The Real Lesson of 2025…

I should begin by saying this world we presently inhabit will never be without conflict. It’s the defeated nature of the thing. Getting challenged is to be expected. Things will not always go your way despite your earnest wish. You will find yourself, in varying degrees, at various times, being pricked, prodded and poked. Clashes will arise without warning, sometimes from your closest friends. It’s not fair and the dice are loaded. Fair is a thing, but it’s not part of the world’s script. Everyone has a problem or two and some poor souls are stuck in place, counting down time and adding nothing. Dreary and as bleak as that picture is, contained within is a valuable lesson. The real lesson of 2025.

Beginning large and working downward, the good old United States finds itself in a real pickle. The vastly unknown power of the media coupled with a general malaise regarding personal thought, has led to a populace no longer willing to discern facts, or worse truth, in favor of sort of riding the wave; picking up hatred, the promise of a return to superiority and literally anything else you can make up to reinforce the false offering. A place where the economy rises and falls based on the cost of gas at your local gas station. Despite the battle line, it really isn’t about being liberal or conservative, both terms now solidified in stone on the far right and the far left. No in-between? It’s about following the mob wherever it leads despite and in abject contrast to reason. Reason, that process by which humans can make their own decisions because of their capacity to process information. Thus we are left in a real pickle. The thoughtless, other hidden motives, ignorant and afraid, often racist people have all banded together to present us with a President unlike any other president we have ever seen. And in that antithesis to what America needed, we now find ourselves right smack dab in the middle of the chaos. Decisions are being made now overtly, though they always were, in favor of the wealthy, while the ones most affected are wholly unaware of it. We do not know what is going to happen next, though I suppose we never did. We at least had the illusion of safety. Enough description seeing as you already know what I mean. The lesson? This old world is only going to get worse and worse. God is not going to be in the Whitehouse. This world, the one where conflict breeds, will not suddenly reset and get healed. Especially at the hands of some _______ politician. God never asked you and I to fix the world. He simply asked that we let Him fix us. Learn the lesson and let God make your own life a blessing, no matter who is at the helm.

Oh America, we miss you. A bit further down the chain we see our culture. Proud capitalists that we are, we revel in a world that rewards performance and effort and grit and countless hours of toil. We wear pain and suffering like a badge of honor. But, look at our stuff! We have the best stuff. We can buy what we want. Look at us. Nothing wrong with prosperity, rather it should be expected. But, prosperity that comes at the cost of our own health and happiness could never be worth it. Our society has been schooled into producing. Produce, perform, do your job, make it happen, all sayings we live by now. Someone convinced us our value was based on what we could produce. Big house, big value. Exclusive car, big value. Modest home, little value. Simple life, no value, lazy, weak, not to be admired. The real lesson of 2025 in our consumer based country, in our pervasive “demand more of yourself” culture, is that your value does not come from what you do or do not do. Performance unnecessary. Tiring charade over. Most Americans cannot even sit down for 20 minutes without feeling as if they are slacking off. Busy as it is, it is not real life. It’s the product of being groomed to work harder and longer in order to maximize someone else’s wealth or your own. It is being your own proven sufficiency. Or, by God, you will die trying. It feels worse to me the prospect of always having to work that hard. You sure that’s a virtue when it costs too much? The real lesson of 2025 for our culture is that you do not and never were meant to be your own sufficiency. You’d suck at it anyway. You are not on a stage being required to perform with enthusiasm at all times. You do not have to perpetually produce to stay ahead of some mythical opponent. Your real opponent isn’t stymied by production, he is stymied by trust. Trust in God to be your sufficiency is the real lesson of 2025. (And let yourself go “Off duty”)

Now let’s bring it on down to you and me. 2025 has had its fair share of challenges. Not challenges in terms of our physical lives, though that depends on the day and executive order. I mean the challenges that affect our minds. The things that plague us and get us inside our own heads. Sometimes those challenges have gone on for many years. Like realizing you actually were afraid, when you allow yourself to name it. Good old 2025 has been a year of profound learning, light and restoration. It didn’t happen all at once however. It happened as I finally recognized and more importantly acknowledged that I did not know. As in, I really am not figuring this thing out and it is very clear. Taking too many “L’s” if you know what I mean. Being on the winning team I am supposed to be collecting them “W’s.” For the first time in a very long time it dawned on me that something was wrong. No, life was far from disaster, but it was lacking a bit in the happiness quotient. Without going further, that heartfelt humility and willingness to not already know led to a series of wonder filled illumination and clarity. I mean like, “OMG, how long have I been thinking that way? How did I not see that?” So many moments, such intricate detail, such compelling truth all given to me freely and still arriving from a good God of wholeness who wills to restore our hearts. So for me, very personally, the lesson of 2025 has been that God has been here all along; has never changed or varied and will always bring only love. He knows the conflict and He knows the ending. All He requires is a little humility on our parts. Thank God for the lessons of 2025!