Trying to make sense of it all
To be honest, I probably spend too much time watching and being saturated with the news. I feel the need to keep up with the latest developments so that I can at least have an awareness about current events. However, many times I find myself being absorbed in an ocean of information that is not only meaningless but is also negatively impacting my mental and emotional state of being (especially when much of it is not true).
I’m reminded that I have no power to prevent the moral decline of the culture, but I’m convinced that our passion to help make the planet a better place will always be centered on a relentless dedication to prayer and faith. In today’s stressful environment, the average emotional response is a hopeless sigh and to conclude that we are headed in the wrong direction, but nothing is too difficult for God.
As Christians, we are called to do more than express an emotional concern … we must have a burden to pray. We can and should roll up our sleeves and demonstrate our faith, but God is the only one who truly can help this world, and our prayers are directly connected to his unlimited power and authority.
Over the years, we have all noticed that rebellious attitudes are becoming bolder and more aggressive. I do not necessarily believe that evil is evolving but just becoming more outspoken. There has always been an abundance of hatred and prejudice, but when the boundaries of moral decency are removed in the name of free speech, there is no limit to how ugly an expression can be.
The concept of the shock factor appears to be the strategy of choice for those who desire to be widely noticed in a very short period of time. In today’s world of instant information, a relatively unknown person can publicly release their thoughts, and within hours they are known all over the world.
This basic concept is used in many different movements as a type of marketing and promotional strategy to generate a global awareness. For example, satanic death-metal bands see their popularity being measured according to how evil they can appear. I’m sure we have only seen a glimpse of this Pandora’s box as we suspect the future will continue to be a competition to see who can be the most disturbing and outrageous.
So I guess one of my questions is why would we allow ourselves to become a captivated spectator to these militant narcissists who crave our attention? With social media becoming a mental and emotional addiction, we can clearly see that the dark side is working overtime to distract many individuals from accomplishing their spiritual destiny. Instead of concentrating on what God has called them to do, a large part of our society has accepted the comfortable role of a spectator by allowing their mind to be held hostage with information that is of little or no significance.
With so many voices attempting to explain politics and social issues, you would think the world is becoming more intelligent and unified. However, it seems the tsunami of chaos and confusion is actually creating an even broader chasm of disagreement.
One quandary is that much of our information comes from those who do not really understand what they are talking about, which makes it nearly impossible to figure out what is real and what is a biased opinion. Even a small amount of false information and misinterpretation contaminates and hinders the presentation of truth.
I believe everyone has been given the opportunity by God to believe or oppose whatever they want, as our free will allows each person to study and research their own political, social and spiritual convictions. Furthermore, no one should be intimidated to embrace or support an ideology that is offensive to their own personal belief system.
Sadly, our freedom for religious expression is dissolving and now mutating into a humanistic cultural agenda that ridicules and mocks certain religious expressions. There is a serious problem when one camp attempts to establish a dominant social law of political correctness and then attacks everyone who disagrees with public condemnation and persecution.
If activist groups sincerely desire global respect and tolerance for what they believe, it’s imperative for them to also acknowledge and tolerate the worldviews of those who think differently.
Dr. William F. Holland Jr. is an ordained minister, community chaplain, columnist and author. Learn more at billyhollandministries.com.