If you think the world has changed and that people have gone crazy, you’re not alone. Since 9/11 there is more fear, political division and cultural hysteria than ever before. Everywhere, people are afraid, overworked, and angry. No matter how hard they work, they keep falling behind financially. The feeling is pervasive that everything costs more, yet is more cheaply made. Consumers feel ripped off and taken advantage of.
A tipping point was COVID 19. With the pandemic came widespread fear and hoarding—remember the TP shortage? Because many companies shut down during the worst of COVID, many products became hard to find, which caused prices to escalate. This was particularly true with real estate, where there is still a shortage of houses today. Because millions transitioned to working from home, there was a mad rush to buy larger houses that were located away from urban areas, which has substantially changed the demographics and altered where people live.
All of this brought about a stiff bump in inflation and a subsequent rise in interest rates, which was done to try and bring down prices. It hasn’t worked. So, there is a lot of angst among consumers who are just trying to make ends meet.
Political Armageddon
Within the last 25-30 years, it has fallen out of vogue for politicians from different parties to work together. It used to be a positive thing for everyone to work together and create policies for the good of the country. Now if one politician reaches across the isle to try and work with “the other side” they are penalized by their party and constituents and called dirty names, and maybe even targeted with death threats. In my lifetime of three score and 10 years, it is civility-wise the worst of times.
People are unhappy and they want to make someone pay. This is the way of the world —the way life is when we focus solely on the here and now and on temporal things. Everything is passing, fleeting, shifting and fading away. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away…” (Matthew 24:35, ESV).
Up to this point approximately 117 billion people have lived on the Earth, with roughly 56 million dying each year. This estimate includes everyone who has been born, regardless of their lifespan. (Scientific American, How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth? by Manon Bischoff, Edited by Daisy Yuhas, Oct 2, 2025).
Speaking of our temporary status, Peter said, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades” 1 Peter 1:24, NLT).
Even the earth is crumbling and fading. Paul says, “They [the physical elements] will wear out like old clothing. You [God] will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing” (Hebrews 1:11-12, NLT).
Due to the brokenness of this world, the question is not am I going to die? You are. Once this sinks in the most pressing question should be, am I going to live?
Just because you were born doesn’t mean you’re alive. Life doesn’t happen because we show up with breath in our nostrils. It happens when we connect the dots between our presence and God’s purpose. When we begin to figure this out we emerge from a womb of temporariness into the realm of awareness. From then on we are aware that we’re not alone; that we are here for a reason. It may take a while to figure out the reason God put you here. But patience is a virtue that can help you learn, little by little.
The mournful spiritual song, “Oh My Lovin Brother” should wake us up to the reality of what lies ahead.
Oh My Lovin' Brother
Oh the judgment day is coming
What an awful day ‘twill be,
Christ forever is my refuge
Rock of ages cleft for me.
(Chorus)
Oh, my loving brother,
When the world’s on fire,
Don’t you want God’s bosom
To be your pillow,
Hide me over in the rock of ages
Rock of ages cleft for me.
In case you’ve missed it, the world IS on fire! Nations are in turmoil. people are angry, vindictive and mad. Billionaires squeeze labor and money out of those who are vulnerable and desperate. Corrupt politicians continue to proliferate and pillage their constituents and the earth. Hate has become the “coin of the realm” in many parts of America and the world, all of which warns that societal dysfunction and eventual collapse is in our future.
Fortunately there is a refuge and place we can hide.
“Whoever dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” – Psalm 91:1
Rich DuBose writes from Northern California. Photograph by Hosny Salah, with Pixabay
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT), copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.