In his work on Winston Churchill’s lonely time of political exile in the dark decade of the 1930’s, historian William Manchester includes a moving peroration to one of Churchill’s many speeches during this time, and a message whose substance applies far outside of the narrow context of his place and time:

“Two things, I confess, have staggered me, after a long parliamentary experience, in these debates. The first has been the dangers that have so quickly come upon us in a few years, and have been transforming our position and the whole outlook of the world. Secondly, I have been staggered by the failure of the House of Commons to react effectively against those dangers. That, I am bound to say, I never expected. I would never have believed that we should have been allowed to go on getting into this plight, month by month and year by year, and that even the Government’s own confessions of error would have produced no concentration of parliamentary opinion and force capable of lifting our efforts to the level of emergency. I say that unless the House resolves to find out the truth for itself it will have committed an act of abdication of duty without parallel in its long history [1].”

The sentiments of Winston Churchill are not his alone, though they have seldom been expressed so honestly and so eloquently. In times of trial and tribulation, both the great mass of people and their craven and cowardly leaders often seek some diversion from the momentous issues at hand, seeking desperately for any kind of distraction to rescue them from the difficult choices that beckon. We ought not to be surprised that people in general are not prepared to face these difficulties on their own; few people have acquired practice in clearsighted examination of the dark truths of this world and most people do not fancy themselves capable of doing anything about it even when they do have some vague awareness and unease at the shambolic state of our world and of its institutions.

Nor ought we to be surprised that our leaders, whether elected or appointed or inherited, show so little backbone in facing the storms and tempests of our world in times of trouble, seeing as most of them are far more concerned with saving their own offices and reputation and desperately hoping to lay low and buy time in the hopes that no action or difficult decisions will prove necessary, casting blame on all of those whose blunt declaration of unpleasant truths seeks to force an unwelcome decision on the unwilling.

Of course, in the end, generally those who have openly and with extreme difficulty and in the face of great hostility dealt honestly and honorably with issues of great concern are vindicated by events if they are strong enough to endure until their faith is rewarded. Having this faith, though, is not a simple or a straightforward task. To stand strong on principle and remain honorable in the face of gossip and slander, to be merciful with those in the same position, to remain good even as the refining of trials helps to make us great, is a task of serious difficulty. We may wish for ourselves simpler times where we can be free to enjoy a vastly less stressful existence, but we cannot choose our times; we can only choose how to respond to them. The strength that we need to endure and thrive in such times cannot be our own strength alone, for we are all creatures of great weakness, with dim eyes unable to see far, and with but feeble power on our own.

It is impossible to look upon any corner of this world, whether we examine the corrupt affairs of the world at large and of the governments and businesses and institutions within it, or whether we look at the broken state of our own people or even of our own families and communities. Everywhere we turn, whether we examine the moral or economic situations of our place and time, wherever we may cast our eye, we see the consequences of great evil, whether it is in corruption and abuse by people in power, or whether it is the fear and insecurity that results from such darkness. We may choose to shut our eyes to it, may whistle nervously if by some ill fortune we have to pass by close to it, but it remains there nonetheless like a malevolent force that threatens to overwhelm us at any time.

Our task, if we choose to accept it, is to face the evils of this world with eyes open and free of any self-deception while avoiding the despair and self-pity that arises from a lack of faith and confidence. This is no simple task. If we place our trust in men (or women) we will be let down as surely as darkness follows the day when they inevitably show their faults and weaknesses in times of stress or trial. If our faith is in ourselves we must blind ourselves to our own weaknesses and proclivities to folly that are a constant threat to our happiness and well-being. Even our faith in the benevolence of our God and of His Christ may be shaken when we are faced with situations that we consider beyond our ability to handle and cope with. And yet if we are to endure and emerge victorious we must draw a strength outside of ourselves from what cannot be seen in the darkness of our fragile existence under the sun.

We are betrayed in many ways in this life. We are betrayed by the wickedness of others against us or against our loved ones. We are betrayed by unintentional slights or by the terrors and fears that we have picked up as a result of our experiences. We are betrayed by the fickleness of those we thought to be loyal friends and partners who seek to save themselves from difficulties by casting us adrift in times of trouble. We are betrayed by time and chance and circumstance and the unkindness of life in a fallen and depraved world that has rebelled against its Creator. We are betrayed by the cruel dashing of our hopes and expectations and vain plans made in ignorance to the true state of affairs and of the shoals and reefs that our souls crash against as we vainly attempt to steer our lives through the dangerous currents that we face in this life, no matter how young or old we are, no matter how feeble or mighty we are, or no matter how wise or foolish we are. We are even betrayed, at least in our minds and hearts, by our God when our unrealistic expectations of happiness and success are thwarted and when we cannot perceive what good will God has for our lives.

Yet if we are to succeed in this life, we need to develop appropriate levels of trust and confidence. We need to be built up and encouraged by others in times of sorrow or anguish so that we can avoid despair, and we need to be considerate and empathetic enough to encourage others in their own dark times. We need to be strong enough to accept unpleasant truths about ourselves at times and grow in godlly character and wisdom without becoming embittered at those who tell us what we do not want to hear, even as we must sometimes tell others what they do not want to hear but what they really do need to hear for their own sakes. Yet we must speak the truth in love, not seeking to glorify ourselves or present ourselves as someone special, but rather seek to edify and build up others as the humble vessels of God’s grace and truth to a world in desperate need of both.

However, we ought not to be surprised about this, for we have been warned that such times would come. For our times are like those days of which Paul spoke to his spiritual son Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, saying: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” Surely we live in such times, and such times have existed whenever a society has embraced darkness and sought to escape knowledge and responsibility for the consequences of repercussons of its unwise and ungodly behavior.

Yet in these dark times we find encouragement from the same source, as Paul continues in 2 Timothy 3:12-15: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” We need to look at the greater context of the events of our lives, remembering that those who betray us are themselves betrayed and deceived, so that we can remain loving and gracious in our own conduct even as we deplore the evil that results from the mistakes and blunders of others and ourselves. We do not choose our times, whether they are pleasant or stressful, days of darkness or light, but we can choose to deal with them with all the strength and wisdom that we can receive from above, all the while encouraging those who struggle alongside us. For we are not alone in feeling betrayed by our times and by ourselves and by those around us.

[1] William Manchester, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone: 1932-1940. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1988), 217.