The new year is usually a time for optimism. The stock market is up strongly this morning. Still, upon reflection the outlook according to the news media seems gloomy. My new book, Turning North, takes place during the "Dark Ages" when people were mostly illiterate and the future was always going to be just the same as yesterday. If you lived in what is today Europe, you were always concerned about your physical safety. There was no such thing as a police force in those days. "Hope" was the only thing that people could latch onto and was one of the reasons for Christianity's popularity in those days.
In modern times we have become used to progress, ever increasing standards of living, and the easy life. As a result of this confidence, companies, individuals and governments have become over in-debted and now, we face a future in which we are unable to lever up our prospects. The outlook is not only glum, but the choices we face all seem too hard. Indeed, many are concerned, just as in the "Dark Ages", for our personal security. Not because of the potential from a criminal act, but for our well-being for us and our family.
Yet, hope remains alive. Groucho Marx said, It isn't so much that hard times are coming; the change observed is mostly soft times going. And for those believers, Christian Scripture promises in Proverbs 24; 19-20 that fretting about those who may do evil to us is a waste of time because there is no future for the evil man. The way to approach the future is to imitate the Apostle Paul who said in Philippians 3; 13-14,Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
My advice: keep calm and carry on.
Go Forth and Do Good
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