardwalk at Carrum, sipping my coffee and gazing out across the bay, with the skyline of the Melbourne CBD in the distance, I wonder about the world we are bequeathing our children. More specifically, bequeathing our children’s children’s children (to borrow a line from The Moody Blues)! Do you wonder about such things?
It is a strange time we live in. Wars and rumours of wars, excessive wealth juxtaposed with increasing poverty, beautiful seascapes threatened by rising sea levels, brilliant advances in science and medical research one hand and feigned ignorance or outright opposition to empirical evidence on the other, inspirational stories of human resilience and compassion alongside instances of inhumanity and violence. The contrasts are stark and numerous. Which way will we go? What wisdom can we offer to those who follow? Can we build the better world for which we yearn? Absolutely we can! Here’s my take on our pathway to that world.
Micah was an 8th-century BCE prophet whose words are recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. There’s an oft-quoted sentence from Micah, familiar to those who read the scriptures and perhaps even to those who don’t, that captures the essential ethic of the three Abrahamic religions, and perhaps the ethic of all the major faith groups. His words point us to what I suggest are the three pillars upon which we might build our future:
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.[1]
What better foundation could there be for our global village than the three pillars of justice, kindness and humility?
What is justice? Forget the all-too-prevalent contemporary understanding that equates justice with judgement: justice, in the biblical sense, is not about judgement or penalty or paying the price for misdemeanour. That is retributive justice – the eye-for-an-eye sort of justice that ‘justifies’ injustice as a response to injustice. The current Israeli government response to Hamas is a clear example. But justice in the biblical prophetic sense is a restorative process: restoration of right relationship, restoration of dignity, restoration of community, restoration of personal wellbeing – it’s about wholeness, or holiness if you like. A community anchored in restorative justice will be a community that cares for each other and for others, that advocates for those whose voices are diminished, that works for the restoration of right order – in society, in politics, in social structures, and in creation. Restorative justice – proactive and outspoken – will be a pillar upon which our new world may be built.
Kindness is the second foundational pillar. Kindness is a rather beautiful concept, and, significantly, a value that is shared by virtually all world religions. Kindness can sometimes be confused with a passive, almost soft sentimentality. But the kindness that we are claiming here is neither passive nor soft. Kindness is active and strong. It is not merely ‘do no harm’ but purposefully and intentionally ‘do good’, do kindness. Kindness is an active and generative quality: it is about living with generosity, offering mercy, acceptance, embracing diversity. Kindness is a building block of justice, a pathway to harmony, as it calls us to compassion, offering kindness to all people, to all creation, to all life. Have you noticed a concerning global trend of opposition to immigration and antipathy toward refugees? It’s playing out in the French election process right now. The pillar of kindness challenges this drift with its call to compassion and generosity and it is a pillar upon which our better world may be built.
Justice, kindness and, finally, humility.
If justice is too-often equated with judgement and condemnation, then so is arrogance too-often mistaken for self-assurance and strength. The biblical tenet is that genuine self-assurance, deep strength of character, is anchored not in arrogance but in humility: a willingness to serve, a preparedness to elevate the other, an awareness of right perspective. Humility ought to be lauded as a foundational pillar of society, but it is too-often overwhelmed amidst a sea of strident voices, over-developed egos and an unhealthy focus on individual rights.
It has always mystified me how society, particularly Western society, continues to accede to those who are self-promoting, continues to listen to those who are self-opinionated, continues to defer to those with the loudest, most strident voices. We have seen this exemplified in US politics over the past eight years, and certainly in the recent Presidential Candidate debate. It is clear how destructive and divisive unfettered arrogance can be.
The prophet Micah, along with many other spiritual teachers, points us to humility as a more constructive, more life-giving practice. It may seem counter-intuitive, because humility is sometimes characterised as weakness or subservience, but humility is actually evidenced by a generosity of spirit, an orientation of acceptance, an openness of mind that is life-giving to the other as well as to ourselves.
Humility doesn’t mean having no opinion, or not speaking up or acting out as appropriate, but it means not being dogmatic about my opinion, holding open the possibility of alternative perspectives, and being prepared to listen to diverse voices in the quest for wisdom and harmony.
Humility is the result of gaining a right perspective in life – perspective on ourselves and perspective on others – and it flows from a right relationship with the ultimate ‘Other’ (God), through which we become aware of our own comparative ‘smallness’ in the face of that Other’s ‘bigness’. Perhaps best named as the experience of wonder and awe, it evokes a sense of healthy humility. And it is out of that space that we are empowered to live with kindness, and to seek justice.
Justice. Kindness. Humility. Ancient words from the prophet Micah. Values upon which we might build a better world for our children’s children’s children. May it be so!
David Brooker
2nd July 2024
[1] Micah 6:8 NRSV © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
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