I’ve been studying how people thought back when the Bible was written, and found it helpful to reflect on how ordered their world was compared to our chaos today. I wonder why we switched, and why we call it “progress.”

Ancient Near East Worldview

1. Gods Provided

The gods governed the forces on which human life depended: fertility, harvests, weather, health, and the stability of the world. Provision was ultimately a gift of the gods, not an achievement of the individual.

2. People Served Them

The role of people was to serve the gods by fulfilling their obligations and maintaining the order the gods had established. People did not have to invent their ultimate purpose for themselves. Their place and responsibilities were already defined.

3. Households Remembered

The role of the household was to remember and preserve this order, both day to day and from generation to generation. People knew who they were, whom they served, and where their provision came from because these things were remembered and enacted together.

Modern Western Worldview

3. I Try to Forget

My responsibilities feel overwhelming. To forget about them, I stay busy, entertain myself, or worse. The balancing challenge is to not become addicted to or ruled by the things I use to escape.

2. I Serve Myself

I have to decide what matters, what success looks like, and what will satisfy me. There’s no obvious authority beyond myself to tell me what is enough. Even rest can become another self-improvement project.

1. I Provide

If I do manage to stay focused and decide on my goals, I’m still responsible for accomplishing them. Provision comes from my own effort. Hopefully someone helps me along the way, or I get lucky.