What’s Wrong With the World?

I would be lying if I did not confess this truth to you: some days the world feels like a crazy place and I do not want to be a part of it.

In movie depictions of post-apocalyptic societies, my mind is often boggled by people’s struggle for daily survival among the cause of the world’s demise and the downfall of humanity. Who in their right mind would want to live in such a place?

On days the world seems craziest, prayers like “Jesus come back and come back now” go unanswered. I know why. God’s timing is not my timing, nor the timing of some movie producer desiring a blockbuster - or at least some return on their investment.  

However, we cannot deny 2020 felt apocalyptic as we listened to news about the pandemic and watched racist attitudes step from their hiding place in people’s hearts. Murder rates skyrocketed in the poorest areas. The toil of lost wages led people to behave in drastic ways - including selling their own children.

The truth is, 2020 did not produce anything new. The world has always operated like this. We simply found solace in our daily lives and put on happy attitudes that ignored the true face of humanity. We looked for the good and believed the best of intent because anything less caused our hope to dip. 

“The truth is, 2020 did not produce anything new. ”

And here I must share another confession: as a Christian, I got caught up in the world and neglected my responsibility to share the gospel. I started looking down instead of up. My hope was shaken for a moment. 

When I recognized what I was doing, I prayed. I praised. I studied the Bible. I wrote. In this, I found the answer to a question I had been pondering for some time.

What the heck is wrong with the world?

This is my answer:

The world is full of selfish people with no desire to be responsible or accountable to the Lord God and are refusing to repent.

That, my friends, may be the simplest definition I can give for sin.

The world is full of sin.

Your mind may be blown…and maybe not. Maybe you knew this all along. Maybe you knew and forgot. Maybe you took your eye off the proverbial ball and then suddenly got slapped in the head as it came hurling towards you. Yes, the world is ripe with sin. But what does that mean to you? 

For me it means, while there may be days when I do not want to be here, I am, and I need to do what God wants me to do.