The world is a wondrous place, but there is something wrong with us.
July 9, 2007 (Monday) – A vote has been taken and there is now a new list of the Seven Wonders of the World. Egypt insists there is now only one Wonder and that is the site of the Pyramids of Giza. It was on the original list, compiled by the ancient Greeks, and is the only one still in existence. The other six, though wonders of their times, have vanished.
I’m not sure how any group came into being that can claim authority to conduct such a vote, but their list is impressive, and certainly an authentic list of wonders. It seems to me, however, that limiting a list of wonders in 2007 to seven is arbitrary and short-sighted. The world has become a wondrous place. We are surrounded by wonderful things on a daily basis. There are natural wonders, like the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon. There are architectural wonders, like the Great Wall of China, which made the new list. But what of the technological wonders, like computers, radio, television, the xray devices, image resonance machines, etc. Are not the space station, the many satellites and space probes also wonders? And the medical wonders, like the smallpox vaccine and the polio vaccine, or the miracle medicines, such as Penicillin, steroidal meds, etc. Or the whole idea of surgery, a relatively new concept when we consider the thousands of years we lived without it. How about the new stuff, like plasma TV, hanging on the wall like a picture, or the telephones, connected by fiber optic miracles, or the wireless variety. On and on we could go. As far as building projects, which made up most of the original Seven Wonders of the World, today’s structures eclipse almost anything of the past. How about that new building in Dubai, which will be a skyscraper in which every floor will revolve independently of the others? My, oh my. Tell me, please, why we want a list of only seven Wonders, when we are inundated with them. This puny little list of mine in this essay has just scratched the surface. It doesn’t even begin to examine even the categories, much less the individual achievements.
Isn’t it ironic, however, that in such a world of wonders, we still have wars, malnutrition, insane violence, rapes, robberies, and the like? And isn’t is strange that our main objective of making as much money as possible has created a mindset that is oblivious to the dangers of destroying the very planet on which we live? It should be obvious to the most casual observer that something is wrong with us and our way of thinking.
God saw our dilemna and sent His Son — His only Son — to help us. The way Jesus told the story, he was preceded by a long line of prophets who tried to help, but they were all killed. When the Son came, killing Him became the priority of those who were motivated by self-interest.
What is our hope? Our hope is in Christ and His power to change hearts and minds. He is able to save us. We who know Christ can make a difference in this world by living for Christ and sharing our faith with others.
Now we have a new list of “Wonders,” but it is only a partial list because the world is full of “Wonders.” The people of this world are at once its enemy and its hope. We humans are indeed a motley crowd.