I completely skipped over my usual Wednesday post, even on Facebook. I have just felt so exhausted by the amount of violence and anger in our society.
The verdict came out in the trial over the death of George Floyd. Some people are cheering, others are angry, still others (like me) think there are so many reasons for an appeal, and the country will have to go through this again.
A young teen when shot by a police officer after he had been fleeing, with a gun. It was dark, and the officer didn’t see the boy drop the gun. Another teen was shot by an officer while she was in the midst of a knife attack on another teen. During the commotion, an adult male was kicking another girl’s head while she lay on the ground.
What is going on?? What possesses young people to take a knife to another (and have adults defend it as typical street fighting?) What possesses a 21-year old to take a 13-year old out in the middle of the night to shoot guns off randomly in a neighborhood?
I don’t know exactly what these people are looking for, but I do believe I know what they need. God. The One True God, Who loves each of us in our brokenness, but calls us into wholeness. The One True God Who says to us, “I made you for better things than this!” The One True God Who sent His Only Son to die on the Cross for every act of violence we commit upon each other.
We also need greater respect for human life. If we each recognized the dignity of the people around us, we would not be attacking with guns, knives, or vicious words.
I’m trying to ramp up my prayer life, in terms of praying for life. From womb to the tomb, we must see human life as God intends it to be. And when someone doesn’t act with dignity, when they speak or do violence? Seek justice, yes. But not vengeance. Call for accountability from all parties involved. We, as humans, have the capacity to love and to find solutions to our social problems. It’s long-past time for us to be the people God created us to be.