Opportunity Preparedness

A friend recently wrote of the need to consider disaster preparedness a sound candidate for new government stimulus spending. From the run toward disasters that we seem to be making in recent years, that certainly sounds reasonable. At the same time, I would counter that proposal with yet another consideration. Could we not also prepare for opportunities?

It seems natural to consider the “fearsomeness” of being unprepared for life’s storms. I also wonder if equally significant is our lack of preparation in relating appropriately to life’s blessings.

Consider just a few:
In light of our religious liberty, how is it that numbers indicate religious engagement may be waning and many denominations report decline? Does freedom to worship mitigate against our preparation to actually be involved in those practices? Or perhaps we have simply forgotten to prioritize in light of such a freedom.

In government, we have adopted an agenda to resolve our pressing problems. Could we not also reasonably engage in those preparations that would allow for mutual benefit and progress? Consider the areas of research and development: corporations and universities on many fronts are diminishing and extinguishing these areas of effort in light of economic downturns. Yet where will we discover new opportunities for economic expansion and new product or services development? In the face of economic depression we should “double down” on research and development efforts in order to stimulate the very progress we seek with sound science, sound technology, and sound humanitarian efforts toward improvements.

In the midst of ethical challenges, is it not reasonable to regain our moral footing with the kind of intentional attentiveness to instruction and learning offered in the context of Christian community? Where better to discover the basis for the most effective and complementary work of relating positively to one another, than in the teachings of Jesus? Whether it stimulates our economy or not, the Ten Commandments, the golden rule, and the call to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength will give moral fiber to the personal and collective experiences of those who willingly engage in such discussions, actions and aims.

In a nation with a quickly escalating aging population, it would seem prudent to consider the means by which productive senior living can be enhanced, along with a clear consideration for quality of life considerations. We are at a place where our technology can outperform our ability to exercise human sensitivity and love. In matters of aging, we have an opportunity to demonstrate the highest forms of care in the midst of a spirit of careful restraint in the use of extraordinarily inhumane practices that may extend heart beats, but ultimately disregard human capacities for interaction, relationship and life quality with family, friends and loved ones. We have an opportunity to change the way we dispense care, and instead consider these persons of great worth, not pursuing a tactical goal of wholesaling housing provisions and health care procedures at the expense of joy, life, and engagement.

Opportunity preparedness -- that is the need before us. It has the potential to mean the “exercise of love” in the kinds of ways that redefine the future for all of us.