By Anil Netto
For the most part, our thinking reflects the dominant culture of the day. We are sucked into a culture that conforms to the dominant values of the day — materialism, self-centredness, accumulation of wealth.

Many of us look up to the tycoons, the celebrities, the dominant political leaders — and their celebrity life-styles and we secretly wish we could lead those same life-styles. Worse, we become part of the system and then identify with it. And that’s not all, some of us even become staunch defenders and perpetuators of an unjust system.

In contrast, we have little time for the small people and the downtrodden — whether they are urban settlers, migrant workers, the Orang Asli, and the factory workers trying to make ends meet. We fail to reach out to them, even when they are in the midst of our community.

The culture of consumerism is particularly insidious for it blinds us to a higher vision. We are supposed to be stewards of creation and yet by our consumption patterns, we are rapidly depleting the earth’s resources and destroying the environment.

Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow him. For many of us, life is a hard struggle, and we can barely save anything. At the other end of the spectrum, the upper-middle class, the tycoons and the highly paid professionals are intent on accumulating as much as they can.

One of the reasons they do this is to save for their children’s future and for future health care costs in their old age. Under the neo-liberal system, even health care and education — which are essential services — have become increasingly privatised. If you want better services, then the dominant thinking is you have to pay more either for private services or services obtained abroad. The idea of a progressive taxation system in which the rich cross-subsidise the poor is tossed out of the window in favour of a system which imposes lower taxes for the rich.

And then there are the overseas holidays and flashy cars and designer clothes we seem to crave for. But can we in good conscience enjoy all these “good things in life” when we know our fellow human beings are suffering?

Can we splurge on excessive consumption when we know:

first, that our earth’s natural resources are rapidly depleting,

second, climate chaos is upon us and our consumption patterns will worsen global warming and

third, the gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider?

Can we in good conscience ignore these three factors when our faith tells us we should look into the needs of the suffering and the oppressed?

If we can’t, then we are being called for a radical conversion to simplicity and to work for change as instruments of his kingdom.

This is what is meant by being the salt of the world. We are commissioned to be the salt of the world. In other words, we have been tasked with being agents of change and transformation in a world of suffering and oppression.

But what if the salt no longer changes the flavour of the meal and we become like everyone else — slaves to the dominant culture of our times? Would we be any different from anyone else?

The tragedy is that many Christians look at the faith as a set of rules and obligations imposed on us. Of course, Christianity is much more than a list of do’s and don’ts. Others go one step further and look at the faith as a series of doctrinal assertions.

But again this doesn’t go far enough. Christianity is not a passive religion.

At the heart of it all, Jesus spoke of the kingdom, which involves actively working for change. This demands a fundamental shift in our mindset and a new vision.

Jesus turned the dominant values of the day on its head. The poor and the downtrodden like Mary in the Magnificat would be raised, while the rich and the powerful would be brought down.

In other words, a system which perpetuates injustice and oppression, would eventually have to be put right, for it would be pointless to raise the meek and the downtrodden if the unjust and oppressive system itself remains.

As salt of the earth, we have to prove our worth.