Two Kinds
Author: The Rev. Dr. David Bridges, Priest
November 17, 2021
In the past several weeks I have visited a few large
cities. I noticed that a growing majority of people present themselves as one
of two kinds; (1) Angry, or (2) Worried. I can see it in their faces.
The angry ones have a grimace permanently glued on their
face. They don’t interact well with others and don’t handle stressful situations
well. They are always ready to fight, even to kill, if so prompted.
They are angry about any number of things, but their
speech often gives the root of their anger away; government, finances,
politics, religion, relationships, etc. They are not ready to give-up their
anger; they seem to enjoy it in some needful way.
The worried ones keep their eyes toward the ground. They
have no smile left in them. They don’t handle stress well, and are always ready
to retreat. Their actions indicate a stifled ability to stand-up for
themselves, or voice their real feelings.
These conditions have been evident in our society for as
long as there have been humans. The difference today is the rapidly-increasing
percentage of people in these two categories; angry or worried.
I am not referring to those minor cases of tension or
depression that afflict all of us. I am referring to a prolonged state of
being; our ethos (Greek: “character,
personality”). When anger or worry become deeply ingrained in daily life, we
begin to take-on that personality.
When that happens, we are most often unaware of it. The
shift can be so subtle that our ethos changes without much resistance. During
the last two years we have experienced one of the greatest challenges of our
lives; the COVID-19 Pandemic. The “toll” has been far greater than just the
actual lives ended; in includes hundreds-of-millions more lives that have been
up-ended.
Our way-of-being has changed. We can’t or don’t socialize
as much as we did. We are always confronted with decisions based on our health
and the health of others. We are fighting among each other about everything!
We have become so sensitive (easily offended) that we
don’t hear what people are saying as much as we hear what we think they are
saying. We are angrier and more worried than we have ever been.
Membership and participation in churches, civic
organizations, and the job market, have declined significantly in recent years,
even before pandemic. But there is hope.
The confident expectation of the final arrival of God’s
Kingdom is our basis for hope. In Matthew Chapter 24, Jesus explains how
difficult life will get as the end of this world grows closer. I pray you will
be prepared for the reality of Jesus’ words and draw close to a family of faith
for mutual support in these times.
Blessings and Peace to You
All,
Fr. David+
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