Beating the Demons of 2020 and Beyond

In light of recent events, there are so many emotions that you and I can relate to: fear, uncertainty, confusion, disappointment, anger, anxiety, and hopelessness, to name a few.  We all feel a sense of unease about the current state of the world, no matter our viewpoint. If we were to have a discussion on how we solve this, it would undoubtedly bring up a litany of conflicting ideas.

Clearly we are not only a nation but also a world divided. You know where it goes from here if you’re a student of history. If we cannot find a common foundation on which to stand, we will all fall together. Who, then, will win? 

History shows us that there are always ‘men behind the curtain’ who are the cause of it all. Their goals are not our goals. Their ways are not our ways:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  —Ephesians 6:12

Humans alone do not possess the capacity to solve our unique and complex problems.  For millennia this has proven true. Aided by unseen forces: Kings, rulers, presidents, and even dictators have found their ideas embraced after well-written, rousing speeches of “Hope and Change.” Then when they rise to power, they use their position to profit for themselves and their faithful saints. While we ‘peasants’ continue to suffer, fooled again.

For me personally, having faith and belief in a power higher than myself—a Father in Heaven, spiritual family (which includes you), and a greater purpose than this life alone—helps keep things in perspective. With that worldview comes a checks and balance system that is universal and unchanging… not morally relative, bending and shaping with the philosophies of the world or precepts of men, mingled with scripture. As a result, I have a higher expectation of myself and those who take this existence seriously from an eternal perspective. We hold each other accountable, out of love and not to condemn or destroy. And we hold these truths to be self-evident. They do not require convincing, only reminders.

My center and my foundation to weather the storms of life, my compass in the wilderness, and my comforter through the pains that this mortality brings are conditional on knowing and trusting in a power far greater than anything I am capable of. This understanding guides my decisions, my actions outwardly, my art, and all other things I say and do.

I know that no matter what comes or how dark things get, I am loved, YOU are loved, and that this human existence is not all there is. 

In this life, we experience sorrow to know joy. And we can use our experiences to help others with that newfound empathy we are blessed to have.  Let that empathy turn into forgiveness. Put an end to blaming those who came before us for things that we as individuals not only had no control over but were not even alive to witness or stop. This blaming is a distraction away from those who wish to do us all harm, as their means ‘justify the ends.’  Pay close attention to the ‘men behind the mirror,’ for they are today in plain sight. One must simply have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Thus, we have a choice to make: either we learn from the past and choose to change the future, or we relive history in yet another chapter that looks a lot like those dystopian movies we’ve seen. The choice is ours in this life of moral agency.