Living Water

There are two types of wealth – original wealth and redistributed wealth. It is original wealth that builds up a family, or a community, or a nation, and makes them prosper.  Original wealth comes from sources such as mining, farming, forestry, oil, renewable energy, and inventions. As that wealth gets redistributed, others prosper.  Most peoples’ wealth comes as wages or secondary income, from industries such as shipping, restaurants, entertainment, dot.com, or service. These industries do not create wealth, though they might like to think so, but only redistribute wealth.

The same is true in information and communication. I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of communicators. There are those who speak thoughtfully, perhaps infrequently, usually generating new ideas, fresh concepts, or personal insights. Then there are those who babble on and on, repeating whatever someone else has said, giving very little thought to the purpose or the validity of their comments. They parrot others, usually careful to cite sources, as if that's important. There are generators, and there are repeaters.

I have a very strong feeling that we are dumbing down our thinking, our creativity, our very intelligence as we move further and further into the age of the internet and social media. We think we are doing something important to find a quote, a comment, a picture, a video, and pass it on. We hit the “like” button, or post a link. Christians think they are addressing social injustice and overcoming evil merely by bandying about other’s insights. They think they are advancing the kingdom of God by posting links to comments on social and political causes. The repeater thinks that preaching to the choir is important stuff, I guess.

It’s more alarming when the person repeating another’s information is the spiritual leaders who we expect to be searching the mind of God, to be in tune with the Spirit of God, to come out of the tent of meeting with a fresh and encouraging insight. Instead we merely hear them parroting each other, not even realizing that there is very little substance in the ideas, and the truth has not yet been filtered through the grid of real life.

The living water flows from a large cave five miles up the hill. In that cave the keeper of the spring meets and converses with whoever is willing to make the trek. Most people never think of going to the source, they just get out of their car by the highway bridge, walk down to the creek, and get a drink in the pool where everyone else gathers. But that water is stagnant, polluted, and corrupted. They think they are drinking water that will give them life, but instead they remain in their pain, sick and unhealthy, not even aware.

There is a world of difference between living water and stagnant cisterns. I mean, who really wants to drink murky, moldy water? It may look refreshing, but it’s probably full of parasites and bacteria.

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.  By this Jesus meant the Spirit, whom those who believe in him were later to receive.”  (John 7:37-39)