Yes.
Many people exhibit the point of view that everyone is out to get them. It’s a “dog-eat-dog” world. “Do unto others before they do unto you.”
Check social media out. Step back so as not to get caught up into the maelstrom and just observe. Begin to sort out whose posts are almost always reflecting this worldview.
While greed and pride are sometimes drivers of this, you will find the base emotion almost always is fear. Some people are afraid. They wake up in the morning fearful of what might happen. During the day, they are afraid someone (usually of a different religion, race, ethnicity) is going to take what is theirs.
Some of these people consider themselves to be Christian. But you’ll find no ethic of Jesus there. More likely a misinterpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures seeing a vengeful and harshly judgemental God.
A short interlude. Yes, there are times to be afraid. That is often a survival emotion. I’m talking about something quite different—an orientation toward life and everyone in it based on fear.
Thankfully not everyone is like that. They have a possibility mindset. They jump in and help where needed. They reach out to the poor, the stranger, the oppressed, someone in need (no matter how small).
The fundamental emotion is love—an overused word in English. While realizing evil exists and that people have many sometimes conflicting emotions, they also see the possibility that God loves them and therefore they also need to practice an act of love, acceptance, service.
You can find examples of this attitude on social media, as well. But it’s more of a whisper compared to the shouting (many times literally using all capitals) of others.
Should you begin to reflect on yourself and begin to realize the fear inside, you can begin to change. This post is too short to delve into an area that large books cover. The first step is realization. The next is to seek out those with a possibility mindset and orient yourself with them.
It’s a practice. It takes time. It is possible.
Faith Venture 
May 28, 2020 at 11:17 am |
I work hard to achieve the possibility mindset. The attitude of fear from some others has caused me to snooze several people on social media. Their attitude is not helpful. Although I wish them all good things, I can’t deal with the constant negativity right now.
May 28, 2020 at 12:33 pm |
Yes, that simple action can greatly improve the enjoyment of the experience without being obnoxious. My mental health greatly improved. And sometimes one slips through. Yesterday, I had to delete a response I quickly wrote (before posting) when I realized it served no useful purpose and would only antagonize. Thanks.