Changing the World in Three Easy Steps

In my last post I was arguing that cosmopolitanism should function as a minimal ethical standard for reading the biblical text. However, cosmopolitanism is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for creating a complete Christian ethic. Which got me thinking about the steps we would need to pass through to move beyond cosmopolitanism toward the goal of Christian love. So here they are, my three steps for creating a better world.

Step 1: Cosmopolitanism
As I argued in my last post, we need to recognize that, despite our differences, we all seek the same things in life. We are each citizens of the world. A global village. As JFK said, "For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal."

Step 2: Kindness
I recently read a quote from the Dali Lama that said, "My religion is kindness." I love that sentiment.

The troubling thing for me is how so few Christians view kindness as being at the heart of their religious practice. I see this as a serious problem. I think this is because the Christian moral vision is often too heroic. Christians say that love--that big and heroic vision--is at the heart of their practice. But as they say this they tip waiters poorly, criticize co-workers too harshly, and smile too infrequently. In my mind, kindness is love with training wheels. We need to work on smiling more. Work on tipping well. Work on complimenting frequently. Work on thoughtfulness.

Christians need to take a year to stop focusing on love and just practice kindness for a season. It could be a revolutionary change for us. Let's try hard for one year to make kindness central to our religion. And then maybe, if we get good at this, we can graduate to love.

Cosmopolitanism without kindness can get kind of cold. Tolerance and acceptance can be stand-offish. But kindness infuses civic life with warmth and humanity.

Along these lines, I've posted before about generalized reciprocity, the "pay it forward" world. (Direct reciprocity is "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Generalized reciprocity is "you scratch my back and I'll scratch someone else's.") As illustrations of the "religion of kindness" I've often pointed to three commercials I'm particularly fond of:






Online Videos by Veoh.com

I love this vision, but a warm cosmopolitanism still doesn't go far enough. So, our final step:

Step 3: Jubilee
In the end, cosmopolitanism and kindness, to be fully Christian, must seek tangible effects in the real world. In Leviticus 25 the Year of Jubilee is described. At its heart, Jubilee is about redistribution. That is, after years of exchange and bartering the rich inevitably get richer while the poor get poorer. Jubilee hits the reset button. A redistribution occurs.

I see Jubilee--redistribution--to be the final step in the Christian journey. This redistribution is both personal and systemic. On the personal scale, I give my life away by redistributing my time, energy, and priorities for the sake of the Other. Systemically, we seek Jubilee in the large-scale economic and sociological factors governing the world. The point is, without Jubilee cosmopolitanism and "pay it forward" would be fairly limp and superficially sweet. However, a Jubilee without a warm cosmopolitanism would be very cold and inhuman (think of unhappy Marxists). We need more than food, clothing and shelter. We need affectionate community as well.

So there it is, my three simple steps to change the world:

1. Cosmopolitanism
2. Kindness
3. Jubilee

What would be your list?