"Any extra-terrestrial life would be less disappointed by our technology
than by our failure to live up to our humanity."
Jim McCrory
Image by https://unsplash.com/@nasa
NASA, the North American
Space Administration, has invested billions of dollars developing technology to
detect extra-terrestrial life. But to what end, I wonder? Is it merely a quest
for knowledge, or are we yearning for validation from other worlds? If there is
indeed life beyond Earth, what would these beings think of us, of our planet,
and how we treat it?
Consider this: Earth, a
planet abundant in resources, produces food in quantities that could feed all
its inhabitants. Yet, we are bombarded with heart-wrenching images of emaciated
children, flies buzzing around their eyes, in regions stricken by poverty and
famine. How do we justify such stark contrasts? People die from ailments that
could easily be cured with a simple course of antibiotics, while others live in
unimaginable luxury. In our cities, the streets are filled with the homeless,
despite an abundance of land that could provide shelter. Drugs tear at the
fabric of society, and our leaders—entrusted with the responsibility to guide
and protect—seem unable to agree on even the most basic issues. It’s like
trying to herd fish in a stormy sea.
And yet, we imagine we
are ready to meet other life forms.
What would these
extra-terrestrials make of us? Perhaps they would be astonished by our
achievements—technology that stretches beyond our atmosphere, art that speaks
to the soul, and scientific discoveries that unravel the mysteries of the
universe. But what of our failings? Would they be baffled by the contradictions
in our nature, the way we hoard resources, while others starve? Would they
wonder how we can be so divided on issues of justice, fairness, and human
dignity, even while standing on a planet designed to sustain us all?
And perhaps more
thought-provoking still: What would we make of them? Imagine if these visitors
from another world didn’t come with superior weapons or advanced technologies,
but instead came with a message of morality—asking us to live by principles that,
deep down, we already know.
What if they asked us to
love our neighbours as ourselves, not just in theory but in practice? To truly
commit to being loyal, never casting a glance in envy or desire toward another?
What if they encouraged us to speak the truth in all matters, to be transparent
in our dealings? What if they reminded us to consider the poor, the widow, the
aged, and the fatherless with the same concern we have for our own families?
How would we react if they implored us to respect all forms of life, including
animals, and to treat them humanely?
Imagine if they
instructed us to lend without interest, to refuse exploitation of the hired
worker, to resist the temptations of jealousy, greed, gossip, and slander. To
simply be human—compassionate, honest, and humble. Would we embrace that? Would
we even recognize the wisdom in it? Or would we dismiss them, much as we often
dismiss the moral teachings that have been passed down to us through millennia?
It’s sobering to think
that the values we might expect from enlightened beings beyond our world are
the same principles we’ve been given for centuries—principles we often fail to
uphold. Could it be that the answers we seek in the stars are already within
us?
What if these
extra-terrestrial visitors are already watching us, not in curiosity but in
judgment? They may not need to land ships on our lawns to assess the state of
humanity. Perhaps their eyes are already upon us, evaluating how we handle the
gifts we’ve been given. In this regard, they might resemble the God who, as it
says in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all
the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully
devoted to Him. "
The apostle Paul, in his
speech to the people of Athens, touched on a similar theme: “that they should
seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he
is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27). Perhaps, in our quest to reach
beyond the stars, we are missing the profound truth that the divine—the
eternal—has always been close, waiting for us to recognize it.
So, as we search for
extra-terrestrial life, we might do well to pause and reflect on the life we
already know—the life we share with one another here on Earth. For if we cannot
live in harmony with those around us, what hope do we have of understanding
life beyond our world? What if, before looking outward, we first learned to
look inward, to search not for life among the stars, but for humanity within
ourselves?
Bible verses from the Berean
Standard Bible (BSB)
