Songs In The Night

A fool gives full vent to his spirit,
    but a wise man quietly holds it back. – Proverbs 29:11

Wild Fire

I thank God that He has created us as emotional beings. I couldn’t imagine a wedding without love or a funeral without grief. Who can hold their first child or grandchild without a tear of joy in their eye. What would be the purpose of reading a novel or watching a movie if it didn’t create an emotional response in us? But as we are reminded by Scriptures, we have to hold back our emotions. We need to control them and not be controlled by them. To give full vent to our emotions is foolish. Especially anger. And as we are experiencing as a nation, it is also dangerous. Unfortunately, it is easier said than done. Especially if we surround ourselves with other “fools”.

Like everyone else I have conversed with, I am appalled by the way that George Floyd was killed by a police officer. Nobody in their right mind could condone the action of the police officers on duty. To say they went too far is a gross understatement and there is no excuse for it. But I fail to see how the reaction since his death is going to mend the issues that divide our nation. I don’t believe violence is a wise answer to violence just as I have never understood how reverse discrimination is a solution to discrimination. Wrong is always wrong and those that violate the law should be punished, policemen and rioters alike. We can’t expect to cross any bridges if we have burned them or make any advances by stepping backwards. But this is precisely what we do when we give full vent to our anger. Anger isn’t a sin, being controlled by it is. What other emotion, left unchecked, is responsible for more deaths?

Color Blind

In January 2017, four black Chicago teenagers kidnapped a mentally disabled white boy and tortured him. They posted footage of their deplorable behavior online as if they were proud of what they were doing. As they held a knife to his head and cut his scalp they used derogatory words about President elect Donald Trump and white people in general. Like the footage of the death of George Floyd, it is too disturbing for me to watch. Even a small dose of vile hatred goes a long way. Especially as the father of a son with Down Syndrome. When you imagine anyone doing that to your son it is hard not to be emotional. Anger is very quick to escalate, and too quick to spill over.

George Floyd is not the first person to be killed at the hands of police officers, nor will he be the last. There are all kinds of statistics regarding crimes committed and criminals killed by race. You can take them for what they are worth. But I believe we have to get past color. At the end of the day, what we are talking about is humans torturing humans in Chicago, and humans killing humans in Minneapolis. As long as we talk about black teens torturing white boys or white police officers killing black men, we are fighting the wrong fights.

As I see the pictures of the riots and hear the rhetoric I am puzzled as to what or whom exactly is being protested. We all agree the police officer was wrong. We don’t need innocent police officers or business owners killed to convince us. We need to have our eyes opened to see beyond color and recognize evil as evil. In the eyes of God, all lives truly matter. He has created us in His image and none of us are a mistake, regardless of color of skin. As long as we ignore the sanctity of all human life, we will be having these atrocious killings and these senseless riots, regardless of what “morality” we try to codify in law.

Past Mistakes

Immediately after the death of George Floyd, the media began discussing the troubled past of the police officer (Chauvin) and the complaints that had been filed against him. By implication, if officer Chauvin had been removed from his position, this tragedy might have been avoided. What most of the media has been reluctant to share however, is the troubled past of George Floyd. Contrary to the martyr status he has been elevated to, George Floyd had numerous charges against him and spent time in jail on more than one occasion. He was once arrested for armed robbery and held a gun to the stomach of a pregnant lady thus threatening to kill her unborn child. In addition, he had a criminal record for drug possession. Why is this relevant? We are all sinners in need of grace, and before we are too quick to point fingers we need to be reminded of the sin that lies within each of us and the atrocities each and every one of us is capable of.

¹⁷ The one who states his case first seems right,
    until the other comes and examines him. – Proverbs 18:17

Until we have all of the facts, we better not be too haste in passing judgement. If we can’t honestly assess our own motives and actions how foolish are we to prematurely judge others? Neither officer Chauvin nor George Floyd was perfect. Likewise, we are far from it. Thankfully, God is a God of new beginnings.

Nonconformists

With the Covid-19 pandemic has come an excess of conditioning. As my daughter recently pointed out to me, with expressions such as, “We are all in this together”, “New normal” and “Stay home, stay safe”, etc. we are being conditioned to be conformed to a common standard. To think and act independently of this conditioning is to subject oneself to being labeled selfish and deemed an outsider who is dangerous to society. But as Christians, we are obligated to take our marching orders from the Bible and not from the masses. When we surround ourselves with “mobs” it is much more difficult to keep our emotions under control. How easy it was to shout “crucify him” in the midst of a passionate throng. Mass hysteria can be intoxicating.

While we might deem ourselves too sophisticated to shout for the crucifixion of Christ, how quick are we to share posts or parrot talking points that we might not otherwise support because of pressure? Maybe we feel it is the politically correct thing to do, or perhaps it is just the popular thing to do. But is it the right thing? As Christians we have the mind of Christ. One way to avoid being “fools” is to avoid the herd mentality. Often times, it is wise to be nonconformists. We do well to remember that ultimately we are only trying to please an audience of One.

Wisdom’s Rein

It is past time for wisdom to prevail. We need to recognize that when emotions rise, logic declines. We can’t judge people based on the color of their skin, nor can we judge people based on the uniforms they wear. We can’t ask for open dialogue and then marginalize those at the table because of their perceived privileges. As I have stated, we are all God’s image bearers, but we are all tainted by sin. Regardless, we all deserve to be heard. The life and voice of every person at the table is important. But our words will be of no avail if they are not based on eternal Truths.

Rage and racism will never solve our problems. We need to turn to the Word of God if we truly want to see change in our society. We can’t look to our government or it’s laws to solve our troubles. We need to see hearts changed, and only the Gospel is going to do it. I don’t “believe” in social media nor do I watch any news broadcasts. My personal conviction is that their dangers far outweigh their benefits. I am not asking you to share my convictions, but I am challenging you to set aside the distractions of the world for a “season” and bend your knees before the throne of God.

When you are before His face, ask Him to examine your heart for any trace of racism or any prejudice against authority figures. Is there pent up anger in your heart just waiting for the smallest of sparks to ignite it? If He convicts you, repent of your sins and commit to be a voice of Reason in a volatile society. Pray for those in positions of authority. Pray for those hurt by racism and prejudice. Pray that those in darkness would have their eyes enlightened by the Holy Spirit and their hearts changed by the atoning work of Christ.

One New Man

May God forgive all of us for our foolishness. May He forgive us for the fires we have started. We can’t undo the past, but by the Grace of God maybe we can prevent some of it from repeating itself. May God enable us to replace anger with peace! We will never have peace with each other unless we have peace with God. May the predominate death of our day be the death of hostility.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. – Ephesians 2:14-16