I Wonder . . .

In a fair and impartial world, no one would go hungry.  No one would be homeless.  It is hard to fathom what this could look like.  I have always been an advocate for justice, knowing that it directly relates to how I follow Jesus and how I love others.  In more recent years, however, I began to understand how God sees justice.  Though people experience many forms of inequality, poverty is one of the foremost injustices throughout the world.  Through the power struggles, greed, and consumerism, we have left families starving and without a roof over their heads. 

There is a story about manna falling from heaven.  The people were told to go out and collect what they needed for the day.  If they gathered more than they needed, the manna would become full of maggots and smell.  I wonder what my life would look like if everything that I did not need became full of maggots?  Given that the thought of maggots makes me want to vomit, I most likely would not have as much stuff as I do. 

It is communicated, on big and small scales, that we need stuff, that we need the best of the best, and that we need it now.  My humanity wants to rationalize the desire for things; yet I feel freedom and peace in simplifying my life.  This tension keeps me wondering about how my decisions affect people living on the margins of society. 

I know these thoughts can bog us down making us feel overwhelmed and guilty.  Maybe we can’t change people’s lifestyles and thoughts on injustice, but maybe we can begin to ask ourselves questions about how our decisions have a hand in the injustices experienced by others.  I wonder what our world would look like if everyone had equal access to the resources needed to survive.  I wonder . . .