It must be a good time to be a pessimist! If you like seeing the darker side of things, today you have it very good. With Covid19, election-year politics, riots, drug problems, deficit spending, school insecurity and world unrest, who can avoid feeling that things are falling apart?
But are things really as bad as we’re told? First all, I think we all need to take a deep breath and a look at things carefully. It’s hard to believe we are in greater danger today than we were during the last century with its Great Depression, World Wars, nuclear threats or even Viet Nam. The “Good Old Days” weren’t all that great with poor medicine, harder work and horse flies!
The reality is that, in most places of the world, homicide rates are falling, assault rates have declined, kids are safer than before, politicians don’t lie as easily, and mass killings have dropped from their peak in the 1940s. While we may feel society isn’t as gentle and honoring as it should be, it’s still better than before, partly because there is more awareness and more ways to assure people are protected.
So how can we get less paranoid about the state of the world? Don’t expect the Media to help. News is all about things now, real or imagined. It’s not about things that don’t happen. You won’t hear the Media say, “Here we are in a country where war has not broken out.” Or, “Here is a city where people honor the police and don’t riot.” You won’t hear a newscaster say, “These candidates are good examples to follow.” As long as there’s rumor, conflict or violence somewhere, those events will fill the headlines, news shows and online blogs.
The Good News is that Jesus hasn’t disappeared. He is still our living Savior, because God still loves His creation. The world today is no more out-of-kilter than it’s ever been. Yes, we still need to work hard correcting some things, but we also need more thankfulness and less griping.
In college a half century ago, one of the first Bible verses we studied was, “This is the day the Lord has made - Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 188:24) I think it was with a professor who was tired of hearing griping students!
How about joining me in giving thanks to be alive today?
Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com
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