Food for Thought from the Breadbasket of Europe: Reflections on Ukraine, Russia, and the World in which We Live

I was planning this week on writing a second installment about Bible verses that are taken out of context, but with recent developments in Eastern Europe, I found my thoughts coalescing around other topics. So instead, I’ll be sharing some of my multi-track-train of thought regarding these current events and how they can serve as a reminder to us of some important truths.

In the early hours after Russia’s attacks on Ukraine began on Thursday, I heard multiple people on the news, on social media, and through private conversations express amazement that such a turn of events was possible in the 21^st century. It was as if they were genuinely stunned that with all our technological advancement, global collaboration, and general “progress,” it was still possible for countries to want to forcibly take over other countries and for individuals to be so power-hungry that they are willing to sacrifice countless lives to get what they want. “I can’t believe this is happening in 2022.” “This is just unreal that we are facing this in the 21^st century.” Such were the general utterances.

I’ll admit, when I first heard this sentiment expressed, I was inclined to agree. As much as we hear talk of “world peace,” a “global community,” showing kindness to others, and just “getting along,” it can be hard to imagine that there are still people who seek to cause division, assert dominance, and fracture harmony on the world stage. As much as we hear about the past cruelties of Hitler and Stalin, it can be hard to imagine that similarly-minded men are able to rise to and remain in places of power in the present. But once I started to ruminate on the shock that so many people were showing, I realized there are two reasons the recent conflict in the breadbasket of Europe shouldn’t shock us at all.

An important side note: the shock that I am referring to here is not the experiential shock that those who are actually living through these events first-hand are facing but rather the perplexed shock of outside observers whose day-to-day lives are continuing essentially as usual. The traumatic shock of being forced to flee your home on foot, of being separated from family members you might never see again, of seeing and hearing and feeling the places you know and love be obliterated by a neighboring, foreign military—the shock that these things are happening to your home and you are the one having to make unthinkable decisions is completely warranted, and nothing said in this post should be construed as trivializing or belittling that. Now that that’s cleared up, let’s get to those reasons that outside observers of these events shouldn’t really be surprised.

Understanding current events is next to impossible when accurate history is not understood.

I would venture a guess that most people have the association “Hitler=bad” in their awareness of world history. But how many people know why he is one of the most infamous men in history? Other than the fact that his regime killed millions of people, how many people know what motivated him, why he was able to rise to power in the first place, or what his goal in life was? How many people know about the causal connection between how the end of World War I was handled and how World War II began? How many people comprehend the nature of shifting alliances throughout history, or are even aware, for example, that the United States and the Soviets were allies before they were enemies? How many people understand the ways in which the map of Europe was drawn and redrawn and redrawn again over the course of the past several hundred years?

It’s a famous saying from George Santayana that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and an equally famous variation on the theme, from Winston Churchill, that “those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I would wholeheartedly agree with both men, but I would go one step further and say that those who do not understand history are not able to recognize when others—or themselves—repeat it. When we fail to understand how events cause other events, how actions (or lack of actions) have ripple effects, how past atrocities are not unconnected from the present but rather fall within a succession of days, each one touching the one after it until tomorrow becomes today, then it is no wonder we find ourselves shocked when the things we thought were reserved to the history books suddenly splash into our insulated “peace, love, and harmony” lives.

History is not just dusty old stories of days long gone. History is the events of the past that have had direct consequences on events of today. And if we want to avoid seeing more repeats of the world’s lowlight reel, we would do well to seek out accurate accounts of the past, to become students of the mistakes, successes, triumphs, and failures of those who have gone before us, and to become well-informed citizens of our local communities, our nations, and our world, so that we can understand where we’ve been and where we’re headed and course-correct accordingly. When we do understand these things, we won’t be so shocked by what we see on the news. But there’s another reason we shouldn’t be shocked that “something like this is happening in our modern (or post-modern) society.”

Human nature is just as fallen today as it has been throughout history.

Some of the astonished remarks mentioned above revealed a lack of historical awareness, but what they also reveal is a misplaced hope in the betterment of humanity through human striving. We have global athletic events such as the Olympics with themes focusing on togetherness; we have diplomatic bodies with at least a stated purpose of preserving world peace; we have technological advancements that were the stuff of science fiction mere decades ago; we have remote work and social media networks that connect and humanize people around the world in a way never before experienced. Shouldn’t we be past ethnic conflicts? Shouldn’t we be past reckless hubris? Shouldn’t we be past bloody wars over pieces of land? So the thinking goes.

But the answer to those questions is, “No, we shouldn’t.” Because no amount of technological, diplomatic, or goodwill-engendering “progress” will change the fact that the default of human beings is self-serving, self-righteous self-exaltation that seeks personal glory instead of God’s glory, that seeks to live by our own law instead of God’s, and that seeks to build our own thrones instead of kneeling in worship at the throne of the King of Kings. We have no reason to expect humanity to be doing better today than it did in previous centuries.

Humans cannot evolve into morally superior beings; we can’t work our way into an unblemished state; we can’t repair the seared consciences we were born with. “As it is written: ‘None are righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one’” (Romans 3:10-12, ESV). This means that all the self-help books, all the sensitivity trainings, all the social harmony exercises are impotent to root out the problems of pride, prejudice, racism, hatred, envy, and greed that characterize our fallenness. Only one thing has the power to do that, or rather, only one Person.

The One who created the unblemished human nature is the only one able to remove the blemishes that disfigured that nature once Adam and Eve disobeyed. He can do this because He came himself to live among us as Jesus Christ, fully man yet still fully God, and lived the perfect, righteous, blameless life that none of us are able to. Then He took our punishment for us—nothing less than death—so that anyone who believes in Him can be rescued from experiencing that punishment themselves. And finally, He sent His Spirit to give new life to those who believe in Him, enabling those people to forsake the vices of their old, fallen nature and be changed from the inside out. In the absence of this regenerative work, then, there is no lasting hope of peace on earth and goodwill among men.

In short, we can hardly be surprised when those enslaved to sin keep on sinning against God and against their fellow human beings. And until we recognize that none of us has the power to fix anyone else, we will keep being surprised when our collective efforts to “make the world a better place” and “live in peace” fail time and time again. May the horrid brokenness that we see in our world today drive us to admit that we cannot help ourselves. May it cause us to cry out to the mercy of the good Creator God whose kindness draws people to repentance (see Romans 2:4). May it prompt us to kneel in humility and raise our hands in surrender, acknowledging that we are powerless to do better—to be better—on our own. And may it light a fire within us to carry the hope of Jesus into the darkness with an urgency like never before.