At a recent Common Call meeting, we discussed ideas from this blog post that contrasts conservative and progressive perspectives on the Gospel. The underlying questions are: Can there be communal sin without personal sin? If so, can there be communal reconciliation without individual repentance?
When I was young, my dad gave me a sound piece of advice: Beware of making a series of small decisions that add up to a big one. The specific context was career-related, but I think it applies more broadly, including to communal sin. Let’s consider the exploitative conditions that undergird Walmart’s business model. I may claim that I am opposed to the maltreatment of workers in China, or the use of underpaid undocumented immigrants in agriculture, or Walmart’s business practices that destroy smaller businesses. But at the end of the day, I decide every week to buy groceries at Walmart because they’re cheaper, they have everything I want to buy, and their service is excellent. So do millions of other Americans. In principle, I could choose not to shop there, but that would have little to no impact on Walmart, so out of self-interest, I decide—today—to accept the moral compromise.
A similar dynamic plays out in racial segregation of neighborhoods and schools. In many (most? all?) large cities, predominantly Black neighborhoods still exist for historical reasons. Sinful actions were taken in the past that established them, and now a series of individual decisions perpetuate them. Such neighborhoods tend to be poorer and with worse schools. A parent would be foolish to choose to live in a neighborhood with bad schools if they could afford to live in a neighborhood with good schools. And so, the status quo remains, or more often, the gap grows.
I think the answer to my first question above is yes. I did not create the conditions that lead to profoundly different educational outcomes between races, nor did my parents or their parents. I did benefit from them, though. So the second question is still open. Do I need to repent of our nation’s collective history? Does everyone else?
There are certainly cases of such communal and individual repentance. The example that springs to mind is South Africa. In order to transition away from apartheid, they had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. South Africans needed to acknowledge their historical sins, collective and individual, in order to live together.
As I was mulling over the conclusions from the Common Call discussion, I helped record this week’s worship service at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Something in Rev. Lou Ellen Hartley’s sermon struck me. Just as there are communal sins, there are communal fruits of the Spirit.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:19-26
Just as each one of us bears some responsibility for the sins of our community, nation, world, and species, each one of us can be a part of the Kingdom of God and enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. It is not just an individual who has love; a community can show love, to each other and to outsiders. Just as structures of sin can be established and perpetuated, structures of kindness and goodness can be established and perpetuated. As James Clear said in a recent email newsletter, “The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don’t swim upstream.” The right kind of community structures make it easy to show love, kindness, and goodness, living in peace without taxing your self-control.
When Sam and I visited Grinnell, we had lunch in their cafeteria. It’s the kind of place where you pay at the front door, then go through the serving area to get to the seating area that surrounds it. The serving area itself is all-you-can-eat. When you’re done, there are several exits. While we were eating, we saw two young women come into the seating area, set down their phones, IDs, and keys, and go back around the corner to get their food. That’s trust. That’s a sign of a community where people watch out for each other, where people care about each other.
The pandemic has torn a lot of communities and organizations apart. As we rebuild, let us seek to build structures that exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, so we may individually experience the peace and joy that comes from loving one another.