Published history doesn’t give us a balanced report about the ordinary folks of the generations – and these are the masses that live during any era. We know most about the rich, powerful, educated and creative men and women. We know a bit about the movement of armies, the destructive forces of civil life including great movements of nature, economics, and other massive influences like emigrations, but little how these and those families functioned. Statistics are helping the story. Sometimes stories are made up, or reported in such a way that there occurs significant distortion in the reports and beliefs. We talk, for example, about the Wild West. The chances (statistics) of being murdered in New York City during the opening of the American West in the nineteenth century were greater than they were in the west. People went west to escape the dangers of the east in economics, growing slums, low wages, and the like. They didn’t create the negatives that are celebrated today by imaginative players of Cowboys and Indians. (Lewis and Clark went west early in the century, covering virgin territory, losing one man to natural death as the only life lost. The party was helped along the way with Sacajawea – her infant child in tow.) Creative and progressive life may be ordinary (standard).
Here is a good place to look closely at small texts in the Bible, more than great passages. Jeremiah was sensitive in capturing, here and there, the lives of the common folks – who, because of their status in society were poor, powerless, uneducated, under the direction of limited leaders and with no recourse. They lived their lives with hope of survival for their families. Jeremiah noted that in the hurt (prevailing daily life) of the people they were given some courage in learning there will be peace. (Male populations were sometimes decimated by warfare, captivity, perhaps to slavery. The women were ravished. The society at Qumran committed mass suicide rather than be taken by the forces of the enemy who would defile the women and murder the men.) Jeremiah noted that the people were lied to – likely both in community peace (no warfare), and in spiritual peace (no God working in their behalf). God saw and felt the despair.
The strong tendency of leaders and authorities, governmental or other social institutions, is to keep their followers/citizens/members mollified. The aim is toward what is presumed to be the majority preference, which may leave a significant minority unhappy or unfulfilled. The consequence is to create tension that can lead to confrontation and loss, or may simply create some degree of malaise – a general feeling for the constituency, even for those who are at the controls. The hope is that the population will at least hold still, pay taxes, follow the rules, and find a level of living that is enough for some tranquility. In the observations of Jeremiah the effort is too fraught with the flaws of imperfect leaders trying in imperfect ways to meet the needs of imperfect constituencies. The ones in power argue for ideals, like peace, and affirm there is peace in their administrations when it does not happen without more aid. God offers that aid, available to any asking for it, and are willing to minister to life in what is summarized as righteousness. Rightness can be achieved in any man made context (democracy or dictatorial), if there is agreement on the basic concepts of righteousness – which in honesty deals with the needs and benefits of others through legitimate (moral) action. This requires an objectivity guided by humility (dependence on others) with a grasp of values in what is right and wrong so to choose the right. God will assist any people following that ideal, even if they do not acknowledge him. It is better to acknowledge God, even if he is not carefully identified, but God wants to aid all mankind and has his reasons for doing so related to his creative gestures, and love for mankind. Recognizing good means little to God, except as he gives it value, but it means everything to mankind as it relates to society, and the happiness of the people. God’s first interest is in the individual, each person to be accounted for as though that person were the only one on earth, to be ministered to for the purpose of qualification into God’s kingdom, and to become the blessing to others with whom this personal treatment of exclusiveness (privacy) is also granted. God works both personally and socially. He does not withdraw his aid socially, if guidelines are met – for all people. (Proverbs 29:2) *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020