THE AVALANCHE OF INEQUALITY

THE AVALANCHE OF INEQUALITY

It began quietly.
A little more wealth gathered here, a little less opportunity there. One family acquired assets that would grow for generations. Another worked harder each year simply to remain where they were. At first, the difference seemed small, almost invisible, like snow settling upon a distant mountain.

Then winter lingered.
Layer upon layer accumulated at the summit. Wealth attracted wealth. Power attracted power. Influence attracted influence. The mountain grew higher, and those standing upon it spoke proudly of progress, efficiency, and success.

Meanwhile, in the valley below, life became steeper.
Homes drifted farther out of reach.
Education became more expensive.
Medical bills became heavier.

The distance between effort and security widened.
Still, many believed the mountain would remain still.
But mountains do not hold unlimited snow forever.

One day the weight becomes too great.
The accumulated layers begin to move.

What was once a collection of separate advantages becomes a single force rushing downhill. The avalanche does not ask who is prepared. It does not distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. It simply follows the path carved by years of imbalance.

Trust is buried.
Communities fracture.
Resentment grows where hope once lived.

The avalanche is not merely economic.
It moves through politics.
It moves through institutions.
It moves through public discourse.
It moves through the human heart.

People begin to wonder whether the system still belongs to them.
Whether their voices still matter.
Whether the future has room for their children.
And yet, the greatest danger is not the avalanche itself.
The greatest danger is believing it was inevitable.

For inequality is not a law of nature.
It is the result of choices, structures, priorities, and values.
The same hands that build systems can reform them.

The same society that permits the distance between summit and valley to widen can choose to narrow it.
A civilization is not judged by the height of its mountains.

It is judged by whether those in the valley can still stand, still hope, and still believe they belong.

The purpose of prosperity is not to pile snow endlessly upon the summit. Its purpose is to bring life to the valley.

For when abundance serves only itself, the mountain grows unstable. But when opportunity, dignity, and hope flow outward to all, prosperity becomes not an avalanche, but a river.

One buries the future.
The other nourishes it.
And every generation must decide which one it will leave behind.

Pastor Steven G. Lee
St. GMC Corps
June 14, 2026