Many people today are worried about the economy. It is an important concern, especially for those who are trying to feed a family and keep a roof over their heads. It is; however, only a piece of the whole picture. It is but a small fragment of the troubles that are arising all over the planet. The floods, the fires, the earthquakes, and the hurricanes – the most recent one, Iota, hitting Central America and impacting Nicaragua, Honduras, Columbia, Panama, and El Salvador – are occurring everywhere, reminding us that we are not in control. Some want to turn away, refuse to see that human beings have played a major role in global warming and in the terrible tragedies that are befalling millions. Do they think that there would not be a price to pay, for the billions of species that have been displaced, in order to make room for more of us? The forests that have been clear cut, and the genocide of certain plant and animal species, cannot have been accomplished without repercussions. The piper is demanding payment. What we have taken, will be taken from us. It is natural law.
These same people believe that they can alienate themselves from the multitudes, acting as though they are privileged and immune from what appears to be evil. The sun shines on the just – and the unjust alike. Natural law is no respecter of persons. These events are not evil, but only the effect of the selfish attitudes that produced them. They also, mistakenly believe, that their guns will keep them safe; and they are sucked into the fake news that feeds the fear already growing inside of them.
Our world was designed as a balanced system. Every single organism exists for a reason and every single organism is dependent upon others in order to maintain that balance. We all depend upon one another despite our refusal to see it. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was panic over the sudden, but temporary lack of toilet paper. Think of all the people who make up the web that brings toilet paper to you – the loggers who fell the trees and transport them to the paper mill; the people who work in the mills to produce the toilet paper product; the truckers who move the neatly wrapped rolls to warehouses and to the stores; and the store clerk who stocks it and then takes your money to complete your purchase – so that you can have an ample supply in your bathroom. This is only one tiny example of the ways in which we depend upon one another.
Those people who are sowing the seeds of hatred and violence, and who are creating division in the minds of those who are fearful – are extremely dangerous. There is a season for everything. We must decide, is this a time to kill, or a time to heal? I pray it is the latter.
