I keep wondering if we are at war with ourselves or at war with the world. 2021 showed us that anger in the storming of our nation’s capitol, divisions over COVID conditions and preventative measures, mental health issues surfacing after so much isolation of people, civil rights protests and violence, and our own individual struggles with who we are. I hope and pray that the world will survive all of these wars and that the world’s populations will turn back to Jesus Christ and keep His light at the center of all life. Unfortunately, if we do not change the global hatred that seems to be the basis for many problems and ask for God’s help, I fear war will be the final destiny of all mankind.
These are my 2022 questions:
1. Do you believe that we can survive incredible pain and suffering when we have hope?
2. Who benefits more from selfishness: you or others?
3. As in Plato’s writings, what is justice and what sacrifices does justice demand?
4. When others sacrifice for us by carrying our crosses, what price have we paid for them?
5. What is the real price of seeking revenge when the only thing left is pain and death?
6. What is your purpose here on earth? Is it to forgive a debt or to take care of your own needs?
7. Will what we hold in our hearts sustain us through difficulties or will it ignite a fury, the likes of which have never been seen before?
8. In the end of the world when all the wars are over, will we give each other water or will we walk by on the other side of the road, leaving those in need to fend for themselves?
9. Will you help me if I need a friend or will you continue to be my enemy?
10. What does a man gain if he gains the world but loses his soul?
I hope the answers to these questions begin and end with love because that’s what really matters to all of us. We need to be seen and heard and to be loved unconditionally. We need to believe that no one of us is more important than the whole of us. We may add a few more problems in 2022, but if we ask each other for forgiveness, that act will be the end of hatred and anger and the beginning of a new world, one that we all can be proud of and cherish with sacrifices for all not just one.
Anna Hartt
