Why is the world a terrible place? Why is there violence and hate? Why would governments spend billions – and individuals dedicate their talent and careers to weaponizing pathogens in order to kill or maim? Why do people cheat and steal and lie? The answer is simple. And, there is only one right answer.
It’s because of you. It’s because you could be better.
It’s because you are the “they” to whom we reflexively point to and blame when we see the pain and tragedy in the world. They are us. Each of us has the capacity to be a monster, to cause harm, to make things worse. And each of us has the capacity to do the opposite – and make the world better. We start by making ourselves better, by doing what is necessary, by making the individual choice to do better – to be better. That is how we fix the world. Fix yourself. Don’t like that answer?
Go ahead and spin your wheels, point fingers at those bad people over there. Go ahead and identify a group of people to blame – stoke your resentment and disdain – attack them. Certainly this is a popular approach according to history – past an current. I think, if you think about it, you may notice a corrupt circular hypocrisy pervades the whole affair. So, instead point the finger at yourself and root out the darkness that is in your own heart.
The answer to the world’s problems is possible to find when each of us takes full responsibility for redeeming ourselves, and thereby redeeming the world; It’s a big weight to take on. I can understand why people would rather just blame someone else, the government, their parents, some “group” of others. But it is not the “other” per se; no, it is the evil in their own hearts which they have allowed to rule their actions and spirit. You can’t control the choices that others make – you can only seek to remove it (evil) from your own heart/mind. One individual at a time choosing to live right, seeking love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, creates a cascade of action and influence that truly creates a better world.
So get on the path to fixing yourself. You might find the answer to fixing the world. You might find God.
Ben Wagner
Member The365Commitment
I daresay that Godliness is the recognition of responsibility. Even more so, that may very well be the only path to God, is by self realization and self improvement on a hierarchy created by our own selves. That is what embodies the quality of God and thereby our very natures.