“Those idiots are ruining our country!” Those idiots are to blame for the breakdown of our culture, economy, world image, education, healthcare….

I’m guessing you’ve heard it all.  The fact that you’re reading this means you have access to the internet in all it’s attention-seeking, fear-mongering glory, so I should probably just say thanks for getting here. I should definitely offer you a drink. (But since I’m writing this you’re going to have to get one yourself, don’t worry, I’ll wait.)

Here’s to a quiet moment of no one verbally assaulting you. Cheers!

It’s rough out there.  Whatever your viewpoint, there is someone eagerly waiting to bash you for it.  Having an opinion makes you an easy target.  It’s much easier to smile and nod along with whoever has the biggest mic, because no mercy will be had for rebels to the cause.  Any cause.  Recognizing that an opposing viewpoint also has merit makes you weak.  Not reasonable. No. Never. Reason, discussion, even respectful debate seem to be missing.  Instead we have aggrandizing headlines, shady research and biased reporting all around.  Everyone yelling over each other because, “I SHOULD BE HEARD! IF I’M LOUDEST, CRASSEST OR THE MOST ARROGANT THEN I WIN! LOOK AT ME!”

Bleck.

I’d rather sit and chat with you about what we hope for.

Motherhood teaches you some things, here is one of them. The people yelling the loudest are usually the most scared. The bully is the most unsure of all. So though there are a lot of opinions out there being yelled at us as fact, I don’t have it in me right now to be angry over it. We can’t be mad at broken people for being broken. This is certainly a broken world we live in. Watch the news for five minutes if you want to be traumatized for the rest of the day. But there is hope.

We all have a certain emptiness inside us. A yearning for something always just out of reach, an unquenchable thirst. We can try to fix it with food, drink, status, power, money, athletics, kids, busyness, romantic love, good deeds, nice things, anything that seems like it might give us joy and satisfaction. We can act the hero and spend all our time, energy and money on filling the emptiness, but it doesn’t work. Our world is broken and try as we might to make things better, we cannot fully fix it.

We can blame the unrest on a group. Those idiots. They are why things are messed up, why life is hard and we feel lost. We can convince ourselves that this swirling of anxiety in our guts is their fault. We can act the victim and play the blame game on whose fault our brokenness is, but that will only leave us more scared and angry than ever. None of it will cure that pit of anger, unrest and fear that makes us yell at our televisions, hide from the news, and rant on Facebook.

But here is our hope.

Christ.

In a broken world with unstable hearts and confusion all around, Christ is the anchor of our souls. The only answer, the beginning and the end. There is no peace apart from Him. No amount of laws, money, relationships, pharmaceuticals or religious acts can heal what He can. Instead of focusing on “those idiots,” instead of letting the circumstances of this world control our peace of mind, instead of getting caught up in the rising tide of horror and desperation that wants to wash over us; let us instead train our eyes on the God to whom odds have no consequence, who both created and controls the tide. Let Christ abide in you, and you in Him that you may bear the fruits of faith and not of fear.

Let’s not forget that we know where the emptiness comes from.

We know who the real enemy is.

It isn’t a political party, or a conflicting religion, or even genetically modified gluten.

Don’t get distracted by all the yelling and finger pointing and forget that we all have a common enemy.  Even more, don’t forget that our enemy has already been beaten by our Lord Jesus Christ.

So come, Lord Jesus, come. Claim your victory in us. Let us live out our days according to your will, doing all things in love. Until it is time for us to live with You for eternity, live with us and through us, empowering us to do Your work as we go.

Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Original song and lyric video – media doesn’t show up in email subscriptions, so if you don’t see a video, you can listen to my song by clicking HERE.