It’s The Best Time To Be Alive!

At times, I feel it’s essential to remind myself that we are living in the absolute best era. It’s no exaggeration to say this might be the best time to be alive in human history. And yet, scroll social media for five minutes, and you’d think we’re living through the worst of times. People in my generation bemoan the difficulties of life in 2026 like it’s uniquely unbearable, and that the problems we face are as big as the ones our predecessors had to endure. Not only are our problems on a much smaller scale than theirs, but our advantages and benefits far exceed what people throughout history could have even imagined. 

The average person today lives with a level of comfort, access, and opportunity that would have looked like royalty to people thousands, or even hundreds, of years ago. Take me for example, I literally door-dashed food yesterday without leaving my house, merely because I didn’t feel like driving to go pick it up. Think about that for a second. A few taps on a device that connects me to the entire world, and suddenly someone cooks my food and another person delivers it straight to my door. That level of convenience would’ve sounded like science fiction 50 years ago, let alone 500. We’ve advanced at a pace that’s almost impossible to fathom, and because we’re used to it, we don’t even see how mind-blowing it actually is. 

Now, sure, things aren’t perfect. The economy is in the toilet bowl currently, we have a man-child as our president, and an alarming amount of conspiracy theories are becoming unnervingly true. Nevertheless, I'd still take this over living in a time where basic survival was uncertain, where disease wiped out entire communities, or where entire groups of people were openly treated as less than human by law and culture. Just 60–70 years ago, Black children in this country couldn’t walk down the street without facing hostility and dehumanization. That’s not ancient history—that’s within living memory. 

This progress isn't unique to Black folks either. Women only gained the right to vote a little over a century ago. Before that, women couldn't even open a bank account without a husband or father signing off. That’s insane to think about. That’s barely a blink in the grand timeline of humanity. Our current "inconveniences"—like high interest rates, gas prices, or how bad the dating pool is—are all trivial compared to the systemic, brutal walls our ancestors had to tear down just to exist. 

At the same time, perspective alone isn’t enough. As Christians, we’re actually called to something deeper than just acknowledging that life is “better now.” Scripture calls us to joy—not occasionally, not when things are going well, but always. Philippians 4:4(NIV) puts it plainly: “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say, rejoice.” That’s a challenging command. I’m certain GOD knew 2026 would have its own brand of chaos, but HE still calls us to anchor our joy in something much bigger than the current news cycle. For joy isn’t rooted in circumstances—it’s rooted in GOD. 

Ultimately, we have the tools to change the world in our pockets, unprecedented freedom, and a GOD who promises to sustain us through it all. It really is the best time to be alive—we just have to open our eyes, put down the complaints, and start living like we actually believe it. 

“If it is endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining.” --Marcus Aurelius