BLURB

I laboured more than three decades on poverty and sustainability overseas in Asia and Africa as a scientist and development professional with questionable success. Over time it became clear that I was seeing and approaching poverty and sustainability in a distorted way. This writing is a testimony to that.

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We are unsustainable in nature. We were made by God for eternal life with Him in Paradise, but we let our selves be tempted into following the devil’s selfish lie instead. We turned away from God believing we could play the god in our own lives. We were corrupted from within and got separated from God. Sin became our inner poverty, our innate unsustainability. Human self-effort, will, pride, ingenuity, plans, projects, grand claims, and clever talk will never overcome this corruptness or save the world and ourselves. We need to be saved from our sinful selves. We need the ultimate sustainability: salvation.

But instead of turning to God, we have become experts at turning good things into ultimate things, into idols (false gods) that we believe can sustain and save us. There are, however, no science, technology, money, AI, or other man-made poverty or sustainability fixes. We need to turn back to God, acknowledge and repent of our sinfulness, believing and trusting in Him first and foremost. He – and only He – upholds and sustains. Love God and neighbour. Act in faith and gratitude. That is anti-poverty and sustainable. His grace is sufficient. Start there.