What Will Fix A Broken World

Governments and Institutions are not going to fix our broken world.  I think they are the ones who took part in breaking it.  I used to be a political person, back in the 60’s.  I listened to JFK say, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.  Of course that was back when the government was sending people in the Peace Corps over to underdeveloped countries and helping people develop their land.  Soon we evolved into a government that was sending soldiers over to under developed countries and killing their people and destroying their land.

Many of those soldiers were boys I went to school with and were friends with.  It was then that I became political, not by asking what I could do for the government but demonstrating against what the government was doing to us.  My disillusionment led to a distrust of government and institutions that turned their attention to their form and structure rather than the people they were created to serve and help.  That is the root of my becoming not a Political person but a People person.

Years have come and gone and I have watched governments and institutions rise and fall due to their malfunction.  Unfortunately I have also watched the fall of those governments and institutions bring many people down with them, including myself.  My disillusionment developed over the years into bitterness and cynicism, neither of which becomes me.

I studied Behavioral Science and Psychology to help me figure out what makes people tick, including myself.  I also became a Follower of Jesus, not a denominational or institutional church person.  I began to look seriously at Jesus as I read about Him in my Bible.  I tried my best to do what He did, especially in His encounters with individual people that he met along the way. Following His example suits me.

I have very strong beliefs. I know and love many folks who have very different beliefs than me.  But the way I see it is we are all human beings and we all have hearts, hopes, and dreams that are important to us in our lives.  And we all have a story to tell.  That is where we can meet and love and respect who we are as individuals.  That is where we can become friends rather than adversaries.  Once we meet where we are the same and give one another a safe place to be in each others presence, then we can lay down our weapons and our defenses, pick up a cup of coffee or tea and begin to talk about the what, whys, and wherefores of how we see things differently.  When I look into someone’s eyes I see their heart and humanity that is just like mine.  When I listen and hear their voice speak their cares and concerns about their families and loves ones, and the world they live in, I hear their heart and humanity that is just like mine.  I believe something in that encounter will transform into something good.

For me it is in that place that Jesus comes and joins us.  With Him the Spirit of love, joy, and peace makes His appearance as well.  That brings the hope of healing and the wholesomeness of wholeness.  That is what builds bridges over the divides and can repair the brokenness of this world.