​In his book-turned-movie Tortured for Christ, Richard Wurmbrand said he wasn't angry with his Russian Communist torturers for the same reason he wasn't mad at rabid dogs for doing what is only natural to them. The communists are sinners given over completely to the lustful and wicked cravings of their hearts in an atheistic system that glorified them to be that way. They are people who do - in fact - have the moral law written on their hearts because of them being made in the image of God. They are without excuse for their horrible deeds. Yet even in that, Wurmbrand recognized that they were the real Walking Dead, living only as the sinners they know how. And living as the products of being shaped by a system and told lies for years in their atheistic government. 

In our last newsletter Derek said that we were praying that God would re-open the door with Alexa, our Roma friend who cleaned for us. The truth? Derek may have been praying for that, but meanwhile I had been quite content that no Roma people had been ringing our doorbell recently. In fact not even many of our neighbors have been ringing our bell much since we returned home. I can submit to God if He brings people again, I suppose. But I can’t really bring myself to PRAY for them to return. I idolize my comfort and control of my schedule far too much to pray for those things to be challenged. 

Power. Fame. Money.  Many would put their life on the line for any of these. The chance to obtain any one of these things might make risking failure worthwhile. In the sense that all humans have these same desires, this common pursuit unites humanity. It's something we all share, whether rich or poor. But in another sense, these very desires we hold in common are desires which, at their core, seek to separate us from the rest of humanity. Each of these common pursuits ends in our separation from others. To have power means to have influence and control over others. If I am to be powerful in any real sense, others must be powerless, or at least less powerful in comparison to me. We can see the same thing with fame. Were all people to have the same fame and notoriety, of what significance would the word "fame" have as compared to "normal?" One who seeks fame would never want everyone else to be famous, for then fame would carry little weight and influence. Likewise, money would be of little value were everyone to have an abundance of it. Income and wealth require disparities for them to carry any useful distinction and significance. And so it is that the very desires which tend to control us and unify us in our humanity, are likewise pursuits which seek to separate and distinguish us. ​