We live in a world that is worrisomely agitated, causing significant emotional unrest in the hearts of great portions of this globe’s population. It is caused by widespread racial unrest, universal economic hardships, transnational tensions, open warfare, the threat of invasion across established borders, and the fear of escalation to the use of nuclear weapons. While most people are not heading to a shelter in the mountains to try to get away from it all, many are seeking some mode of escape from the fears deep in their hearts that seem to be rising exponentially each month.
Add to all that the current (2024) volatility in the political landscape of the American presidential race. The depth of divisions between people because of the policies promoted by each candidate have greatly intensified fears of what could happen in our land if the opposing candidate were to win the White House, further dividing regions, communities, and even families. And we can be sure that there will be even greater fear and anxiety the morning after the voting, regardless of which candidate wins.
None of this is entirely new, though it may be taking different forms. Conflict and danger has always been a part of human life, from the home to the nation, since the fall. It began with the conflict in the Garden of Eden, and was tragically evident in the jealous hostility that broke out between Cain and Abel that resulted in the first recorded case of fratricide in the Bible. Such has been the fallout from Adam’s first act of defiance of God, which has been passed on to every member of the human race, according to Romans 5:12-21.