In view of the severe economic challenges facing many as a result of the lockdowns during the pandemic, I’ve been praying to better understand the universal implications of turning to God, Spirit, as the source of all supply that meets human needs. 

As part of a project I did last year, I prayerfully considered three different but interrelated ways of thinking and acting that, when practiced in our world today, give evidence of the reality and goodness of God and show how spiritually based ideas lead to needs being supplied: 1) commitment to ethical behavior, 2) collaboration and constructive communication, and 3) openness to innovation that helps free us from material limitations. I’m always interested to read of practical examples of those ideas. One day earlier this year as I was reading The Christian Science Monitor Daily (April 23, 2020), I saw all three ways illustrated. 

One article told how a global effort to document war crimes in Syria has helped make it possible, for the first time, for an independent court to potentially provide some justice for victims of Syrian war atrocities. Earlier this year, two former members of Syria’s secret police went on trial. If the court successfully brings to justice and convicts any of those who are guilty, this display of accountability could encourage other victims to provide evidence of atrocities, possibly hastening an end to the years-long conflict, which could greatly benefit the economy of the area (see “For Syria, a light of justice in a German courtroom”).