Hello my friends,

Given the heaviness of the world, I wanted to reflect with you about what it's like caring deeply in a time that is so cruel and provide some practical steps I take myself to prevent from burning out. I hope you find them helpful and encouraging.

Recommended Resources:

​-Into The Gray Podcast. After a long break for family leave, I am officially resuming my weekly sermon podcast. I follow the lectionary and take a look at our world through the lens of the Bible and how we might respond. I call it a podcast for people who are seeking to follow Jesus in our chaotic world today. You can follow along through the link above.

​-Subversive Witness: Scripture's Call to Leverage Privilege by Dominique DuBois Gilliard. I have recommended this book before, but it is very relevant to our topic today, so I thought I would recommend it again. Subversive Witness asks us to grapple with privilege, indifference, and systemic sin in new ways by using clear biblical examples to reveal the complex nature of privilege and Christians' responsibility in stewarding it well. It really is phenomenal.

​-On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. I'm sure you have at least heard of this book by now. If not, it is a very timely and practical book on lessons from people who lived through tyrannical movements in the twentieth century. I found it very insightful and helpful.

​-The Anti-Vaccine Movement by Throughline. With vaccines being back in the news, I wanted to share this history podcast that traces the roots of the modern anti-vaccine movement, and of the fears that still fuel it, from a botched polio vaccine, to the discredited autism study, to today. This podcast always provides needed historical context to things happening today.

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Caring in a Cruel World.

Some days, the weight of this world feels like too much. Especially these past couple of weeks, I have felt pressed down by things like the growing threat of political violence in our own country, the mistreatment of immigrants and the homeless, ongoing wars, the genocide in Gaza, the human rights violations in the Congo and across other African nations, the accelerating crisis of climate change, and the misuse of Christianity itself as a tool for political power, greed, and oppression. The list could go on and on.

I want to make a difference. I long for the healing of this world. But some days, I feel overwhelmed and defeated. And from your messages, I know many of you feel that way too. It is like many of us are collectively asking, "What do we do?" and "Is anything we are doing making a difference?"

It helps me to remember that Jesus’ teachings were not delivered in a vacuum. They were not abstract spiritual ideas given to people living comfortable lives. They were words of life, hope, and resistance spoken directly to oppressed people under authoritarian rule. His parables, His miracles, His invitation to love enemies and seek justice were not naïve ideals, they were also brilliant, liberating acts of nonviolent resistance. They were a way of refusing to let cruelty dictate the terms of life.

As I remember this about Jesus' teachings and the oppressed who heard them, I have to remind myself that I have more in common with the Romans than I do the oppressed groups Jesus was speaking to. I am a straight, white, Christian man, living in one of the most powerful and wealthiest countries in the world. For many of us in my demographic, our work is centered around recognizing our privilege, the status we are given by society, and then leveraging that privilege in order to advocate for those who are suffering the most right now.

Authoritarianism in every age, from Jesus' time to ours, thrives on cruelty and fear. It tries to overwhelm us into despair and apathy. But the way of Jesus shows us another way.

So, here are a few practices that have helped me resist the weight of cruelty and persist in caring for this broken world without burning out:

1. When authoritarianism overwhelms you with cruelty, pick one thing and do it well.

Authoritarian powers flood us with crises to keep us paralyzed. The algorithms of our internet age keep those crisis constantly before us. Never before has humanity lived in a time where it can get a sense of all the horrible things that are happening in the entire world within minuets. It feels like there is too much to possibly engage. But Jesus said, “Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones… will not lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42).

The smallest act of love matters. So choose one thing you can do faithfully, whether it’s supporting migrants, helping the poor, spreading awareness, working for climate justice, or simply showing up for your neighbor, and do it well. Your care, no matter how small it feels, pushes back against cruelty. As Thomas Merton wisely said, "To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times. Frenzy destroys our inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful."

2. When authoritarianism wants you fearful and hopeless, stubbornly seek hope.

Hope is not naïve optimism. Hope is defiance. Paul writes, “Hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?” (Romans 8:24). Authoritarians thrive on despair, but we resist by stubbornly searching for signs of life. Read stories of oppressed communities who overcame impossible odds. Intentionally search out good news. Gather reminders that love still wins small victories every day. Refuse to allow your hope to be stifled.

3. When authoritarianism silences dissent, practice openness and accountability.

Power that cannot be questioned is not Christlike power. Jesus welcomed questions, even challenges. Think of Thomas’ doubts in John 20: Jesus did not shame him but invited him to see and touch. We resist authoritarianism when we create communities of honesty, where feedback is welcomed, transparency is fostered, and leaders are held accountable. This cultivates a culture of humility, not fear. We can practice that humility and accountability ourselves and hold those in power to those standards as well.

4. When authoritarianism leaves no room for joy, laugh, celebrate, and delight.

Authoritarianism is single-minded in its pursuit of control and wealth. It takes itself so seriously that it cannot laugh at itself and will not tolerate humorous critiques from others, but we can, even when we read the Bible.

One of my favorite humorous books of the Bible is Jonah. The authors of Jonah intentionally used irony, satire, and absurd situations as a self critique of the narrow-minded religious and nationalistic pride of Israel. The humor serves to challenge the original audience's own prejudices and expectations about God's mercy. It still does that for us today.

So, in the presence of Christian nationalism today, you can see why this book would add comic relief. Literally everything in Jonah repents and is trying to humbly work together, from nonbelievers on the boat, the wind, the sea, the whale, the king, the livestock, and even God (Jonah 3:10). But Jonah? Nope. Stubborn and thinks he knows best all the way to the end.

Two of the funniest parts of the book come near the end. Jonah is "greatly pleased" by the shade plant God gave him but then becomes "angry enough to die" when it is destroyed. Dramatic much? God points out the absurdity of this, asking why Jonah cares more about a plant he did not cultivate than about the 120,000 human lives and animals in Nineveh. Then the ironic crescendo is when Jonah's reason for fleeing to Tarshish are revealed. It was not that he doubted God's power, but that he was certain of God's compassion. "I knew you were merciful!" he loudly cries without the slightest bit of irony. He complains that he knew God would forgive Nineveh, which is the capital city of an archenemy of Israel, and that is precisely what he did not want to happen. Jonah didn't even want God to be compassionate, let alone himself. That will preach today.

However you find it, humor and joy can unmask the absurdity of oppression and arrogance of our time. Joy is not escape, it brings depth, it brings healing, and it is resistance. So laugh with friends. Celebrate life. Double down on joy, because joy restores strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

5. When authoritarianism refuses to rest, practice Sabbath as resistance.

Pharaoh, the first authoritarian ruler in the Bible, demanded brick quotas with no rest (Exodus 5:6–9). But God’s command of Sabbath was the opposite: a holy rhythm of resistance, declaring that our worth is not measured by output. Even in wilderness exile, God provided manna with built-in rest (Exodus 16:22–30). Sabbath is how we resist burnout. Rest is not weakness. Rest is rebellion against a system that wants us to grind ourselves into dust. Rest while authoritarians burn themselves out chasing power so that you can rise refreshed to resume the work of compassion.

6. When authoritarianism insists on isolation, find community.

Jesus sent His disciples out two by two (Mark 6:7). The early church formed communities that shared possessions, supported the vulnerable, and prayed with one another (Acts 2:44–47). Cruelty isolates; community heals. One of the stark wounds many of us share in this time is how we have lost church communities precisely because they prioritized authoritarians over Jesus. So, find people who share your commitments, and support each other as you work, rest, grieve, and hope together.

7. When authoritarianism distorts faith, cling to Jesus’ liberating way.

Authoritarians throughout history often misuse religion to sanctify their thirst for power. The same is true in our time as well. But Jesus announced good news for the poor, freedom for the oppressed, and release for the captives (Luke 4:18). His kingdom is not built on cruelty, but on compassion and justice. The more faith is co-opted for oppression, the more boldly we must proclaim the gospel of love.

We Are Not Alone

Friends, this is not easy work. Caring in a cruel world is exhausting. But remember this: we are not alone, and we are not going anywhere. The Spirit of God sustains us. The communion of saints surrounds us. And the love of Christ will have the last word.

So keep caring. Keep nonviolently resisting. Keep laughing. Keep resting. Keep hoping. Keep walking together.

Because in the end, love will outlast cruelty. Love will overcome despair. Love will have the final say.

Now I'd like to hear from you! Did you find this helpful? What thoughts came to your mind as you read? Feel free to respond to this email and share your thoughts with me. I look forward to reading them. New 30 Day Devotional: I recently wrote a 30 day devotional in hopes to provide a companion for people seeking to follow Jesus in our world today. You can read more about it here: $20.00 Following Jesus In A World Obsessed With Empires: 30 Days of reclaiming the hope, compassion, and justice of Jesus. Today, our world can often feel overwhelmed by darkness, division, and despair. I created this 30-day devotional to... Read more Get it now! ​ Ways to support: If you'd like to support this project, you can do so through one-time-gift of any amount you feel is right. You can also subscribe through a $5/mo, $15/mo, or $25/mo. Several others have also asked for a recurring gift option that is different from the ones offered here, like this one. If you'd like me to set up a different option for you, please just send me an email with the word "support" in the subject line. As always, I really want to thank all of you for reading and for all the ways you support me and this project every single week. I'm thankful for the ways we are building this together and hope it creates a lasting, positive change in our world along the way! I sincerely appreciate you all, Ben Remember, you can now view this and all previous newsletters as well as invite friends to join through this link: https://benjamin-cremer.ck.page/profile.

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