Editorial: Faith, courage for the goodness in themselves and in each other

Jobs are about more than economics and the economic sector of our society. Much more.

Unemployment, and underemployment, are about more than the vital matter of making a living. A living wage is about more than an equitable minimum wage for all. Also much more.

The hunger of tens of thousands of children is about more than a crowded border and immigration policy. Very much more.

Each of these concerns is a spiritual matter, at its core. Each of these foundational, life and death realities is God’s concern first; and He makes it yours and mine, through his divine sovereignty and His will for us and His creation.

Every single one of us has been put here to live out God’s plan for us in the building of God’s Kingdom on Earth. I cannot say that loudly enough. I cannot write it clearly enough. But God’s Holy Word can and does. Jesus says it emphatically in all of the Gospels.

This newspaper and its counterpart, the Robesonian, last week included here a very helpful section on jobs and job opportunities. That public service is vital. And it is faithful to God’s purpose and plan.

The Oscar-winning movie Nomadland has given us a look into the lives of thousands who live the life of the jobless, the nomad, on the road, seeking employment wherever a few weeks of work can be found. These persons are our neighbors, our nephews, children and sisters; they are us.

Many of them, like Fern, the movie’s protagonist, lost their jobs when the company they worked for closed down. They are van dwellers. Fern calls hers Vanguard. It is home and shelter. It is conveyance and all she owns.

Nearly all the actors in Nomadland are not professional actors; they are actual nomads who live from RV park to RV park across the country, going wherever a few weeks of temporary, or seasonal, work can be found.

Bob, a kindly Santa Claus-like-in-appearance and helpful park manager tells Fern that she will meet her departed, beloved husband again, and he himself will again be with his son, who died at his own hand, “down the road,” speaking the faith which keeps him going and serving those around him. Chloe Zhao’s Oscar for best director of this unique film was well-earned, and her acceptance speech illuminated the wisdom she brought to her work.

She said, “This is for anyone with the faith and the courage to hold onto the goodness in themselves and the goodness in each other.”

In Christ Jesus, we can do that.

Does God care about these 21st century nomads and their circumstances? You bet, He cares.

Does He expect us to care in an active way about them, too? You bet, He does.

Does He care about the unemployed, and the underemployed, kinfolk and neighbors living around us and in our midst daily? Will they also need to take to the road to find work and livelihood? Will hungry children be fed?

A dear Hispanic woman who seems like a daughter to me, younger than the age of my daughters, who brought her two very young, precious children, whom I also claim as my grandchildren, to live across the highway from my house, more than 20 years ago, once told me that she wrote back to her family in Mexico, after she settled here, “We get to eat every day here.”

Let that sink in.

Have you ever heard that before? My folks were cotton mill workers, first in Bridger Cotton Mill in Bladenboro; “millhands” is the name that reveals their diminished, presumed worth as mere hands for factory work. (Just as the name “farmhands” reveals the same status.)

But we never missed a day of eating. We never missed a meal.

Do we care about so many who do not get to eat every day? Do we even care to know about them? Do we ask? Are we Christian? How do we do our part in building God’s Kingdom on Earth?

Grow our faith and courage, Lord.

Thanks be to God.