Make you think of a popular song from the 60s? Maybe not, depending on your age. Regardless, unless you live in a cave, you are experiencing now what we all are – chaos in a world gone mad. It started with the Corona Virus, back at the beginning of the year. Before we could say “Rumpelstiltskin” we were all ordered to “Stay safe – stay home!”. Next, all of the businesses around us were closing. Churches were closed! Gyms were closed. Restaurants and shops were closed. Nail salons and hair salons. Movie theaters. Schools! Concerts were cancelled. Did I mention that churches were closed?
We tried to adapt and adapt (in our own ways) we did. Stay home unless you have a medical emergency or you need food or medicine. And if you are over 65, don’t go anywhere! If you have to go out, wear a mask and keep at least six feet away from your fellow humans. If you live with others, you can be close to them, but if they go out and return, they must wash their hands and best if they change clothes immediately before touching you.
If you were unfortunate to have a loved one in the hospital or a nursing home, sorry, but you best stay away. Even if they are dying. Too risky. So many died without family. That is beyond my comprehension.
We found our rhythm. We all got masks and dutifully did what we were told. We had no idea how long it would last. I don’t think anyone expected that we would be in the same place today, with a small amount of progress made toward normality, whatever that looks like. And yet here we are.
As if the Covid19 virus were not enough to get us out of our comfort zones, along came a terrible tragedy that rocked our world once more. A murder, but not just any murder. Those happen on a regular basis unfortunately. A black man murdered by a white police officer. Outrage ensued all over the country. Protests erupted and then riots and looting. Businesses broken into and products stolen or damaged. Buildings burned. Can you hear us America? We’re angry and we’re going to get even with you! You are going down, America!
And this is where we are now. A country that was divided before that is even more so today. Messages of hatred, anger, pain, revenge crying out to be heard. A nation that once brought people together was splitting them apart. The country I grew up in is no more. It is completely unrecognizable.
What is missing? Love, compassion, empathy, understanding. Truth is in short supply. Fear is hovering over us all. Self-righteousness abounds. Divisiveness is the order of the day. How do the broken pieces of our nation get back together? How do we live together in peace and harmony? How do we love our neighbor when they are screaming at us that we don’t get it? How do we get back to the days gone by? Where do we begin?
Listen. Take a deep breath. Pray for wisdom and understanding.
What the world needs now is God.
If you chase him away, which our country has done over the last several years, then peace is impossible. Harmony can’t exist. Loving one another won’t happen. You cannot have a world that works for everyone if God is not in it. The world abhors a vacuum. When we kicked God out, the enemy came in, seeing a perfect opportunity to destroy everything good, everything we hold dear.
Bring him back! We are truly lost without him. Trust me on this. We cannot afford to push him out of our lives and expect our lives to work. When human beings try to live without God they inevitably fail. Humans have a way of making messes and mistakes and stepping in it and sabotaging their own happiness, not to mention what they do to others. We need God!
Does the world need love, like the song says? Without a doubt. More than ever. But first and foremost, what the world needs is to bring God back. Then when we are truly following him, we will make the world even better than before. I pray for that like you wouldn’t believe…
God bless.