"I can't believe that people can break into stores and steal stuff while hurting other folks in the name of protesting". "They need to hang this guy for killing that man". "It is no longer about protesting when they are looting". "Until there is justice, there will be no peace".
That last one I agree with. The challenge is really just who gets to choose what the crime is and who gets to determine what is a fair punishment for it. I find it amazing that when a person is killed, everyone sits up and takes notice. This is similar to when the cop pulls in behind you while you are driving and you immediately sit up, put your hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, and you slow to about 10 m.p.h. Death is permanent, which is why we notice. However, what about the folks that experience bullies everyday and don't die? Why do we only feel for the ones who die?
When a news story like our current one occurs, every cliche in the book comes out. Depending on the side of the fence you are on, there is a cliche designed just for you. However, none seem to help the victim of the bully. There are even news networks that cater to your beliefs and which way you lean politically. If you lean left, CNN, If you lean right, Fox. What about leaning into the Word of God and finding out what Jesus really would do. Do you think that could make a difference?
When I was a police officer, I saw some serious bullying. Most of the time, it came from "bad cops". You see, a bully is simply someone who has power over someone else. They use that power to feel better about their own miserable existence. A bully can be anyone. They can be a mom, dad, uncle, aunt, pastor, teacher, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, stranger, or yes, even a cop.
"Someone's going to jail tonight!". I actually heard that in the locker room getting dressed one night for my shift. Seriously? Because this moron was having a bad day, he was going to take it out on someone else? Bullying isn't a school thing, it is a life thing. It doesn't end when we get older. "If I can make you feel worse about your life in some way, my woeful life may not seem so bad. After all, I don't need to be as good as Jesus, I just have to be better than you". Dr. Scott Thompson, Vice-President of Fruitland Baptist Bible College used that in class one day and I thought it was brilliant. He points out that we have "set the bar too low". Too low, indeed!
Growing up, I saw black folks bullied something awful. I experienced integration. For you younger folks, this is when the government was allowing all children to ride together on the same school bus. What happens to someone that is bullied all the time? When they get the opportunity, they will bully. Why? Because they want to feel some power. They want to make others feel as bad as they do. Doesn't everyone at some point want to feel empowered? How do I know? I was bullied quite a bit in school and if I had the opportunity, I would have done anything to make them stop. I would have loved to bully them back. As I grew older I did, I became a bully. I went from being bullied to bullying. You don't think black folks get tired of being bullied? Now if you are white and never experienced bullying, odds are, you may have been the bully. While this subject seems to always start fights, I never understand why. Aren't we supposed to be "discussing it"?
When you boil it right down to its common thread, Jesus is the problem. What? Yup, Jesus is the problem. Do you really think any of the looters and mayhem bringers are saved Christians? Not hardly. By its very definition, that would be impossible. So, how can a Christian look at the "bad people" and "animals" doing this and think, "boy, I hope they get shot, arrested, or something". However, from the comfort of their living room, this is said nightly. The hypocrisy is that there is no difference between what they are doing and you cheating on your taxes; at least there isn't in Jesus' eyes. Sin is sin. This is why it is Jesus' fault. If Jesus would have just given us the green light to do some sort of retribution, we would be okay. Not a lot, just enough to let them know their sin is worse than ours. Just enough to inflict some pain on them so they would get it. "Can't we all just get along?" No! "I am tired of my existence and you are going to pay for it." Don't we always want someone else to pay for their sins, and yet we want mercy for ours?
The real question is, how do we reach the lost? And let's be frank, the ones causing the anarchy are lost. If we, as Christ's church, are going to make a difference, we don't need to try and tell them what they are doing is wrong. THEY ALREADY KNOW AND THEY DON'T CARE! If we can introduce them to Jesus and share with them how valuable they are, then just maybe they would change. Of course, I am not an idiot. I understand that what is being done in the looting and hurting of innocent people is wrong. I am simply pointing out that to tell them looting and hurting innocent people is wrong during the commission of a crime, is pointless. Why can't we have a dialogue before the trouble starts? Why are we so afraid to sit knee to knee with a troubled kid and share the Gospel? Someone did with you, and you either rejected it or accepted it. There is no in between! If you share with them, you can see they will either reject it or accept it. Why not give them that chance? I promise that these anarchists are not as scary one on one as they are in packs.
Being right or left wing should only be for birds, soccer players, or hockey players. You are either saved or you are not, PERIOD! It is unsettling to watch night after night the mayhem and carnage that is played out on the streets of America. Unfortunately, it will not change until the church gets off their "saved seats", out of their pews, and goes into their communities to help the bullied. Of course, that would take initiative. It is easier to throw money at it, right? I mean, if it isn't affecting me, then I should just "pray about it" or "donate some money". These things are fine and help, but the bullied need love. Love from a human touch and face means more than all the money in the world.
When left to fend for ourselves, we do what we have to do to survive. As a troubled youth, I did much of what you see on television nightly. That is until I met someone that told me I could be better. It is what I needed to hear. I had never heard that before. Jesus told me I was much more valuable than what I was trading myself for. Jesus came just as far for that looter you loathe on television, as He did for you. Be honest, have you prayed for any of them? Honestly?
The reason we have problems isn't because a solution doesn't exist. We have problems because the solution is not applied. It is Jesus' fault. If He would have just allowed us a little retribution, well, then everything would have been alright.
{According to F.B.I. records compiled from across the U.S., there were 10,554,985 arrests made in 2017. Out of those arrests, 986 people were shot and killed by police. Out of that number, 457 were white, 223 were black, 179 were hispanic, and the rest were "other". Do you know how many riots there were in 2017 over any of these shooting deaths of citizens? Zero. The only rioting over anything close is when a police officer was acquitted in the killing of a citizen. Here's the sad thing. None of the protesting is ever done for the ones that weren't killed. They are the majority by a country mile. Stand up for the bullied, no matter who they are!}