With so much happening in the first week of this year I was struggling with what to focus on for my first article of the year. Then I remembered my tradition of starting the year with an open letter to all. Here’s 2020’s and 2019’s if you’d like to read them.
Rereading them now feels like deja vu. The quote I opened the 2019 article with resonates more now than it did then. “Fake realities will create fake humans. Or, fake humans will generate fake realities and then sell them to other humans, turning them, eventually, into forgeries of themselves. So we wind up with fake humans inventing fake realities and then peddling them to other fake humans.” Philip K. Dick
The opening quote from my 2020 article is even more relevant “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Helen Keller. I would have not believed that I would ever read an article claiming Helen Keller was a privileged white person.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to comprehend what is happening in our world. In Australia we have state premiers closing borders stranding their own residents in other states. In America we have social media companies deplatforming their President and his supporters. When they choose to use another company like Parlor we’ve seen Amazon Web Services dehost them and google and apple app stores delist their app.
If you believe private companies are able to choose who their customers are then that standard needs to be applied universally. If a baker doesn’t want to bake a cake for someone, do you apply the same standard?
If you believe these companies should be able to silence whoever they want what happens if/when they start disagreeing with you?
Demands
I’d mentioned to multiple people last year as wonderful as it was that so many churches went online when they curtailed to their governments unconstitutional demands to close their doors, that I could foresee a problem. If church buildings stay closed and only operate online with no in person meetings what happens if the online services they are using say what the church is broadcasting goes against their standards and policies?
If they can do it to arguably the most powerful man on the planet then why couldn’t they do it to your church. Especially when a lot of the policies he has ran on, are biblically based.
Regardless of who is the leader of America for the rest of this year we need now more than ever to stay aware of world events while not worrying about things outside of our control.
What is in our control is using our voice before we are permanently silenced. What is in our control is staying in contact with those that are isolated or being persecuted.
What cost will you be willing to pay this year to tell someone Jesus loves them. Will it be worth losing your social media account? How about a fine? Jail time? Your life? Am I being over dramatic?
Self sustainable
If you are reading this you probably have the ability to make yourself more self sustainable. You probably have the ability to help those currently in need and better prepare yourself to help those who may need your help this year.
I started this year helping women and girls that have been rescued from human trafficking, Yes it has cost me, financially, physically and emotionally. I prefer to keep what I do helping others private. I work best behind the scenes without any public acknowledgement. I’m only sharing this with you in the hopes it will challenge you to assess what you are able to accomplish this year despite any restrictions you are facing. Are you willing to sacrifice your time, your dollars, your comfort?
Everything in life is a choice and the choices we make are usually because we don’t like the consequences of the alternatives. I gave someone a copy of the book The Case For Christ by Leee Strobrel for Christmas. One of the points I remember Lee makes is about the disciples being killed for their faith. If they truly didn’t believe one would presume they would have changed their tune before they were killed to save themselves. People die for what they believe every day. It’s rare for someone to die for something they don’t believe.
2021 will challenge you on what you believe from multiple fronts, political, medical, financial, spiritual.
Are you prepared to change your beliefs or pay the price based on what you belive whatever that may be?
Neville Hiatt was the 2020 Press Services International Tronson Senior Writers Award Winner for Australia. His previous posts for can be read here.
He spent a decade working for Radio Stations before his career was intermissioned by someone in a hurry to get home from work. For more of his award winning creativity visit http://nevillehiatt.com.
He also blogs for http://altcoincollege.com/covering the way cryptocurrencies and blockchain are changing our world.