The Common Good
How thinking of others makes everyone better.
Professor Malcolm Schofield explained Antipater’s views in this way — that just as we shouldn’t commit violence against one another, we shouldn’t commit injustice against one another, and that we should treat others’ interests as not alien from our own.
~Lives of the Stoics, Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
What if we got our heads out of our collective rear end and started thinking about others?
It seems like such a simple thing. So, why is it so difficult?
What do you mean, Matt? We are always thinking of others!
I can hear that retort, but the simple truth of the matter is, we know it’s not true. In the last two years, we have seen time and time again how so many people have absolutely no interest in thinking of others or the greater good. If we had, then we wouldn’t be on our third major strain of COVID, and significantly less than 800,000 people would be dead. Not to mention that significantly more than 60% of the population would be vaccinated by now.
(It’s interesting how the “herd immunity” crowd doesn’t seem to want to take part in actually getting us to that point. But, sure, go ahead and talk about how leftists are socialists and socialism doesn’t work because other people are too lazy. I digress…)
As I saw somebody post recently on Facebook, this has been the worst group assignment in the history of group assignments. What’s sad is that it doesn’t have to be. People are so focused on individual rights, that we lose sight of the greater good. Yes, absolutely, the mandates suck. Of course, if people just did what they should do to protect others, then mandates wouldn’t be necessary.
But we aren’t ready for that conversation. Who wants to talk about responsibilities to society when we can cry about our imagined liberties being taken away?
And, of course, how much of this mistrust and disinformation has been spread by local churches? I can’t even begin to verbalize how frustrating this is for me as a pastor. Especially when you consider these words:
Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others
~Philippians 2:4 (NRSVue)
I really like this translation of the passage (it’s from the updated version of the NRSV, which is scheduled to be released later in the year, but is already available digitally). Most translations will say something like “not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others…” And, certainly that is what some of the Greek manuscripts say; however, the ones that are considered to be the best — the earliest and most accurate ones — do not.
When it’s all said and done, we have to realize that we are part of a larger community. None of us is completely independent. We are all affected by — and we affect — the lives of others. Until we accept that simple fact, we will continue to tear apart the very same communities that are so important for our well-being and our future.
