A PARABLE OF THE BEGINNING

BY STEPHEN MCCUTCHAN

There once was a church called Charlie who lived in a vast country called Amer.  Amer was a vast, spacious land filled with all kinds of valuable, untapped potential. Yet it lacked the work force needed to extract the wealth. Most of the land’s original population consisted of people called Naturals, because they came first. Mostly, they roamed the land eating whatever grew naturally.

The land had mines of gold, silver, and other precious metals, but not the labor force to take it from the ground and sell it on the market.  The vast stretches of land were richly fertile for anyone who wanted to plant crops or raise animals to feed the population and sell them to the hungry of the world.

Then it happened. First, a few sailors, then governments, and numerous markets heard of this vast enriched land. It was a treasure trove waiting to share its resources with those willing to respond to God’s kindness.  Countless families, usually of low economic status, decided to become immigrants, seeking to break out of their poverty and maybe even become wealthy.

The colonists weren’t evil people, but they also listened to the logic and sweet voice of the god, Mammon. Sure, you are to love God and neighbor, but to love your neighbor as yourself, you must first love yourself.

Why not purchase from the Portugal sailors some of their cargo of dark skinned but physically strong beings called nogoes. They almost look human and are clearly a source of cheap labor. Maybe, said Mammon, you first love God and second love yourself, so that you have the means to love your neighbor.

Maybe the command to “love your neighbor” was second to the command of Mammon, “to love yourself first.”