Like almost everyone in the West, I weep over the predations of ISIS.  I weep over the people being kidnapped, the people being executed, the people being terrorized, all in the name of establishing a utopia designed for only a very few.  The tragedies the group is spawning are almost beyond imagining.  
     Yet I also hope that the West learns from these difficulties.  I hope that the West learns that a great deal of ISIS's appeal stems from the West's quest, a quest that has now spanned over a hundred years, and counting, to control the world for its benefit.  I hope that the West realizes that its obsession with corralling access to oil and other natural resources has produced enormous resentment in many corners of the world, and I hope that one particular country in the West comes to see that setting itself forth as exceptional belies what the word means.  How does it really know?  It's no secret that part of the ongoing anger towards the West is due to the West's historical willingness to support numerous dictatorial regimes in various regions of the world.  In the end, everyone, the most exceptional nation included, wants its turf, usually regardless of how this desire may affect others.
     ISIS is a creature of its moment and time, a moment and time created yes, by the culture out of which it came.  It's a creature whose actions almost everyone agrees are horrific, but a creature in part sparked by other cultures seeking hegemony over all others. It's a delicate balance, really:  how do we look out for ourselves while looking out for others, too?
     Be it in interpersonal relations or international affairs, Paul's observations in 1 Corinthians 13 holds true:  "Love seeks not its own."