Scripture: Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, buy viagra since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Thought for the Day: Today is officially International Day of Peace. Celebrated every year, it’s a day of cease-fire and non-violence. The U.N. created the holiday in the 1980s, and has since worked towards a goal of “sustainable peace.”

I think it’s possible to find a lasting peace on this planet, but I also think it requires a sea change in the way that nations and peoples of the world relate to each other. We can no longer continue to compete and fight over the same finite resources. It’s time for us to learn how to share. It’s time for us to realize that this planet is a gift for all of us, not a bauble that can be owned by the few.

Waaaay back in time (I’m talking like, millions of years ago), when our ancestors were foraging for food and living under the stars in Africa (yes, we all come from Africa), you could either try to survive on your own, or you could work together. Those early human species that tried to go it alone eventually went extinct—at least partially because being alone makes it impossible to reproduce. But those that learned how to cooperate, those that formed early societies thrived and evolved into the magnificent examples of great ape (Hominids) we are today.

Yet, here we are, millions of evolutionary years later, fighting over resources—resources that belong to God, not to us. Yet we treat them like our personal property. They are not. The oil, the water, the food—that’s God’s, and it’s here for us to use and share. NONE of us has a right to hoard this stuff, because it doesn’t belong to us. The planet doesn’t belong to one person, or one country. It’s for ALL of us. It’s God’s property, and we should show thanks and humility for being given stewardship of this beautiful planet.

There really isn’t any reason we should be fighting with each other, that children shouldn’t be receiving a stellar education, that anyone should be sleeping without shelter or go to bed malnourished. Well, there’s no reason other than selfishness. And that’s a quick path to extinction.

Prayer: God of infinite and everlasting abundance, make me generous, kind and caring. Help me realize that we are all in this together, one people of God, who flourish with cooperation, or perish in selfishness. Amen.