Further on the horrible events from yesterday: the chances of dying from violence for most of us are very low.
Mychael posted on behalf of Scott the following, which is true, but there is a corollary. (again, I don’t link to Facebook).

PSA from my husband.
The probability (p value) of any random American being killed by gunfire from a complete stranger (after taking away suicide) over the lifetime is about .00016.
That’s not s typo.
*note: the odds are even better if you a) are not a criminal b) don’t live in large metro areas.
You are most likely going to die in your late 70s of heart disease.
So, go about your daily life. Enjoy your kids, your hobbies, whatever. Eat right, exercise and don’t smoke.

The corollary is not that we should fear, but that we should live deliberately. To choose to work with Christ means that you will be struggling against the narrative of any age and having to live deliberately. You need to remove your bad habits, You will be working for the glory of God in whatever vocation you find (and yes, motherhood is a vocation, as is making shoes or plowing a field).

There are many who will talk about spirituality. Ignore them. Those who claim to have good mental health generally do not, and those who say they are spiritually advanced are indeed advanced. In evil.

(Yes, I have just used illustrations from Alt Hero. A good example of state coercion as temptation).

Matthew 7:13-21

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will know them by their fruits.

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

The sheepskin is a pun: prophets often wore such — the greatest prophet, John the Baptizer, wore a goatskin and ate locusts. The ascetic mode of living is, almost instinctively, seen as more righteous. But that does not mean the person is righteous. They can eschew meat, concentrate on their spirituality and live asexually — and be completely evil. You will tell them by the ruin they wreak in other’s lives.

Not in how they feel. Feelings are useful. They should be aligned with our conscience, so when we do evil we feel wrong and guilty, and so shame and disgust help keep us on that narrow road of righteousness.

The sheepskin is a pun: prophets often wore such — the greatest prophet, John the Baptizer, wore a goatskin and ate locusts. The ascetic mode of living is, almost instinctively, seen as more righteous. But that does not mean the person is righteous. They can eschew meat, concentrate on their spirituality and live asexually — and be completely evil. You will tell them by the ruin they wreak in other’s lives.

Not in how they feel. Feelings are useful. They should be aligned with our conscience, so when we do evil we feel wrong and guilty, and so shame and disgust help keep us on that narrow road of righteousness.

However, this has never been the narrative of the age. It is far easier to blame others. It feels good to say that our tribe is right and proper, or that our political movement is our salvation, and anything we do to promote these is justified.

But that is what we are not called to. To use a recent metaphor, Christianity is a red pill. It is looking at the reality of what we are, seeing how feeble our attempts to reform and repent are, and realising we need Christ.

We do not need to like this truth. It destroys the narratives of tribal pride, political progress and self esteem. We do, however, have to life in the light of it.