I was listening to a talk radio show where the host made an
interesting point about why the incident in Pakistan hadn’t received as much
media attention as the attacks in Paris or Brussels recently. His point, which
is truly tragic, is that as Americans we can relate rather well to our European
allies but when it comes to people and places that are different from us we are
less likely to mourn or be as upset.
A week ago there was a primary election in our state that
saw the unfortunate miscalculation of the State Recorder when it came to how
many polling options would be available. The news last Tuesday was that some
waited as long as five hours to vote. Yes, many were distraught and upset with
the why question as to how we could only have 60 polling places open for the 5th
largest city in the US. There has been picketing and a real vocal protest as to
the why of what happened. I seriously hope
no one is going to get violent over this situation!
A few months ago a drug deal had gone ‘south’ and saw a
cousin of a good friend end up in the morgue. Clearly the message should be
don’t deal drugs nor use them, yet, the real message is when you carry a weapon
with the intent to use it something could happen to you! I seriously doubt this
cousin thought he would be the one that would be robbed and then shot and
killed that night!
I know that the ongoing rants in the presidential race come
back to how violence can so easily be provoked in such a fashion that the
candidates seem to always cast blame on someone else. Why would anyone ‘sucker
punch’ a stranger just because they happen to have differing views on a
specific candidate or position? Yet, the reality is that it doesn’t take much
for a ‘mob’ mentality to take over and someone who would have never thought
that free speech also meant one could end up with a broken nose?
As I was looking for an image to use for this post I came
across a graphic that had the message that prevention came back to awareness of
the problem, education that then leads to prevention. I so much would hope that
it would be this easy to deal with violence in today’s world. Ultimately, it
comes back to the issue being a matter of your heart! How you view life and
whether all lives have equal value? Yes, sadly many of us don’t value all life
equally whether that is an unborn life, a handicapped person, someone from a
different racial or cultural background to someone who is close to the end of
their life that is living in a nursing home.
What is the heart in a man, woman, child, teen or senior?
What causes someone to grow an appreciation for all live as opposed to someone
who has a real hatred for a specific group of people whether that’s based upon
race, religion, education or just the simple fact that someone doesn’t like the
way you look? Is it possible for all people regardless of race, religion or
lack of religion to share similar values about life? How is it possible for the
aging Fidel Castro to blast President Obama about life matters when it’s clear
that Cubans have lived under oppression for decades?
The reality is that I have a heart that is broken because of
my choices in life when it comes to being someone that should value all life
and have integrity as the foundation for my life. I admit that I’m selfish and
at times truly believe that I’m better than others have clearly better
intellect and attempt to excel at doing community service! My clear need is for
my heart to experience God’s redeeming love when I understand my own personal
dilemma that involves my own alienation from God and need for being forgiven
and restored as someone that lives out grace and mercy. Yet, I’m so quick to
judge someone else for their selfishness or narcissism instead of gazing into
the mirror of my own heart.
I appreciate so much the following verse from the book of
Proverbs that shows the conscious choice we must make daily to guard our
hearts! Guard your heart
above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23
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