Don't Worry. It's All In His Hands

 I publish a lot of stuff on this blog that I feel gentle readers need to know about, I know.  There's the fact that it appears that nobody is ever going to be charged with the crimes committed against conservatives.  Then there is the growing violence against law enforcement with police being murdered.  Indeed 10 people have been charged with ambushing ICE agents.  The Left grows more dangerous daily, and the Muslims are threatening to impose their own form of justice on us.  The list of bad news, horrible news, sad news and sometimes outright evil news is long.  What I don't do often enough is point out that the world is firmly in God's hands, and that (spoiler alert) He ultimately wins, and that means we do too.

But, J. B. Shurk does remind us that all will be alright in a post at the American Thinker entitled Do Not Fear the Future. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25:

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

It is good advice. Of course, if you can prepare for something you should. But we don't worry about things we can prepare for. Instead, we tend to worry about things over which we feel we have no control. Shurk reminds us that we have more control than we think we do.

What is more important — wealth or health? Do you prefer to be loved by adoring strangers or by close members of your family? When you depart this world, would you rather be remembered for your political power or moral courage? Is the cultivation of a virtuous character more valuable than the accumulation of material things?

I ask these questions to highlight how much power you have over your own life. I often receive messages from people who are worried about the future. Some sound despondent about the challenges ahead. Some are happy that President Trump did this and unhappy that he did that. Some seem so engrossed in the turbulent world of politics that they struggle to be upbeat about more important things.

I am an ordinary sinner with no special knowledge about our existence, and my intention is not to lecture others. I do wish to remind people, though, that they are in control. No matter how coercive governments and corporations are, we are still masters of our fates. We decide what we believe. We decide how we will act. We decide what costs we are willing to bear in defense of our principles.

There is something liberating in the acknowledgment of these simple facts. Surely our principles aren’t really our principles until we are willing to suffer in defense of them. Our earthly struggles are the grindstones that sharpen our moral virtue. Adversity is as much a blessing as it is a burden.

Shurk takes one item that is scaring people right now, AI, and breaks down why most of the things the media tries to scare us about it won't really happen. Shurk's reasons are based on human nature and human needs. The problems AI presents have been encountered before, and we have prevailed. We will prevail again. Shurk concludes with this:

For millennia, a good sword was expensive and required time and skill to wield well. Big, strong swordsmen had a distinct advantage. The handgun, however, quickly leveled the playing field. As was often said of Samuel Colt’s famous revolver, “God created men; Colonel Colt made them equal.” A lightweight AR-15-style rifle provides a small woman with the power to defend herself against a large man. Firearms have democratized self-defense.

Similarly, the printing press, radio, television, and personal computer have democratized communication. Although governments have had varying success in using these innovations to maintain power, there is no doubt that the information revolution of the last five hundred years has narrowed the knowledge gap between the wealthiest and the poorest more significantly than during any other period in history. And whatever happens with A.I. over the next few years, there is no doubt in my mind that a similar democratizing effect will accompany its proliferation — irrespective of the wishes of today’s “ruling class.”

In the midst of great change, certain things remain constant. We humans love and seek to be loved. We are remembered for our virtues and moral failings. We find sustained purpose in our relationships with God and our families. Let us hold fast to these truths.

Please go read J. B. Shurk's piece and stop worrying.