MAKING THE WORLD WORK FOR EVERYONE – A PALE BLUE DOT PART III
Planet Earth from a distance of 4 billion miles. Photo by Voyager I. Source: NASA/JPL Feb. 1990 (Just below middle of page in orange/brown color band on right)
Matthew 6:28-33
“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithall shall we be clothed?
For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
The above Biblical passage is not quoted because it is Biblical, or associated with any particular religion, or because of its reference to a God. It is quoted because, many centuries ago, it was presenting a most profound challenge to humanity.
To understand this let us rephrase just a few of Matthew’s words:
“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if the Universe so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall It not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithall shall we be clothed?
For the Universe – the Cosmic Intellect – knows that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first your purpose, your unique function in the Cosmos, and proceed with truth, and integrity, and deep concern for your Spaceship and your fellow man; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Matthew was presenting us – humanity – with a most profound challenge. Like the lilies of the field, fulfill your intended purpose in the Universe, and the Universe will care for you. You do this by seeking the path of righteousness, by acting with truth, and integrity, and a deep concern for your home, Planet Earth, and your fellow man.
Because of the work and discoveries of millions of humans over thousands of years, mankind now has the realistic ability to fulfill Matthew’s invocation. We now have the ability to care for all humans while at the same time caring for our beloved Spaceship Earth. We have the ability to seek and fulfill our purpose, our unique function in the Cosmos. But to accomplish this we must pursue the path of “righteousness.”
We are all on the same ship together. Our only real enemy is ourselves. When we do not act with truth, and integrity, and with a deep concern for our ship and our fellow crewmembers we ensure our own demise. Plotting nuclear annihilation of millions of fellow passengers in another section of the ship to advantage ourselves at their expense is suicidal madness, not the path of “righteousness.” Continuing to overheat and destroy our ship by burning – and creating wars over – fossil fuels to make a “profit” when we now have the knowledge to switch to safe alternatives, is self-destructive insanity, not the path of “righteousness.”
We voyage alone through the Universe. We have ourselves and our ship. We can make the conscious decision to reorient our efforts away from doing harm to one another and our planet. We can make the conscious decision to direct our efforts toward making our ship work for everyone. We can seek and fulfill our true purpose in the Universe. The Cosmic Intellect is asking us to survive. It has spoken to us through Matthew: By proceeding in truth, and integrity, and with deep concern for your ship and your fellow man, “all these things shall be added unto you.”
A Morning Meditation:
Good morning Sun, good morning Universe. I am a citizen of the World, a crewmember of Spaceship Earth. My fellow crewmembers are not my enemy. Their wellbeing is my wellbeing. May the Cosmic Intellect guide me in truth, and integrity and a deep concern for my ship and my fellow man this day.
Part IV will discuss “Madmen”