The whole world is going to wrack and to ruin. You can’t trust anybody anymore – politicians, police officers, politicians – they are all incompetent and corrupt. Nobody wants to work any more, immorality is everywhere, doctors are just pill pushers, schools don’t teach anything useful. . .

We could go on and on with our litany of the woes of the world. Some of it is true, maybe a lot of it. Do we make the world any better by pointing out all the faults we see?

And when I say “we” I mean those of us who call ourselves Christians. How is it that we have become known as the leading voices among the fault finders of this world?

Most people around us know that there is a lot wrong with the world. They don’t need us to tell them that. And they certainly don’t need us to nod our heads in agreement when they complain about the faults of those we should be able to trust.

Is there nothing good in the world anymore? Have we given up on looking for things that are true, just, lovely and virtuous? If there are things like that, we need to take note and offer praise and encouragement.

Jesus told us that we should judge prophets, teachers, leaders, by their fruits. We know that there is a lot of unattractive fruit out there, but why is it that when people look to Christians for good fruit they find so many thistles and thorns?

If we want to make the world a better place, the place to start is with the man in the mirror. He is the only person that we can do anything about. The world needs the sweet fruit of love, joy and peace that the Holy Spirit gives to those who purify themselves from the negative and prickly fruit that comes so naturally from us.