Is our world crazy or deranged?

Alexander the Great

In the past week, I was overcome, left speechless, as I read the story of the shooting at a Catholic church, in Minneapolis.  While a parish school was inside at mass, the shooter locked the church door from outside.  He then proceeded to shoot indiscriminately, through the windows, killing and injuring children at mass.  I found that incomprehensible.  How could any human being act in such a way towards other human beings?  

Then, I stood back and thought - "Human beings are doing this stuff all the time, just not in a Catholic church in the USA.  Human beings are violating each other all too often, in such shameful and hateful ways.  Look at Gaza, Iraq, Sudan, Myanmar.  The list just unravels. It is all mind-blowing what we can do to each other."  

As that story stayed with me, the word that came to me was "deranged".  It is a word I never use.  Yet, it now, aptly described for me an action that haunted me, as it was not just an insane or deplorable act.  Much more, this tragedy has unfolded due to deranged, human behaviour.  This is not to judge a person.  Rather it arises from my grappling with how any human being could commit such a callous act.    

How can this happen?  I keep saying that.  Maybe, in a world that is more deranged than crazy, we can learn from true warriors of history, like Alexander the Great, about valour and honour, both surviving above all deranged behaviour.    

Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) built an empire of nearly 2 million square miles.  Yet he died at just 32.  Legend says that he gave the following orders for his funeral.

1) Physicians to carry his coffin – showing that no one can escape death, not even with the best doctors.  

2)  Gold and treasures scattered on the road – showing wealth cannot follow us.  

3)  His hands left empty outside the coffin – showing we come and go with nothing.  

Many people ignore God, justice, humanity, and righteousness and follow evil ways to possess power and possessions.  But we cannot take power, fame, or riches beyond life. What truly matters is the good and bad we do while alive.

 As Scripture reminds us: 

 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”  (Mark 8:36)  

(Johnson of Myanmar, thanks for this insight) 

Here, we can see that, even in the history of war, valour and honour rise out of the ashes, above all inhumanity.  Our world may appear deranged, but hope always lives and peace ever remains possible, rising just as well out of the depths of despair and against all odds.  We just need to keep our eye on the good of all, the good of the planet, never losing sight that we are already in the city of the living God (Heb, 12).  We are here.  We are here for life, a good life, a life shared.  This is truly a good place to be, as it is ordained for us, by the God of the living.  It is our mission to act so that our world never become deranged.