Under Mao Zedong’s rule in China from 1949 to 1976, those who opposed or resisted him were denounced as “the enemy.” Anyone with authority, religious conviction, family loyalty, or moral tradition had to be weakened. Land and wealth were confiscated because millions would not willingly surrender to the collective control of the state. Estimates of unnatural or premature deaths during that period reach as high as 75 million—through starvation, forced labor, executions, and political purges.

Economic grievances against this class of people were turned into a moral indictment. Weapons were placed in the hands of children. Young people were taught that ordinary restraints no longer applied to the “enemy.” Cruelty was justified—even celebrated—as advancing society. Compassion for parents was labeled weakness. Mercy was redefined as betrayal.

The method common to Communism, Marxism, Fascism, and certain forms of Socialism strips people of their identities, families, history, and heritage. Today we see race, political ideology, class, wealth, and religion used to recast individuals as obstacles—and then as enemies—to the building of a supposedly “fair and equitable society,” often meaning the redistribution of wealth and power.

One of God’s purposes in this season is to awaken His people (see Ecclesiastes 3:1). Recently we watched a court case in which a mother was accused of murdering her three small children. Only one juror voted to convict, resulting in a mistrial. Those advocating for the mother immediately launched an avalanche of attacks against that juror, seeking to ruin him.

This kind of coordinated pressure is designed to break down society: to put fear into future jurors, to call justice an injustice, and to redefine cruelty as virtue when directed at the “enemy.” Compassion and mercy are twisted until they confuse and deceive. As Jan observed, a woman cannot claim mental instability as an excuse for murder any more than a man high on drugs or alcohol can be excused for rape.

Solomon noticed the same pattern long ago: “I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt… In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds” (Ecclesiastes 3:16-17).

If we desire true justice, order, and right living for this generation and the next, we must participate with God by stewarding and enforcing what He has entrusted to us. This does not mean becoming merely divisive or “political.” Yet remaining silent is not an option. Families and society need guardrails of truth worth living for—and, if necessary, dying for.

Solomon listed the many seasons of human life—from birth to death, from love to war. There is a time for every activity under heaven. Even in this present season of conflict among the nations, God has the final say. He “has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (v. 11).

We can learn to see the beauty of His glory-presence—all that is right and good, just and merciful. We can learn to view each season through Heaven’s lens. And we can agree with His purpose in every season of our existence: to encounter the wisdom that comes when we honor Him with awe and reverence (see v. 14).