SOMETHING IS WRONG IN THE WORLD
Something is wrong in the world; most people feel it, even if they cannot quite name it. The headlines change, the arguments rotate, the villains and heroes are swapped out depending on who is telling the story, but the uneasiness remains. We are louder than ever, more connected than any generation before us, and yet strangely hollow. We speak constantly and listen rarely; we know everyone’s opinions, yet we scarcely know our neighbors. The problem is not merely political, cultural, or technological. Those are symptoms. The sickness runs deeper—into the human heart.
The Bible has never been naïve about this condition. It does not flatter us with the idea that the world is basically fine and only needs better management. It tells the truth, and the truth is sobering. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). That is not a commentary on one party, one nation, or one era; it is a diagnosis of fallen humanity. When the heart is disordered, everything downstream suffers—our loves, our loyalties, our words, our actions.
This helps explain why outrage has become a currency. Anger feels powerful; it gives the illusion of righteousness without the burden of repentance. We shout about justice while excusing cruelty, demand accountability while avoiding self-examination. Jesus warned us about this posture when He said that before we rush to remove a speck from our brother’s eye, we ought to deal honestly with the beam lodged in our own (Matthew 7:3-5). That teaching is not a call to silence or apathy; it is a call to humility. A world without humility will always be a world at war with itself.
Something else is wrong as well: we have confused information with wisdom. We are flooded with data and starving for discernment. The Word of God draws a clear line between the two. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). When reverence for God is replaced with confidence in ourselves, wisdom evaporates. We become clever, but not wise; informed, but not transformed. And clever people without wisdom can do tremendous damage.
The apostle Paul described our moment with unsettling clarity. He wrote that in the last days people would be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, ungrateful, unholy; having a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:1-5). That list does not belong to one generation alone, but it reads like a mirror held up to our own. We are religious enough to use God’s name, but often unwilling to submit to God’s ways. We want the comfort of faith without the costly work of obedience.
Yet Christ never leaves us in despair. He tells us what is wrong, but He also tells us what is right and Who can make things new. Jesus did not come merely to improve society; He came to rescue sinners and remake hearts. He said that the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but that He came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). That abundance is not found in dominance, applause, or control; it is found in reconciliation with God and the slow, steady healing of the inner person.
This is why no movement, election, or ideology can finally fix what ails us. Laws can restrain evil, and they should; education can illuminate minds, and it should; but only Christ can resurrect a dead heart. The Gospel does its work from the inside out. When hearts are changed, homes change; when homes change, communities change; when communities change, the world begins to look different.
Something is wrong in the world—but something is also right. Christ is still reigning. Grace is still powerful. Forgiveness is still available. Light still shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). Our task is not to despair, nor to demonize, but to bear witness—to live as people who have been with Jesus, who speak truth without venom, who love without compromise, who hope without naïveté.
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Lord Jesus, we confess that the world is broken, and so are we. Search our hearts; heal what is sick; humble what is proud. Make us people of truth, love, and quiet faithfulness in a noisy age. Let Your light shine through us, for Your glory. Amen.
BDD
