It has seemed to me that one of the great things about spirituality is that it lets you get away from the nitty gritty challenges of life. The whole point, after all, is to withdraw from daily living to discover your true self and perhaps experience God's presence in a more immediate way. The problem I've found is that spirituality sends you right back out there to deal with life!

I have found myself thinking about life and faith a lot these days with the reality of the election virtually upon us, the harsh reality of a global economic crisis coloring much of our thinking and planning, and the less visible yet even harsher reality of a global climate crisis lurking just beyond our daily awareness. All these crises connect in a fundamental way. They are spiritual issues.

Last week, I wrote about the need for leadership in the face of these crises - especially leadership by the church and by people of faith generally. It is the crisis of global climate change that strikes me as the most challenging of the three. The dangers of irreversible and catastrophic changes in the earth's atmosphere as the result of human energy consumption and pollution are now at the doorstep. There are some ways through this crisis, but the path will require remarkable leadership, incredible effort, and a new orientation for humanity. We have the capacity, creativity, and skill - the potential -- to develop adequate sustainable, renewable, and non-polluting energy sources, but to do so will require much more global cooperation than nationalistic fervor.

The world can experience a dramatic improvement in the quality of life for people who now live in poverty. Societies that are only now moving into the world of developed nations can continue their upward mobility. To get there, however, we will have to trust in our oneness as human beings, not just as Americans, but as human beings! We will have to find a way to let go of the fear that leads some of us to hoard wealth. We will need to find a way to let go of a deficit attitude that leads societies such as ours to consume much more than anyone else - way more than we actually need.

Conservation, creativity, and cooperation are the three C's for this generation if we are to flourish as a result of these crises. The necessity of investing in future generations challenges us to decide what we value more than anything else. If we really love God with all our "passion, prayer, and intelligence," and "others as we love ourselves," (Matthew 22: 37, 39, The Message) then the response of cooperation, conservation, and creativity is clear. Jesus did not teach about global climate change, but he taught us to live what we value. His challenge still confronts us.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.

--Jack Price