On a gray Monday I sometimes dream about a different life. As a pastor, I may lament over the indifference of people, the "I wish I wouldn't have said that" moments in the sermon, the volunteers that don't show up, or the lower offerings one week. Even though I know those kind of thoughts do nothing to change life, it's a real temptation to wallow in disillusionment, disappointment or any number of "dis" words. I rarely stay there long. But now and then I wonder what it would be like to have a working farm, somewhere in the rolling hills of Tennessee with a 1,000 acres, a spring-fed creek with trout, a few cows slowly munching on grass while wandering a spacious pasture, and several border collies protecting my orchard from squirrels and deer. I picture myself making the morning rounds in a dependable used pickup with a cup of stiff coffee in my hand--talking with Jesus about all the things I have to be grateful for while the morning mist is rising on the open fields. But somewhere during those five minutes of dreaming, I'm interrupted by another email or notification on my phone about one more reason why the world is crazier than ever.
I don't know if I can prove it but it seems like I hear it more often, "This world has gone crazy." A quick web search of those three words, world-gone-crazy, will immediately pull up countless articles on why the world is more crazy today:
- We're more divided than ever
- Children's stress levels are skyrocketing
- The church is more apathetic
- Politicians are more corrupt
- Racism is at an all-time high
But I wonder if it's true. I think our memory is sketchy at best.
For example:
"Racism is at an all-time high." I vividly remember school during desegregation with daily riots between blacks and whites. Razor blades tucked in afros. Whites using the "n" word all day long. One steamy afternoon in my Louisiana middle-school, I recall the teacher asking us to put our heads on the desk while we could hear the screaming and fighting going on outside our door.
I hate racism. But it's not new. Watch West Side Story. Immigration has always brought tension. It's not new. Tribal warfare in the middle East? It's gone on for centuries. People acting like barbarians? Read Churchill's history of Great Britain. People acting like animals? Read about the early history of your city. The things that happened in St. Louis, my home, between settlers and native Americans will make your skin crawl. Abuse? Read "Twelve Years a Slave" and the treatment of slaves in the South will make current racism seem like a walk in the park. Human neglect and child abuse? Consider how upstanding everyday citizens in the Roman Empire would put a newborn baby outside their door, exposing it to the elements until it died. We're shocked at that behavior today but then it was common.
When I say these things, I'm not saying that current abuse, racism, and mistreatment of human beings doesn't matter. I'm saying the world has always been crazy.
What's different?
1. We have instant access to everything that's happening in the world.
A few decades ago, it took weeks to find out what was happening on the other side of the world. Now we know in seconds. And not only do we know it quickly, we have access to all of it: a new strain of virus in Africa, an earthquake in India, a kidnapping in Seattle, a Ponzi scheme in Minneapolis, four murders in a college frat house. That's all at your fingertips in ten seconds.
2. Our memory is short. We may laugh about how we can't remember where we put our keys five minutes ago, but we also forget what happened five years ago. We prove this by the way we keep repeating the same dumb mistakes like selling when the market plunges and buying when it's overpriced. We forget that what goes up like a rocket will land again soon and it likely won't be pretty. Whether it's the internet bubble or the real estate market.
3. We have insulated ourselves from death and suffering. This isn't true worldwide, but it's certainly true in the Western world and especially in America. While we have the bad news in seconds, the worst of it is rarely seen up close and personal. While the third world still gets a front-row seat to death and suffering, here in America, suffering loved ones are often out of sight in a facility that specializes in care. Dead bodies are quickly put in refrigeration, made up, dressed up, and buried or quickly cremated so that we never see the worst of what death does to bodies. Our predecessors had "wakes" when they stayed awake all night with their dead loved ones in the living room, laid out, until the memorial service the next day. Stillborn babies were buried in shoeboxes in the backyard. Today, funerals and wakes are becoming obsolete in favor of celebrations of life with no actual dead body present.
4. We've normalized comfort. My home is temperature controlled 24/7. The car has seat warmers for the winter and air-cooled seats for the summer. We have memory foam mattresses and pillows. Instant hot water and indoor plumbing. I can buy groceries and have them on my front porch in a few hours without ever leaving the couch. Pain meds are over the counter and I can enjoy the best coffee in the world in my own kitchen. My parents grew up without all of those things and considered themselves blessed. My normal would be considered the life of the rich and famous just 50 years ago. Not having those things today is called suffering.
So I'm not saying the world isn't crazy. But this Thanksgiving and beyond, maybe we can have a moratorium on that phrase for awhile. How about a thirty-day break from, "This world's gone crazy" and rather thirty days of gratitude? Let's challenge one another to be grateful for everyday comforts. Let's pause between swipes on our screens and pray. Let's take a break from counting likes and count blessings.
