There was a knock on the door. I opened it. "Pastor, would you be willing to join our town Pride Organization?" two well dressed elderly women asked,

"What is it?"

Well, we meet for breakfast at the Lakeside Restaurant, on the first Saturday of the month. Usually, we have a presentation from the city council and from a local business man, we encourage people to keep their homes and yards clean and well maintained, we organize Neighborhood and park clean up days, share information about neighbors who may be sick or in need of some other special kind of help, and promote pride in our town and in America."

Inspite of the fact that I had been well schooled in the Christian teaching that the root of all sin and evil is not greed, nor the love of money, but the sin of pride and arrogance, I really enjoyed being a part of this Pride Organization. I learned a lot about this town with it's population of 800 near Junction City, Kansas, that I otherwise would not have known. Sometimes we even had presentations about things that were happening in other towns around us.

The meeting always began with a "thought for the day" - some factoid about American History. Most of the time these stories were pretty interesting, but I often thought that it would be equally interesting and informative if we had shared some information about the history and cultures of other countries and societies in the world.

A Christian should not let national pride go to far. The Gospel calls us to take care of what belongs to us. It also calls us to care for the sick, seek justice for the less fortunate, and be good stewards of the Earth. We need to be critical of our American society and government when it does not live up to the ideals of liberty and justice for all. And, we can learn how our society and government can do a better job of taking care of our people and the Earth we live in by looking around us.

What do you think of the American medical system. Is it just? Why not look to the North - to the Canadians. They have universal health care. Yes, it is paid for by taxes. But medical procedures and drugs are less expensive. Every citizen is covered!

Is there justice for the American worker? In the European Economic Union, strong government laws and trade unions insure that all employees recieve decent wages and benefits, even if they work part-time. Pension funds and contributions follow employees if they take jobs with other firms. Most workers get 6 weeks paid vacation!

What about American stewardship of the Earth? Why not look South to Brazil. Since 1978, all cars have been required to be able to run on ethenal In Australia, many cars run on liquified natural gass. In Europe windmill farms now produce a significant portion of their electric power - polution free.

Let not our pride make us blind Christians.

Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Benjamin's Dog Joseph, Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.

For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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