Thy Kingdom Come

It’s hard not to think that we are at another turning point in history. Human history has always been attended by conflict, from villages, to countries, to continents, and two world wars in the last century.

The war in Ukraine has once more brought the spectre of nuclear war into contemplation. These bloody conflicts notwithstanding, humanity has made progress in many areas.

Technological advances have made life easier and more comfortable for many. None of us would prefer to live even a century ago without electricity, running potable water, cars, not to mention modern conveniences such as television and the Internet. There have been fairly long periods of relative peace which have permitted prosperity to take hold in many countries.

The United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other conventions delineating economic, social, and cultural rights have been endorsed globally.

Yet, despite these technological and other material advances, human society today has cause for concern. Industrial progress has come at a high price in terms of environmental impact and climate change. That mode of progress is no longer sustainable and, globally, we must change course.

Industry and urbanisation have also caused the decimation and even extinction of many animal and plant species, some of which we know now are important to the viability of human society.

But the requirement to address environmental and climate change creates conflict since the developing countries argue that their own development should not be compromised because of the past excesses and indiscriminate use of fossil fuels by the already developed countries.

Uneven development and colonialism also set up the conditions for the migrations of people who are prompted to move in their millions from developing countries afflicted by poverty and war to the more developed countries where they might find a better life for themselves and their children. Many die in the process of migration. The year 2020 brought the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still with us today. Future pandemics cannot be ruled out.

Our modern societies have engendered other, perhaps more dangerous conflicts, fuelled in the last 30 years by the explosion of social media.

Politics has become more polarised. More extreme and uncompromising points of view are adopted so that one’s own position is seen and heard amid the cacophony of voices clamouring to be heard and to be affirmed.

Religion no longer holds the sway it once did over what people think and how they see their neighbour. In many Western societies, many people claim to have no religion at all.

Though human history has been marked by conflict, it has also been marked by cooperation. In fact, our species could not have survived and emerged at the top of the food chain without sustained cooperation.

Survival and mutual protection may have been the drivers for cooperation in early human history. As survival became more assured and human populations exploded, conflict often triumphed over cooperation.

We are at a juncture now in human history where cooperation needs to triumph over conflict. Maybe the existential threat posed by climate change will be the catalyst. Or maybe it will be the threat posed by nuclear annihilation that will inspire humanity into closer cooperation.

Ultimately, the answer to embracing cooperation and the elimination of conflict is to be found in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Its lessons are first, not to ignore people in distress (the poor, the marginalised, the migrants) and ‘pass by on the other side’ as if we haven’t seen them, and to actively come to the help of those in immediate need.

Second, to secure as best we can their future well-being and periodically check on their progress. The motivation is not survival of the species, or of one’s ethnic group or nation. Rather, it is the imperative of charity, of love and respect for all humanity, on which we must now find human cooperation.

It is charity, and the cooperation it brings, that will see the kingdom of God come on earth.