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When, after wartime trauma, people rebuild and try to put the horrors of war behind them without studying the root causes and problems or understanding why those atrocities occurred, the worst parts of history will likely repeat themselves if those issues are not addressed.

For example, the Nazis sold their people on an ideology of hate and supremacy.  But it is unclear whether that was merely an excuse to rob, pillage, and plunder their own citizens—especially Jews, who were richer and better off—as well as neighboring countries, to prop up their failing economy.

If this was the case, then the lack of discernment in the aftermath of the war and its devastation means that the German people and the victims will never truly know the primary reason the war occurred throughout Europe and beyond.

Hate and ideology drove the cover-up of the real reason: greed and the need to cling to and fund their power by robbing citizens of their wealth, including generational wealth, and their humanity—causing them to commit mass atrocities in the name of supremacy when their real intention was to rob their own citizens and other countries blind.

Furthermore, we can deduce that this is not an isolated problem.  Countries where autocracy takes root, such as Syria, have suffered much the same problems.

Therefore, this is probably pervasive in autocratic systems, where citizens are robbed blind and scapegoated through hate.  At the same time, other “Sodom and Gomorrah” distractions take place to divert attention from what is actually happening.

The people become poorer as a result, with the middle class shrinking year after year until most people are below the poverty line and the economy as a whole shrinks to third-world status.  The rich would initially become richer, but would later become poorer due to a lack of customers and purchasing power.

Then this impoverished country would largely act like the Nazis, invading other countries to pillage and plunder in an attempt to make up for declining revenues and prop up its failing regime.

In order not to repeat the worst parts of history, we must confront the horrors of the past and be mindful of being hoodwinked and led astray, especially by hate, extreme ideologies, and compromising sins that allow us to be exploited not just by Caesar wannabes but also by foreign adversaries.  

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Believe it or not, when you experience diminishing returns, no matter how much time, talent, and treasure you invest, you will receive progressively less in return.

When you experience unsustainable returns, no matter how much time, talent, and treasure you invest, you will receive less than nothing in return, leading to inevitable collapse and ruin.

Delusional and abusive aggressors may believe that eliminating the opposition will resolve irrecoverable losses, but doing so does nothing to address unsustainable problems.

As in Syria, such a system will inevitably implode, resulting in catastrophic failures and social and economic collapse.

Unfortunately, the survival of some societies depends on ignorant and highly abusive aggressors recognizing the problem of unsustainability, leaving only a slim hope of repairing the broken system.

Again, pyrrhic victories in unsustainable systems draw more people into wasting additional time, talent, and treasure on what will ultimately result in greater, inevitable, and catastrophic failures (the more people deceived, the greater the apocalyptic possibilities)—and an inability to retain those victories, gains, or conquests amid total socioeconomic devastation, ultimately leading to even greater losses and consequences.

Does it matter how many territories are initially conquered if they cannot be held?

Believe it or not, victories that cannot be sustained are, in essence, pyrrhic and grandiose, as they lead to greater overextension and overestimation of temporary power, particularly when resources are stretched beyond sustainable and reasonable limits.

Battles continue until the war ends in victory or defeat, and the losing side must ultimately cede the territories it initially won.

For example, after World War I, Germany ceded about 13 percent of its European territory and 100 percent of its colonial empire in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

During World War II, although France, Poland, and surrounding territories were initially conquered, Germany could not retain control of them. After the war, it lost roughly 25 percent (about one-quarter) of its pre-1937 landmass, and Germany was divided into East and West.

Did the aggressors in Germany learn their lesson after the First World War?

No, because the Leipzig War Crimes Trials were a joke—a slap on the wrist. It enabled the aggressors to start another world war.

Were the Nuremberg Trials any better?

That remains to be seen. Although the trials successfully held the aggressors who started the war accountable for crimes against humanity, resulting in death sentences, life imprisonment, and prison terms, they did not fully address the root causes of aggression or its aftermath.

The problem is that aggressors seldom learn from past mistakes or history, and they often fail to recognize their wrongdoing when committing acts of aggression, abusing their power, or harming others to achieve selfish gains.

Tragically, the greater the pyrrhic victories in unsustainable systems, the greater the catastrophic losses, economic devastation, dystopian nightmares, and crimes against humanity.

If the world wishes to avoid another world war, we must all work together to ensure that the darkest chapters of history do not repeat themselves through aggressors who cause harm and initiate hostilities, thereby creating unsustainable systems with unimaginable and irrecoverable losses.

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Dear Veterans,

Where the few have dared to travel,

Where the few have conquered their fears,

Where the few have had the courage

To stand their ground, sacrifice, and fight.

You have traversed valleys

Of seen and unseen challenges and horrors,

Prevailed against the odds,

And are still standing with honor and valor.

Thank you for defending our freedoms

And protecting our democracy with your lives.

Thank you for your dedication and service.

For the people and future generations, 

Thank you.

🇺🇸🗽

 

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Imagine that you are the embodiment of Christ: you see with His eyes and feel with His soul. What is your impression of the world, of humanity, and of those around you?

Would you find the fruitlessness of Caesar's insatiable desires for satanic power and control amusing or sad?

Amusing, in that absurd maniacs who wallow in the mud and muck of some grandiose delusion of perfection and ultimate power seek to coerce others into doing the same?

Or would you find it sad that abusers become trapped in perverse power trips involving harm, crimes against humanity, and sins against the Lord, knowing that everything and everyone belongs to the Lord?

Or would you feel sadness at the senselessness of their losing their souls to insatiable desires, wasting away in front of their self-imposed Mirror of Erised, accomplishing nothing but harm and crimes against humanity?

What would you see when you looked deep inside their souls, beyond their masks of deceit?

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We are called to be humble priests (intercessors), prophets (witnesses), and kings (stewards).

Priest: To offer spiritual sacrifices, pray as an intercessor, and sanctify everyday life by bringing people to the Lord.*

Prophet: To speak the Lord's truth, witness to the Gospel, and guide others in living faithfully.*

King: To exercise moral leadership, serve with humility, fight against sin, and help advance the Lord's kingdom of justice and love.*

The New Testament states that the "universal priesthood" describes all believers, not the sinners, as a royal priesthood called to offer spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:9).

Though only ordained priests are considered the embodiment of Christ (John 20:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:20), believers must serve in the light of Christ.

Therefore, we have a duty to carry out Jesus Christ’s highest commandment: to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22: 37–40; Matthew 7:12), on which all the Law and the Prophets rely.

When we fail to respect the Lord's children and honor the Lord, and cannot imagine ourselves in others’ shoes (as witnesses to the Gospel), we break fellowship and cause harm.

When we violate the Lord’s highest commandments, we will no longer be shepherds or kings (moral leaders), but wolves and demented animals devoid of love, peace, decency, and honor; we will no longer be part of the holy covenant, but unholy and damned.

As kings, we must lead with truth, defend the holy, fight against sin, and help advance the Lord's kingdom of justice and love.

How strong must our defense and fight against sin and the unholy be?

According to Scripture, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6, Luke 17:2, Mark 9:2).

As prophets, we must proclaim the Lord's truth, bear witness with the Holy Spirit, and guide others to live faithfully through the Holy Spirit.

As priests, we must sanctify life with purity of heart, honor the Lord with our faith and devotion, offer spiritual sacrifices, act as mediators between the Lord and the people, call forth the Holy Spirit in love, and teach peace—the kind of peace that can come only from purity of heart, the calmness of the Holy Spirit, and holiness of mind.

Imagine you're Christ; knowing your duty to the Lord and calling upon the Holy Spirit, what do you see?

*Referenced from a Google AI search:  Called to be priests, prophets, and kings.”

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Go Figure

 

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The pilot ordered all the passengers to the back of the plane, as demanded by the VIP acting like a king, and requested that they take their luggage aft with them.  Soon after takeoff, the plane went into an unrecoverable spin due to the extreme imbalance of its center of gravity.

No matter how much baggage and how many people the pilot and copilot tossed out of the plane, it still crashed.  Go figure.

The lumberjack proceeded to cut down all the trees in the forest.  Now it's just barren, arid land, devoid of life.  Go figure.

The store owner, fearing robbery, brought a shotgun and, to demonstrate how unafraid he was, pointed it at every person entering the store.  Eventually, he scared away everyone, including his customers and workers.  He promptly went bankrupt.  Go figure.

The idiot went against sage advice.  Then everything went wrong.  Go figure.

A man spent his days sowing hate and his nights planting fear.  Nothing good sprouted.  Go figure.

It didn't work, so he did it again. And again, it didn't work.  He doubled down and tried again, even though it didn't work. And again, it didn't work.  Go figure.

A man stumbled and fell in complete darkness after destroying all the light bulbs.  Go figure.

A high priest, jealous of another rabbi's rising popularity, wanted to dash the hopes of the rabbi's followers, so he manipulated the authorities into having him killed.  And he created the greatest martyr of all time: Jesus Christ.  Go figure.

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