And in my examples of the “things” for the purposes of this column, one thing is beyond heinous to the level of evil, and the other is pretty much petty, if not stupid.

But let’s go on the journey anyways and talk about these things, because there’s a third thing that is my personal thing, which is affected by these other kinds of things on the daily, if not every waking moment.

And this column begins with my waking moments in a day in the life of Craigy.

After I get through the routine of bodily functions of getting up in the morning (if you’re over 60, you for sure know what I mean) the first thing in the morning routine of what has become my everyday life is something I’ve committed to do and have been pretty good, kinda OK at in my God scale.

And that’s sitting down and spending a half hour or so with my Maker absorbing His word and a few life lessons to go with. Yes, I’m talking about doing a morning devotion. The reason I say I do OK by them is evidenced in the now dozen or so composition notebooks on a bookshelf in my bedroom showing I’ve been participating in this routine for some time. I usually fill a college-ruled page a day in my quest to become closer to and more like my Lord and Savior.

Some of you might see that last line more prevalent in my life in the past few years. Some may declare it’s 180 degrees opposite. But that’s the joy of writing an opinion column.

But the one thing that’s become more intense as I believe I’m growing on my Heavenly journey is the stuff that gets in the way of me getting into the Word. For you, it may be your half hour of coffee on the patio or a walk around the neighborhood. Yes, whether you like it or not, that’s your time with god, or in my case, God.

But the stuff getting in the way today is either out of this world or totally succumbed to the world. Pick your poison. Worse, it’s probably 99 percent avoidable if we’d all just do one thing, and that’s NOT choosing to pick up our cell phones first thing before rolling out of bed. Because I know when I do, little, if any, good comes from it.

As I’ve always said, if you don’t think there’s a Satan, just try to get up and do a devotion first thing every morning. You’ll meet him every day.

But what’s really bothering me today are the main interrupters of my intentions to just take a moment of peace in my morning. And the two red horns in my “hell of a morning” routines are the Clancy case and the WNBA. You can’t avoid either of them, and while they may have some importance related to my life, they are taking up way more space in distracting me from what should be the purpose in my life.

For some of you, that’s bringing you local news. For a few, it’s perhaps having a space to call me an idiot to take out some misplaced aggression. For others, it’s to learn a little something about what’s going on in our (fallen) world. And for a unique few (and these are the folks I worry most about) it’s to say, “I 100 percent agree with you, Craig.” The worst news, I’m becoming to think I’m all these things as well!

But back to my other two things. As for the Clancy case. Other than saying it’s evil to its core regardless of who committed the murders, I must confess I didn’t even know about it until things went viral online. And as we all know, once viral, these things pop up literally every other thread as we scroll on social media. But it’s what pops up along with them that bothers me most. That, and there’s never a millstone around when we need one.

As for the ironic idiocy known as the WNBA, I’ve never seen such an overreaction to something never said in my lifetime. I’ve also never seen an organization so dedicated to destroying itself from within, outside of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Oh, and government. The WNBA is women’s soccer on Rapinoe-roids, and it doesn’t help with media going to the Megan-phone for comment. Like we don’t know what side she’s taking.

But as Craigy-vision sees these things, it goes deeper.

Yes, the murders of three innocent children are heinous enough. And we should as a society do all we can to get to the truth and present those facts to the people, so justice can be meted out. But is that what you get from all the posts you see? I sure don’t.

As for the WNBA, does anyone have any idea what the league’s position is on this, given all the hysteria over something never said to a “problem” it declares the league doesn’t have? And why does it describe this thing, if it is happening, a “problem?” That’s a problem in and of itself. Then again, the league can’t even determine what the source of the alleged “problem/not a problem” is. The only thing that isn’t a problem for me, more videos of Sophie.

And I realize these are fairly simple overviews, but I have a point to make.

The result in society is they are serving to divide us. And it’s not just men from women. It’s also women from women and men from men. These are both, at their core, divisive situations for humanity. Have you seen the stuff written about them and toward each other online? It’s as if some women are looking to grab the torch of toxic masculinity they despise and run it to new heights.

As for men, the lack of compassion for real-life difficulties of motherhood and sarcastic, demeaning commentary has no place in the search for the truth.

And I’m not even mentioning those of us declared ineligible or too afraid to comment – especially about the insanity that is the WNBA, where folks really feel safe in going off. The spectrum is too wide, and the level of hatred is too deep for most to comprehend.

The chasm widens. And civil society suffers.

Yes, we should do more as a society about post-partum issues. Yes, we should do more about husbands who are abusive. Yes, we should always do everything in our power to protect children. So yes, we should keep males out of female sports while respecting the rights of all (as we all have equal rights, but that’s for another column). And do you know the best way to do it? It sure isn’t taking it to government to solve.

How about some time with your God in the morning before getting on your phone?

Nothing like a little devotion to peace, hope and mercy to humanity before breakfast.

In Truth and freedom.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of The Business Times. Reach him at  424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com