Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17
So then, ampoule if anyone is in Christ, physician he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, new things have come about!

Thought for the Day: I’ve been playing this little trivia game called “Million Second Quiz,” which will be a TV series in September. I like trivia, and I do well in the game. As I was thinking about it, I realized the reason I’m pretty good at trivia is because I went to schools where teachers weren’t required to fit all of us into the same mold. Creative thinking was encouraged. If you struggled with a particular topic, a teacher took extra time with you. They were creating new creatures in all of us, and they instilled in me a lifelong love for learning. This was Louisiana in the 1970s and 80s. Surprised?

Contrast that with today’s educational system and its rigid, conformist philosophy. “No child left behind” really means “one size fits all,” and of course this has never been true. America, and much of the rest of the world, is caught up in the idea that, because we’ve been doing things a certain way, we must continue to do them a certain way. But truthfully, we’ve never, ever, in the entire, short history of human existence, done things a certain way. We’re always changing our minds and trying new things.

Today, more than ever, we need some new thinking about global economics, gender and race equality, religious tolerance, immigration, education, social services, transportation, telecommunications, and a myriad of other global issues. We need some really new, radical thinking. We need off-the-wall thinking. We need Jesus-like thinking.

We need to climb out of the very deep holes we’ve created through millennia of nation-state building, and start building a planet, populated by people of all creeds and colors, ready to build one cooperative civilization, with liberty and justice for all.

Of course, it would probably help if we’d get that right in our own country first.

Prayer: Create in me a new thing, Holy God, so I might be a beacon of liberty and justice for all my brothers and sisters, no matter their color, religious views, gender, or sexual orientation. Set us free from the chains of uncreative thinking and partisan politics, Lord. Set us free. Amen.