Backward And Forward

Backward and Forward

Bigger isn’t always better.

Can sprawling strip malls, new fast-food joints, and big box stores improve the local economy? Sure.

But when such progress results in local farmers losing contracts to the corporate big dogs, when mom-and-pops have to close their stores because they can’t compete, when the life of your community moves from the cozy downtown storefront to the rectangular concrete out on the state highway, maybe progress isn’t really progress after all.

Sometimes to move forward, you need to take a step back. Maybe the best way to move your community forward is to preserve what was good about it in the first place.

Most people who work on farms, who run their own businesses, who sell what they’ve made with their own hands, are working for more than just money. They’re working toward a life that matters.

The more you’re aware of and can contribute to that kind of industry, the further along you’ll be.

You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it. —Genesis 34:10