What a remarkable world we live in. The more I think about it, the more it feels like a miracle. I sit at my desk, tap a few keys on my computer, send an email, and within seconds it reaches the entire world. I used to wonder, How could the One who dwells in the highest of heavens possibly know the thoughts of a mere human like me?—and so I stubbornly remained seated in the posture of a foolish creature. Yet modern science, layer by layer like peeling an onion, is stripping away the mysteries of the universe before our eyes. Even scientists admit they cannot predict what the world will look like five years from now.

But a few days ago, I received a letter titled “Current Affairs Commentary,” written by an anonymous student from Columbine High School. As we stand on the threshold of the twenty‑first century, the words in that letter sounded like a bell tolling for our times. I would like to share it with you.

**“Today, if there is a contradiction in our history, it is this:

We have tall buildings but low character. We have wide highways but narrow viewpoints. We consume endlessly, yet possess nothing of substance. We buy more and more, yet do not know how to enjoy anything.**

We live in large houses and small nuclear families, in a world of increasing convenience, yet we are constantly pressed for time. We hold more titles, yet have less understanding. Knowledge overflows, yet judgment weakens. Expectations rise, yet problems multiply. Medicines are endlessly developed, yet the quality of life declines.

We own everything, yet values are disappearing. Words overflow, yet love is scarce, and hatred is frequent. We learn how to live, yet we disregard life. We strive to extend life, yet neglect to live today. We travel to the moon, yet struggle to meet the new neighbor across the street.

We conquer outer space, yet fail to conquer the small universe within. We purify the air, yet our souls are polluted. We know how to split atoms, yet cannot break apart our prejudices. We earn higher incomes, yet our morality sinks lower. We mass‑produce everything, yet quality diminishes.

We say we live in an age of great people, yet character is small. We boast of economic prosperity, yet live in shallow human relationships. We speak of world peace, yet families continue to fall apart. We have more leisure, yet less joy. We have more kinds of food, yet less nutrition.

In this age, two people work, yet divorce increases. Homes grow more luxurious, yet families crumble. The shop windows of our era grow more dazzling, yet the storerooms behind them grow emptier.

In this age of advanced technology—technology that allows this letter to reach you—you must choose one of two things: Will you change the world? Or… will you simply press the delete key?”

When I received this letter, I remained in shock for quite some time. On a peaceful, beautiful morning—still as the surface of a quiet lake—there suddenly erupted the indiscriminate gunfire, screams, death, and the tears of those who lost friends and teachers. Out of that anguish came this single sheet of writing, revealing with painful clarity the true condition of our lives.

People often say that America is a “shopping‑cart society,” and that we are all living in a state of addiction. Indeed, on weekends, crowds fill the shopping malls, wandering all day in an attempt to satisfy their hungry souls. Credit‑card debt grows endlessly, while people themselves grow smaller and more fragile. For all of us Christians who are being drawn into the glittering shop windows created by scientists and merchants, this one page of commentary—written in tears by an anonymous student—is a profound challenge.

– WanHee Yoon, Letter from the Parsonage, November 11, 1999