Changes

Over a decade ago, I lived in a big city. I lived in the suburbs, so I was insulated from a lot of the inner city issues, while still enjoying the convenience of a large airport, as well as a plethora of entertainment, cultural, and shopping options.

I’m visiting this old city again. I see things differently. The city has changed a bit, but I have changed much more. I notice the poverty, racial segregation, and socioeconomic divide. I used to extol this city’s diversity. Now I realize that most of the minorities are in low-paying service jobs, catering to the majority. There is tension between the haves and have-nots. There is fear, resentment, and hatred simmering visibly. There is suffering and degradation.

Meanwhile the city constructs more and more venues of consumption and entertainment. Grotesque distractions that are built to divert attention from the deterioration of humanity. Development attempting to mask decay.

I look within me to see how I’ve changed. Am I hiding the rot inside with a veneer of affluence? I don’t think so…I feel cleaner, healthier. I have more clarity and compassion. I recognize that all humans are flawed. We may be able to come up with temporary ways to minimize degeneration, but eventually the dam breaks, and the depravity floods in. This doesn’t discourage me. I no longer put my confidence in human abilities to solve this mess. I have placed my trust in the transcendent God who shaped order out of chaos, composed harmony from discord, and moved me from a state of decay into regeneration.