Thinking and praying about wellbeing
Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets . . . . . the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. (Zechariah 8:4-5) (NRSV)
One of the key messages that emerges from our Scriptures is that our God is a generous God. The Psalms speak in vivid terms of a world that reflects his rich and open-handed care for creation:
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use,
to bring forth food from the earth,
and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart. (Psalms 104:13-15) (NRSV)
When we speak in today’s world about wellbeing, we can often reduce this to simply seeking personal wealth and gain – and if we’re honest, many of the political narratives that we absorb are aimed at this aspect of human nature. “This is what’s in it for you” – “we are the party to serve your interests”.
Whatever our political views and allegiances, as Christians we can all recognise that this is not the kind of foundation to build on. Zechariah the prophet spoke of God’s kingdom being established, and imagined a world where the elderly and young, those who were perhaps the most vulnerable, shared in the prosperity of society. The quality of our shared life is not measured by the achievements of the most successful, but how the weakest fare and are cared for.
When writing to the Church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul could not be more uncompromising " Do not seek your own advantage, but that of others." (1 Corinthians 10:24)
It is this commitment to the common good that underpins our vision for “Love your Neighbour – think, pray, vote”. God’s Word describes prosperity, not economic success for a few, but the wellbeing of all. In the Gospels, Jesus shared a parable about a man whose business enterprise was particularly successful. He was a farmer and his response to a bumper crop was to build bigger barns for himself in which he could hoard and accumulate his personal wealth. Our Scriptures declare him to be a fool, for failing to recognise his true priorities.
We live in a society where success and status are all too often associated with personal accumulated wealth, but this is not how God sees things. Wealth is something to be shared – it is to be seen as his gift to society as a whole, not something to be accumulated and hoarded by a few. Prosperity is measured by the wellbeing of the most needy and most vulnerable. Wellbeing is not measured in financial terms alone, but by ensuring we have a wholesome, healthy and secure society for all.
Prayer:
God who promised prosperity
to a nation that walks in your ways,
help us to recognise that true prosperity
is not that which is gained at the expense of others,
but the mark of a society
where the greatest and the least can flourish,
where wellbeing is recognised as more than mere economic gain,
where success is measured not simply by the accomplishments of a few
but the value and opportunity that is afforded to all.
Where those who are strong
see their task as defending the weak,
where those who have
are only concerned for those who have not.
Grant that vision of your world
to all who have power and responsibility within it
for the sake of your Kingdom.
Amen.