Since the beginning of time, the human race has been continually confronted with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Society and nations have known what to do with the good appreciate it, enjoy it and pass it along to others. The bad and the ugly are a horse of a different color.
With the slightest provocation conflict can raise its ugly head in any form in any place at any time. The dilemma is what to do ignore it or deal with it head on. People my age have lived in a continuous "state of war" for a hundred years, not to mention time before. And there appears to be no foreseeable light at the end of this dark and dreary tunnel. Too many of us give very little thought to what is going on, unless it touches us personally.
We know what to do with the good, keep it going. But for the bad, when it endangers the lives of a community or creates conflict between nations, the solution is not so simple. A society or a nation could not long exist without a police force or an army to confront those forces that would do it in. But is there never an end? From a study of history , apparently not ...
Where the ugly is concerned, whatever and wherever it is, a complete makeover often helps. Thus, the bloody struggle of the centuries of the good, the bad, and the ugly never completely abates. Time marches on!
The story is told of the saintly old man, a life long member of his church's Administrative Board, who is reported to have said: "Nothing will pass unanimous on this Board as long as I am a member." I am uncertain what may have happened to that church, but I think I know.
Someone has said: "Creating a beloved community begins by simply saying hello."
Just how the endless conflict in the Middle East or most any place will end is anybody's guess. But a simple hello, and mean it, might be a good way to begin.
The Rev. Billy J. Cox is a retired United Methodist minister, a World War II veteran, and served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force chaplain corps.