We often treat thinking as separate from doing. As if the two can be separated. And as if the real world didn’t matter.

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We have a phrase: the real world.

It’s a way of describing the difference between what is going on in our heads, our academic discussions, or our imaginations and what is going on materially. As in what is happening “in reality.”

Sometimes the separation between our goals and our material conditions reveals a lot about our true values.

When we say we love the poor and yet spend a lot of money on new clothes for ourselves, are we really showing love?

Similarly, if we value equality in thought but tolerate inequality in our community, it is immaterial (it literally doesn’t matter) which we value on the inside when the outside doesn’t match.

Followers of Jesus are called to care more about people than stuff. In the real world.