Dystopia – “an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.”  (This is the definition I got off of Google.)

What is fascination with dystopian societies?  Seriously?  Why do we seem so hell-bent on moving towards a dystopian society?

Who thinks this is a good idea?

Most of our “entertainment” is oriented towards dystopia and death and degrading.  It’s not entertaining.  It’s deadly.

But I’m not one to blame the entertainment industry.  They are just feeding us what we as humans want, and making a solid profit off of it.

A dystopian society is a society that has lost hope.  It has lost the will to live.  It sees death and destruction as a better alternative than life.  In a sense, it’s no different from suicide.  I don’t say that lightly either or in jest.  I’m being serious.

But the question is why?  Why is our society so fixated on moving towards death and destruction?

Is it a lack of vision?  We’ve have many times in the past where there was a lack of vision.

Is it lack of leadership?  We’ve certainly had many times in our nation’s short history in which we seriously lacked leadership.

Is it lack of purpose? Maybe?

Is it just a natural part of the cycle of civilization?  Who knows.

It seems right now that the best we are offered is maintenance and survival.  That’s not good.  Humans need to be oriented towards thriving and growth and forward progress, or else they wither and die.  Just go in to many nursing homes and see the effect of what it means to survive each day.  It’s not pretty.

But put these same people in an environment where there are children, animals, and plants to take care of and there is radical improvement in the lives of these people.

It’s the difference between waiting to die and striving to live to make life better for others.

Our society seems to be waiting to die.  It lacks vision.  It lacks competent leadership.  It lacks purpose.

Maybe part of the issue is that we have put too much faith, hope, and trust into something that can’t provided what we need most.

Maybe we are slouching towards dystopia because of a combination of many things.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  Our future isn’t set in stone.  Our future isn’t fixed.  It can change in an instant.  And it starts with you.  Yes, you dear reader.

Will you accept that life is about survival or that life is more than just survival?

Will you accept crappy leadership that seems to go no where – whether in government, religion, education, etc.?  Or will you step up to the plate?

Will you accept “entertainment” that thrives on death and destruction and violence and call it normal?  Or will you engage in entertainment that is actually life-giving?

Will you paint a picture in your mind of a world that becomes darker and more violent?  Or will you be a light on a lamp stand that proclaims Good News?

If you wait for someone else to do these things, you are choosing dystopia.  You are waiting for someone else to take responsibility.  You are rejecting the call of God to respond to God’s Good News.

It’s time to put your money where your mouth is.  It’s time to put up or shut up.  It’s time to get moving.  Baby steps.  One step at a time.  The first step is the hardest.  It’s the decision to stop accepting the direction we are heading.  It’s the decision that says there is something more, something better.  It’s the decision that says that now is the time to get moving.  Life awaits.  It’s time to share that life with others.