As the date for a “hard Brexit” approaches, divisions among the nations of Europe continue to grow, as does the desire of some of them to leave the European Union. In Italy, the new “Italexit” Party began in July—inspired by Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in the UK, with the hope of a similar result.

God has given many gifts to each of us. We’ve not only been given life, food, clothing, and shelter, but we have also been given individual talents, inborn or innate aptitudes, and abilities. Are we developing them and using them in the right way for good purposes?

These wide-ranging gifts may be mechanical and mathematical or musical and artistic. We may be good at organizing, analyzing, strategizing, communicating, teaching, networking, influencing, negotiating, designing, singing, entertaining, encouraging, or empathizing. Human beings are certainly very gifted!

You don’t need to be a prophet to realize the entire world seems to be on the verge of a dangerous turning point. We’ve lived in times of relative peace and calm over the last several decades. However, the past several years have seen increasing tension all over the world, and many would say that 2020 is the worst year yet. Stability seems to be evaporating more rapidly than ever. Citizens are revolting against their governments around the globe. COVID-19 has brought powerful economies to their knees.

Children are without guile, and they will often tell you very revealing things. A grandfather once told me about an experience with his ten-year-old grandson. Grandad asked the boy, “So, what are you studying in school these days?” to which the boy replied, “Did you know there is acid in a person’s stomach, but it doesn’t eat a hole in them?” His grandfather told him, “Yes, that is marvelous! It is how God made us as human beings.” He was dismayed when the boy responded, “Aw, Grandad, we don’t do ‘the God thing’ at our house!”

Due to extreme weather in Britain during the last year, experts predict the wheat harvest could be down by 40 percent (BBC, August 26, 2020). As a result, some millers have already increased the price of wheat flour by 10 percent. And, assuming a “no-deal Brexit,” experts expect those prices to rise still further. The extreme variation between a very wet winter, a very dry spring, and very wet harvesting conditions does not bode well for crop harvests this year.