I remember at school, where some teacher was presenting a concept that she called paying forward. The idea was that you would do nice things now for future generations as thanks for what people have done in the past for you. This was presented like it was a new and revolutionary idea. In reality, it is just the basis of civilization through the ages. People do things for their children and grandchildren. They do things for future generations. They plant trees they will never harvest from. They use trash cans even if they are just passing through.
It doesn’t take much to break the chain. Just one generation of eating your seed grain can doom you to famine. If enough people live just for today then tomorrow will take care of itself and them. It will not be pretty.
Sometimes this is expressed in the golden rule. You either do unto others or don’t depending on how you frame the statement. The apostle Paul had another way of expressing it,
(Php 2:3-5 NAS77) Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,It isn’t just a point of philosophy, it is a foundational truth.
Try living that way and become part of the solution instead of the root of the problem.
homo unius libri
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