The Best of Times & The Worst of Times
- TheRoadLessTraveled
- May 16, 2021
- 1 min read
I just listened to a podcast about east Germany during the time of communism / the Berlin Wall.
It’s here:
And episode 2:
Many of the reports were fascinating - people relied heavily on their religion & their social connections during the time of oppression.
Because commerce was run by the state, options were extremely limited. A second economy developed - person to person, skills traded for homemade goods. Because of this network forged through necessity, community grew. Wealth became measured in the connections you had, rather than in money.
Many people actually really missed that sense of togetherness once the wall fell. So many threats were gone, and consumerism entered their side of Germany. Religion was no longer threatened. People got distracted, and stopped seeking each other out as intentionally.
It reminded me how we need to be conscious about our relationships, and thankful that during this time of persecution, connections become so much more important. And religion actually thrives more when it’s threatened, because there comes with persecution a sense of urgency, and we cling to it tighter.
It’s like how we didn’t ski at all when we lived in Banff. No sense of urgency. It’s like how my connections now are so much deeper and more appreciated than before, when they were legal.
When something is threatened, we cling to it.
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