It isn’t a matter of taking sides in a situation. We must first look at ourselves – our own mistakes and misconceptions – our flaws and voices that speak without thinking first. This week has been one of great ups and downs in my state. Each day there has been the call for justice as the Chauvin trial came to an end and the jury determined within ten hours that the police officer who shot George Floyd was guilty on all counts. There were tears of joy. There was hope in the possiblity of police reform. Steps to take action in that area were swift, but will undoubtedly be stalled in the process. We know that change isn’t something that happens over night. Even the evolutionists believe it took millions of years for man to evolve. I truly hope that it doesn’t take that long for this change to happen, but for now, we wait and see.

I’ve seen change occur over my 78 years – some for good – a lot not so good. I spent my younger years taking on causes. I thought it was the right thing to do. As time goes by, we change how we think. We alter our priorities. We get interrupted by life. We raise a family. We grow old. We finally think about dying and wonder why we got so worked up about all the other stuff.

I tend to get angry with the changes around me. My first thoughts are not always rational. I may react without knowing all the facts. I’ve learned over time that my words can get me into a peck of trouble, so I’ve tried hard not to express an opinion about what’s going on in the world. I am not afraid to say what I believe however.

Change is a slow process for the most part. Not in the area of technology however. We went from a ten inch television to a smart TV thin enought to hang on the wal like a picture. We’ve seen crank phones with party lines develop into smart phones that can track your location, is aware of almost everything about you, can connect you to the world wide web. We’ve gone from wringer washing machines to machines that only require loading and pressing a button. Our refrigerators dispense hot or cold drinks. Our lives revolve around social media rather than physical interaction. Some changes have given us freedom to do things we want to do, while enslaving us to things that have little or no value. The truth is, we’re not much different than we were a hundred years ago. We’ve grown accusomed to depending on some one or something to get us through every day.

No matter what the situation, no matter how hard it may seem, we get through the difficult times and we’re usually better because of it. When we pass the buck or blame society, our upbringing, our religion, our relationships for something that we’ve caused we aren’t being honest with ourselves. We need to look inward to see where the blame lies. Every single one of us is guilty in one way or another. Let’s stop looking at the past and using it as a means to get us to the future. May God help us to look within, ask Him for forgiveness and begin the change.