The 2020 Experience

2020 has been quite a year so far, and not necessarily in a good way. Between the unexpected deaths of prominent figures and everyday citizens alike, a global pandemic, political unrest, a major economic downturn, and the general “What’s Next?” feeling that basically everyone one has been feeling, 2020 seems to be the bad dream that just won’t end. We know every year has its ups and downs, but 2020 seems anomalous in how bad a year it is. In general every year of life is something like a roller coaster at an amusement park, but 2020 in particular seems to have had all the lows and none of the highs.

Yes, 2020 has been bad by most subjective measures, but it’s not unprecedented. While some believe 2020 will go down as the worst year in modern history, others would argue that honor still belongs to1968. In 1968, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated, violent riots broke out across the country, the Vietnam War was experiencing its deadliest year, and the world experienced a H3N2 pandemic (which was referred to as the Hong Kong Flu). Whether 1968 was worse than 2020 is debatable, but the similarities are certainly evident. 1968 also happened to be an election year just like 2020, and some of the personalities and rhetoric involved were very similar to what we’re experiencing now. The 1968 election was found to have been subject to influence by a foreign nation. Does that sound familiar? In the end, which year was worse doesn’t really matter. The point is that no matter how bad things might seem, we’ve seen the like before.

In fact, if you go farther back in history, you’ll find that humanity has seen worse. The COVID pandemic seems bad. We’re nearing a year of being affected by the pandemic and hundreds of thousands of people have died worldwide. In 1347, the world experienced a second major outbreak of the Bubonic Plague that led to the disease being called the Black Death. It is estimated that the Black Death was responsible for the deaths of a third of the European population at the time. The disease was also credited with being instrumental in a rise in war, crime, political upheaval, and religious persecution. That certainly does not sound like it was a good time to be alive.

At first, it might seem like much of the world’s woes result from factors beyond our control. Disease, storms, earthquakes, and all other examples of major natural calamities have befallen the world and led to major loss of life and misery. It would be easy to dismiss all the bad happenings as being out of our control, but are they really? Sure, in all the examples given so far, disease has played a part in loss of life and the negative experiences of the people in the world. However, war, crime, and political madness were also present in all of the above examples of bad years, and those factors cannot just be dismissed as natural disasters. It seems humanity bears its fair share of the blame. What’s worse is that some of it may be avoidable, but we as a people never seem to learn our lessons. That’s especially clear in the contrast between 1968 and 2020. In 1968, many would have argued that America was bad when it came to racial harmony, taking care of the poor and sick, and avoiding pointless wars. Looking at the events that have occurred so far in 2020, many would also argue that Americans haven’t moved past those problems. So maybe the right question isn’t which was a worse year between 1968 and 2020. Maybe the better question is “Why didn’t we learn the lessons following 1968 that would have helped us prevent or mitigate the problems we’re seeing in 2020?” Are humans just doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again?

When you read the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, you just might believe the answer to that question is “Yes.” The Israelites didn’t just experience a year of bad circumstances. They went through prolonged periods of bondage, war, and subjugation, and most of it was self inflicted. They had a major problem with trusting and obeying God. He brought them out of Egypt, and they responded by worshipping idols. He delivered them to the Promised Land, and they disobeyed his commands. He gave them victories over their enemies, and they grew arrogant and prideful. Just think about when Stephen was on trial and he recounted the history of the Israelites and their mistakes (Acts 7:1-53). He summarized the cause of their problems pretty clearly:

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” - Acts 7:51-53

The people did not trust in God as they should have. In fact, they fell into a pattern of resisting God and what He wanted for them. Perhaps, we aren’t so much different from the Isrealites. Unlike the people in the Old Testament, we have direct access to the Holy Spirit who lives in all believers, yet when trials come, too often we make the mistake of relying on things outside of us rather than on that which resides inside of us.

On top of that, too many of us forget what the Bible tells us about love.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:8

If our sinfulness and disobedience is the root of so much of the bad occurrences that befall us, then love is our way to rise above it all. 2020 has been terrible in so many ways, but how much better would it have been if we loved as the Bible commands. Not everyone believes in wearing masks in response to the COVID pandemic, but what if everyone complied because they loved their fellow people enough to want to protect them just in case? What if our political leaders made decisions affecting our healthcare and economic systems out of love for their constituents rather than political gamesmanship? What would the response to the incidents of police brutality have been if everyone loved others enough to empathize with the victims, families of victims, and people that fear they might one day become victims? Would 2020 be the same terrible year it has turned out to be? Sure, people would have still died, and the world would still have faced challenges, but would we be mired in the same amount negativity that we are now or would we as a people have found a way to rise above it all?

2020 has been a wild ride full of tragedy, but perhaps the biggest tragedy would be for us to experience all of this and still not learn anything. For Believers in particular, we should take 2020 as a lesson. Whether we're dealing with a year of craziness for the world at large or just a season within our own lives where it seems that everything is going wrong, God is the key to survival and living the way he directed is the best way to navigate the rough patches that we all inevitably experience.

Chris Lawyer

Image courtesy of filmdaily.co