“…I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health…” 3 John 2 / The Answer

The Situation.

Much has been written during the current CV-19 pandemic about the increased need for prayer in this anxious time.  People are encouraged to “turn to the Lord” for help and spiritual sustenance while the disease continues to rage across the world.  The pandemic has brought the dangers inherent in our world to the forefront of our consciousness, and a corporate reaching out to God for understanding, protection, and healing is perfectly natural and understandable.  Many people have said, “We need prayer now, more than ever.”

That we need prayer, I agree.  It is with the last statement I take issue.  The world is no more dangerous today than it ever has been.  While the pandemic may make it seem so, we’ve always had existential threats to our persons and our society.  For those of us old enough to remember the Cold War, that was a time of great peril.  Those even older may remember the terrors of World War II, and before that, World War I.  And I’m sure that the United States’ Civil War and the Colonies’ Revolutionary War seemed like Armageddon to the people involved at the time.

The human race has contended with wars, plagues, and pestilence since time immemorial.  Throughout our history, we’ve attempted to rely on governments, political and military leaders, and sometimes even religious institutions to keep us “safe” and to make the world a less-intimidating place.

That strategy has not and never will be the “answer” to our quest for security.  We may no longer live in fear of “lions and tigers and bears, Oh My,” but today’s dangers are no less real or urgent than those of yesteryear.

Danger Everywhere.

The natural world remains a dangerous place.  The current pandemic has only reminded us of that fact.  Disease, famine, and unknown dangers from space remain very real (e.g., the meteorite that laid the dinosaurs low).  Earthquakes, hurricanes, and the occasional volcano remind us on an all-to-regular basis how truly powerless we are against these events.

But the biggest threat and most ever-present danger to ourselves and our civilization is not some external or “natural” occurrence.  The greatest danger to us is ourselves.

We humans have always been and continue to be the greatest danger to one another.  Whether it is expressed via theft, murder, and bodily harm, or through the larger theatre of war, the loss of human life to the self-inflected deprivations of our own actions has and continues to account for far more death and destruction and any natural disaster, disease, or attack from animals.  As we have always been, we remain our own worst enemy.

What To Do?

“If that is so, Richard,” you may say, “then what is the answer?”  “It’s fine to posit a problem, but without a solution, the problem remains.”  I agree.

I believe that before we can make the world a less dangerous place, we must first begin to see one another as beings of inestimable worth to be cherished rather than as “bothers” or obstacles to our own personal goals.  Until we begin to recognize and realize that our purpose is not to acquire more “stuff,” or to accumulate more money, or to reach the relative “heights” of our society, but rather to be caring helpers to one another, we are doomed to continue our self-destructive behavior.

Again, you ask, “OK, if that is correct, what is your solution?  How are we to develop the behavioral tools necessary to allow us to rise above our base animal instincts, and to become the “evolved” persons necessary to avoid the destructive behaviors you describe?”

The Answer.

The answer is the same as it has always been.  We must turn to God.  Only when we seek and attain a relationship with our Creator can we begin to understand how He intends for us to live and relate to one another.  Only when we seek the Divine will we be able to deal with the mundane.

God models for us how we are to treat one another.  All we have to do is to observe how He treats us and apply that same attitude and regard to others.

Yes, I have heard the naysayers.  “If God loves us so much, then why does He allow disease and poverty to exist?  Why does he allow evil to flourish?  Etc., etc., etc.”  The answer to those questions is that God has given us all we need to conquer these personal and societal ills.  Our lack of will and determination to use them appropriately is the “problem,” not that God is somehow insufficient or responsible.

He has given us a Universe where the raw materials exist to provide abundant life for all.  We live in a world where the conquest of hunger is a very real possibility.  He’s given us minds to produce medicines to deal with the plagues and diseases that still ravage large parts of our population.  All that is lacking is our desire, our will to use these resources, not for our own personal benefit, but for the benefit of our brothers and sisters, for one another.

The Difficulty.

The transition from self-centered selfishness to outward-focused magnanimity is not an easy or natural one to make.  Our very nature calls us to say, “After me, you can come first.” But God has provided for our conversion and tools for our struggle.  He has given us the Holy Spirit to be our guide, the Church to provide us with a community of support, and Jesus Christ to serve as the bridge between ourselves and God Himself.

God knows how difficult our task is.  He knows that we are bound to fail more than we triumph.  But to counter that, in our weakness, He provides strength, in our loneliness, He provides communion, and in our discouragement, He provides courage.  If we will but reach out to Him and embrace becoming the kinds of persons He intends us to be, we can make the world a better place.  We can become the brothers and sisters to one another that He wishes us to become.  And, we can begin to realize the fruits of Heaven here on Earth.

A Challenge.

I challenge each of us to at least attempt to be that “better person” God calls from us.  I suggest that we start that process by committing to daily prayer and contemplation of Him and His will for us.

And, I promise that if we each do these things, we will begin to change, and we’ll take the rest of the world along with us to a better place.

God’s Blessings On You All,

Richard

August 6, 2020