“Woe to those who build a house with unrighteousness, and upper rooms with injustice; who make their neighbors work for nothing, and do not give them their wages.” – Jeremiah 22:13
Over the weekend, as we marked Labor Day, I found myself reflecting less on lofty founding ideals and more on the real foundation of this nation: labor—human hands, daily work, relentless effort. Hospitals, schools, roads, and families stand because people labored—for justice, community, care. Their work was often unseen but always essential.
Historian Timothy Snyder offers a sobering reminder:1 the U.S. holds together because our tax dollars flow through institutions that transfer wealth from blue states to red ones—creating a system that only works when people believe in something beyond their narrow self-interest. Yet increasingly, that belief is eroding. Blue-state taxpayers who once trusted redistribution are now watching their investments funnel into systems that don’t uphold shared values—instead, they feed corruption, disinformation, and demagogic power.
George Takei, quoting his father, G. Willow Wilson, reflected: “My father once told me that American democracy is a people’s democracy at heart… It depends on all of us. But our system is more fragile than we know. To sustain it, we must always cherish the ideals on which it was founded, remain vigilant against the dark forces that threaten it, and actively engage in the process of making it work.”2
Democracy, at its best, depends on a covenant—a spiritual, collective commitment to mutual flourishing. As Takei reminds us, democracy is fragile. It depends on “all of us”—not ideology, not slogans, but the daily moral courage to uphold the common good.
If the structures that sustain us—our schools, labs, civic systems, public trust—feel shaky, it’s because they are. We’ve seen that not everyone in power honors the frame of Constitution or community. But neither are they incapable of being upheld.
Here’s the unvarnished theological truth: corruption and autocracy can raze what others built—but cannot create it anew. Only we can build what sustains life, justice, beauty. That is sacred labor.
As we emerge from a long weekend (for some of us), may we carry deeper intention into our votes, our conversations, our civic imagination. Let us resist the forces that hollow out trust. Let us rebuild it—step by step, vote by vote, day by day—with love and responsibility.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What does it mean to you to “labor for the common good” in your community or context?
Have you experienced a moment when your trust in the system was tested? How did you respond?
What helps you stay connected to hope when it feels like the systems around us are failing?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer for Remaking the World
Holy One, You are the Great Weaver of communities and the silent strength beneath all good labor. You formed us not for isolation, but for interdependence— not for domination, but for mutual care. When the work is hard and our trust wears thin, remind us of the many hands building alongside ours. Give us courage to resist what destroys, wisdom to build what heals, and grace to believe that love—persistent and embodied—can remake the world. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Name and Recommit
Today, take 10 minutes to reflect on the kinds of labor—seen and unseen—that sustain your life: the food you eat, the roads you travel, the teachers, caregivers, organizers, artists, public workers.
Choose one way you can recommit to supporting that common good: a donation, a word of encouragement, a policy you’ll advocate for, or a habit you’ll shift.
Let your action be a quiet “thank you”—and a declaration that you are still laboring for love.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
September 4, 5:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 23, 30, November 13, 20 2025, 7pm ET - In Search of a New Story: Reimagining What Comes Next, A 4-Part Online Series with Dr. Matthew Fox, Cameron Trimble, Ilia Delio, Diana Butler Bass, Caroline Myss and Luther Smith. We are living through the unraveling of many old stories—about who we are, why we’re here, and how we are meant to live together on this Earth. As these inherited narratives collapse under the weight of climate crisis, social fragmentation, and spiritual disconnection, the question becomes clear: What story will guide us now? REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-nelson-mandela-lecture-barack-obama-johannesburg
Your title, "We Were Made for Mutuality" is one of my deepest beliefs--one which has held up through my 85 years. Thank you for the wonderful gift of this post!
Thank you very much I needed that reminder to keep me focused on my little ambitions