We have passed these last three years amazed, and struck dumb, stunned and befuddled by everything that has happened to us; by all that was done to us. Alienated, isolated, divided and demoralized on a scale that was momentous, we were collectively struck when we weren’t looking, and knocked out before we knew what hit us. And when we got to our feet again, we found ourselves in a battle. We discovered we were at war, inexplicably, against ourselves—brothers against sisters, mothers against sons. Loved ones turned against loved ones, life-long relationships crumbling to dust, and families were set on fire. Love gave way to fear. Truth gave way to lies. Hope gave way to despair. And suspicions arose everywhere.
Distrust and mistrust grew between neighbors where previously healthy acceptance had held us together. Persuasion gave way to coercion, and power was exerted over the weak. Instead of listening and working together against a common enemy, we made each other our enemy; we fought only for ourselves, our tribe against new enemies—former friends and family members. We were thrust, or thrust ourselves, into a deep darkness of fear, and were blinded by it; flailing against one another.
We have been at war now, for three years (perhaps longer), but we are fighting against the wrong enemies. We have turned against our own flesh and blood. But we are deluded because we needn’t fight against flesh and blood; we should be fighting against subtler enemies that are the foundation of our misery. Our battle is really against the very things that have been destroying us these past few years; a virus is our enemy, not those who carry the virus. It is a physical virus and a metaphorical one as well. It is a physical pathogen and a spiritual one too; it is Covid, but it is also very truly the corrosive fear that is eating us away as a people. Division is our enemy, alienation and isolation is our enemy. Coercion and the abuse of power is our enemy. Greed and envy is our enemy. All of these are the true enemies we should have been fighting during this pandemic, and against which we should mount a new offensive now.
Stop fighting man against woman, black against white, blue against red, and vice versa…
Fight for goodness by being good, fight for unity by forgiving, fight for trust by being honest, and fight for reconciliation by your humility. Fight for the human spirit that is in every person, and for the soul that lives in each of us. We need to fight together to regain our nobility as a people, to remember that truth about ourselves—we have a nobility by virtue of being made, and we need to fight for the divinity that resides within our human nature. Fight against dehumanization, against pure materialism, against nihilism and the anti-Godliness of a wholly secular vision. Fight against the subtle powers that try to convince us that we are only beasts, simply animals, and not worth fighting for.
I am only now starting to come to my senses again, after three years of feeling shell-shocked and bewildered. The pain and horror of our collective pandemic misery is only beginning to come into focus for me. We have lost so much; there are so many casualties and so much destruction. But there is hope. We have been down, but not out. There is very much to fight for still, and to rebuild. We can rebuild the spirit of love within our families, between siblings, and re-form old friendships, rekindle love between us, between races, between political opponents. We can rebuild unity, turning away from division, rejecting coercion and saying no to alienation; we can build community in the midst of opposing ideas.
The power behind all of the evils which have beleaguered us is very real, and it won’t go away easily or without a struggle; especially now that it has enjoyed so many victories of late—we are so divided and estranged from one another. Power loves power more than people. I have been in hiding of sorts, to protect myself. I want to live in a place free from all this treachery; just hoping that it will all go away. But it appears that evil is growing and expanding. What hope is there against the fear and hatred which seems to be devouring our world? It makes me cry because I just want to live. Don’t we all just want to live; and not to be used, or abused, fooled or crushed? Power loves power, and devours mankind. But I take solace knowing Jesus Christ; because Jesus embodies all the meekness that devours power, and in Him I find peace to live, courage to face fear, and endurance to overcome hatred.
~FS
Prayerful Life 