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Our current culture is quite fascinating; we seem to have multiple cultures all going at once. Perhaps this is due to the multiple devices we find in our lives, all delivering messages. These multiple devices focus on many different points of view. What has this impact on the community? It has driven us into different camps, or if you like, tribes. We now have many small communities, each with its own culture. I believe this is why our current society is so fractured and perhaps sadly not able or willing to find common ground.

Why is this upsetting? It is a fractured society, and unless it finds some common ground, we are teetering on the edge of misfortune. It can all fall apart. The damage to the community is often personal, such as the loss of a child to drugs, violence, or extreme political views. This can be witnessed by many examples of violence against randomly chosen people. The constant fraud that scams the unwary out of their hard-earned money. The Internet is full of fraud, we all get suspicious phone calls, and discrimination is used to keep people out of schools, jobs, or organizations. This can be subtle, but the aim is to keep like-minded people either in or out of participation in committees, public offices, schools, or even social groups such as book clubs. The aim here is to find people of our own tribe who think as we do.

What is missing in our current state of affairs is a common bond we all share. It does exist, but for whatever reason, it has been deleted, blamed for problems, or simply seen as old thinking. Religion is seen with suspicion in today’s culture. For many, it is the embrace of science and the positive truth of facts that has led to the misjudgment of religion or metaphysical offerings as misleading, if not harmful, to the community. There is not enough room here to go into a close study of the arguments against Christianity. Many influential thinkers have viewed religion as the root of all misfortune in the world. But, as we climb aboard the next century, isn’t it interesting that with all our current knowledge and scientific facts, we are at a loss for a unifying value that holds peace, trust, and compassion for our modern world?

Jesus lived some 2000 years ago, yet His message of Peace and compassion for others. His message of sacrificial love that challenges us with is the very item that is most contentious in our world today. Many Christians today admire the concept but walk away from their religion, only caring for themselves. Really, in today’s world, we don’t want to bother others; we just take care of ourselves. I believe it was Ayn Rand (1905-1982) who advanced the idea that selfishness is a virtue, not a vice. It was her rational self-interest that challenged altruism as the highest value. for humans to aspire to. Altruism is sacrificing for others, a cornerstone value in Christianity. If we look closely, we can see that selfishness, wherever it appears, leads to dysfunction and disunity. Our current society is in disarray, trying to live for ME and leave Thou behind. It’s all about me.

We have a whole generation of people who have tried to think of themselves as individuals. They have green hair, multiple styles of dress, and body art from head to toe. What interests me is that the very things they do to themselves are following others. They become a group following the current culture; in doing so, they are no longer unique. I was at a check-in at the hospital recently, and the person checking me in was a male in a brown suit, complete with a tie. He stood out like a sore thumb. He was unique. His personal choice was noted. Many of the fads and appearances of younger people come from the Internet. The word “influencer” comes to mind. They say what is appropriate to wear, eat, what music to listen to, etc. This is not a path to unique individualism, but it is a great way to follow the crowd, without thinking for yourself.

The essence of Christianity is love, sharing, and helping one another. These values are difficult to master, in that we must choose this path and be willing to often give up our personal wants for a value that may make our choice difficult but benefit the group and the community. For instance, taking time to help a neighbor in need, when we could be golfing or boating. Selfishness, although a virtue in Ayn Rand’s philosophy, is that by doing it for me, we care for everyone. It does not work that way. Look at our current times; I hate to watch the evening news for the many shootings, violent acts, and total disregard for neighbors. Somewhere along the line, we have to find a common area where we can see others. We can respect others; we can work together for the greater good. If we can see that Jesus, 2000 years ago, gave us a path to peace, compassion, and forgiveness, we are well on our way to that community that brings unity and grace, and above all, peace to our lives.

Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest — Psalm 85:10-12