Dunbar's Number

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked?

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” - Luke 3:10-11

John the Baptist gives this challenging word to the normal, everyday people who are trying to connect with God and figure out how to follow God’s ways for just living.

We can read these words and feel guilty, in part because now that we’re part of a global community, we know every need, every famine, every war in the world at all times.

"Dunbar's Number" is a concept proposed by anthropologist Robin Dunbar that can be helpful for us. She points out that the average person can maintain stable social relationships with around 150 people. That’s is essentially represents the number of people in a typical village community that one could know well and interact with regularly.

Back in the time of John the Baptist, there was a sense in which the call to do justice especially had to do with your own village - the people you knew. Caring for their needs is essential. Yes, in our day and age we need to think about how activities like voting or donating can impact issues far removed from us. But let’s remember that our primary responsibility is to those in our own village.