Signs of Hope: Individual and collective goals

“... Jesus shows a way to achieve a true and effective balance between individual goals and collective goals.”

A constant problem facing human beings has been the struggle between individual goals and collective goals. The pursuit of legitimate individual goals,when pushed too far, ends up in extreme individualism. The pursuit of legitimate collective goals, when pursued too avidly, ends up in a form of totalitarianism. To strike the proper balance between the two is something that is almost universally sought, but seldom achieved.

Jesus of Nazareth is most usually depicted as a religious figure. That is correct in one sense, but he could as well be correctly seen as a great human figure. For, Jesus shows a way to achieve a true and effective balance between individual goals and collective goals.

The individual goals of Jesus can be seen from his words and from his Way of Life. Jesus was an optimistic, a positive individual who pursued a Way of Life built around the virtues of humility, gratitude, trust, forgiveness, detachment and compassion. He is most difficult to follow, but he is understood by millions as the most desirable person to follow.   

The collective goals of Jesus can be understood from his words and his works. They are summed up in the words ‘the Kingdom of God,’ or in his announced goal to restore the people, Israel, to their god-given purpose and dignity.

In our time, Jesus and his individual goals are being seen clearly and taken with the utmost seriousness. The religion that bears his name or title, Christianity, is understood better than ever to be about him, his perspectives on Life, his Way of Life, and his individual and collective goals. For this reason, among many other reasons, the collective goals of Jesus demand clear understanding.

Since Jesus days on earth, the understanding of his collective goal to restore the people of Israel to their god-given purpose and dignity has been extended to the whole world, which the Kingdom of God is meant to embrace. The collective goal of Jesus and his followers is thus understood to be the fulfillment of the purpose and dignity of humankind on earth, that is, a proper worship of God and the creation of a rule of justice and mercy, including prosperity and peace, among all peoples. That is understood to have been God’s purpose since the beginning of humankind as evidenced in the history of the people, Israel.

Before proceeding further, it seems appropriate to say something about the importance of goals in human life. As Ben F. Meyer states in his book, ‘The Aims of Jesus,’ “aims are the man, They throw a flood of light on his history and they are the key to his historical selfhood.” In other words, understand a person’s aims in order to under that person himself or herself.

For the Christian person today, in order to be a follower of Jesus of Nazareth it is essential to understand his goals or aims. That might be a different approach than the one followed by many who term themselves Christians but it seems to this writer to be wholly objective and correct.

Of course, even if and when one agrees with the above statements about the importance of aims or goals in life the means used to pursue these goals can be a cause for differences and even disagreements. That is one of the reasons the proper pursuit of both the individual goals and the collective goals of Jesus is so necessary. Jesus’ balance of both individual goals and collective goals is unique and extremely difficult.

Every rational person acknowledges the need to live for something more than oneself. The something more can be family, or city or country, or whatever. A purely self-centered life is very often what one pursues in fact but never in theory, that is completely unacceptable.

The challenge that Jesus and common sense provides is the challenge to pursue good  and proper individual goals and good and proper collective goals at  the same time. That is a challenge that is almost universally ignored.

Yet, without that starting point, there is almost no hope for humankind. Jesus of Nazareth stands and always will stand as the challenge to this fact, to this reality. Each human person must not only do good, they must be good.