We use more than what is ours

O God, we use more than what is ours.
Therefore your creation is suffering.
We consume the resources of the earth
at the expense of the poor and the oppressed.
We are prisoners of consumption
and we confess that we do not want to get out of our captivity.
We seek security by possession.
We steal from those coming after us.
We know that the earth is fragile, but this knowledge paralyses us.
We confess that passivity suits us
and that we do not want to get out of it.
We acknowledge that we often know the truth,
but we do not want to know it.
As we do not want to commit ourselves
our proclamations are not credible.
As we do not want to be a part of a change
others have to live in despair.
As we do not want to pay for the costs for a new way of living,
others have to pay with their lives.
We hope for unity, but we do not act.
We honour the ideals of compassion and love,
but we do not follow them.
God, we confess that we take pleasure in confessing
without breaking up from our sins.
“Out of the depth, I cry to you, O God, Lord, hear my cry”.

Prayer from the Church of Norway