The Earth Is the Birthright of All Mankind

Oliver McKnight

[Reprinted from The Commonwealth, November 1927]

"The Earth Is the Birthright of All Mankind" Who Is "the Least of These My Brothers?" When one reaches the years when full and efficient action of mind and body is curtailed, thoughts, which remained hidden or were hastily pushed aside to make room for others deemed more practical and essential, push themselves into our consideration and can no longer be kept beneath the surface.

One of these troubling thoughts stirs up what is called the religious instinct, and in view of the fact that no matter how one may strive, only a few years can elapse until he or she is numbered among the missing makes it a solemn one. To most of us, the severance of earthly relations is not an altogether pleasant prospect, but it becomes of less significance when to each one of us come the questions where will I spend eternity? Is there a future life? Is it to be happy or otherwise? Can the religion, to which I have more or less subscribed, be called a sure road to future happiness, or will the living, thinking part of me end, along with my body, in the grave?

Questions, like these, which are purely personal, seem so important that most people proclaim them not only vital to a contented mind, but are also the only questions which we should consider.

Is this true? Is there not something else besides belief in creeds, or even upright behavior, that we must at least strive to accomplish before we can lay claim to any future reward?

The Bible story of the Judgment Day beautifully treats this subject. When the "Sheep of God" heard the words of welcome to the Heavenly Home, they could hardly believe that the welcome was extended to them, because the story tells us they replied, "Lord, when saw we Thee hungry and gave Thee meat, or thirsty and gave Thee drink, or sick and in prison and visited Thee?" Then the answer dispelling all their doubts, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto Me." Who were, or are now, the brethren of Christ ? The seeker after personal salvation through strong belief and correct living, will possibly admit that these brethren are the poor and needy of earth on whom we should bestow our alms, but as he and the civilized world has for years given vast sums to the poor and needy, he is not disturbed and passes the question as having little to do with that much more important question -- his personal salvation.

If Christ, when He uttered the words, had only in mind the ministering unto the sick and prisoners and the giving of food and drink to the hungry arid thirsty, then the world can be classed as saved. The funds given by the people for these purposes are not only immense in both past and present, but promise to be much larger in the future.

In this vast and fertile and beautiful world, where natural law decrees that all wealth and as much as we want, can be obtained and only can be obtained and only can be obtained through the application of the human element of labor to the natural element of land, why should there be any poor? except possibly those physically or mentally unfit to perform service? Members of the C.L.P. know why there are so many poor and needy; they know why, after almost 2000 years of a partial following out of Christ's teachings of Love and Brotherhood, involuntary poverty still stalks through the earth; they know why the giving of alms, although increased a thousand fold, can never halt the progress of poverty in its race with human progress.

Knowing this (and can anyone say the Christ did not know it also), they pay little attention to "effects," but have given much to "causes." They have found the cause -- injustice in the distribution of God's great gift of earth -- and propose, just as soon as possible, to establish justice in its stead.

They would restore this great gift to its rightful owners -- the continuing generations of mankind -- thus following out the one political command of Christ, to "Render under Caesar (or government) the things which are Caesar's (or government's)."