A Lot To Write About

Sometimes things just happen in the world around me that make me think a lot, and when I think a lot, I have a tendency to want to write about it. It's a good thing I have my own blog. I sit here now just a day removed from one of the worst tragedies in American history and just two days after a celebration of one of the greatest victories in American history. The former, of course, is no mystery to anyone by this time, but the latter may not be familiar to everyone.

Sunday was deemed "Jackie Robinson Day" by Major League Baseball. It marked the 60th anniversary of when Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play baseball in the major leagues. It was certainly a day celebrated in my home -- so much in fact, that my wife and I actually sat down and watched most of "The Jackie Robinson Story" that aired on ESPN2. We flipped to the Dodgers game in between commercials where the entire evening was dedicated to Jackie, and each player on the Dodgers wore the #42 (and one player from each of the other teams also wore #42), and ESPN was doing fascinating interviews with people such as Robinson's widow, Hank Aaron, Don Newcombe, and others. So why am I writing so much about baseball on this blog? Well, because there's a greater issue at hand that just sickens me when I think about it -- of course, the issue of racism. How is it possible to say that a man can't play baseball because of the color of his skin? And this went on for years and years. When I look back, I am so thankful that baseball finally got it right. There have been some great players in baseball history who happened to be African-American, and the two dearest to me are Kirby Puckett and Torii Hunter, who between the two of them have patrolled almost every game in CF for my Twins since I can remember. I love baseball. I always have, and I always will, but the racism and pure ignorance that once plagued our country (and still lingers) just burns me to no end. How can a country founded on Christian principles go so awry? When I think of racism, I immediately think of Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan in the Scriptures. Awesome, Torii Hunter just hit a grand slam homerun as a I took a 5 minute intermission from typing. Anyway...

Luke 10:29-37 - " But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise.""

What's often left of out this wonderful parable is the serious racism that is going on. For starters, the man who was beaten was probably a Jew (or least the people hearing the story would probably think so), and Jews, in general, looked down on Samaritans and considered them half-breeds of some sort. The priest and Levite (the upper class elite at the time) who passed by obviously couldn't recognize the man in his beaten condition, so they weren't sure if the man was their "neighbor." So instead of risking defilement, they passed on by and had no mercy. Then, the Samaritan, also risking defilement, not only helps the man but helps a social enemy. How in the world did we miss the boat for so long in America? Sure, it's better now, but we still have a long way to go, don't we? The answer isn't in affirmative action or in using politically correct terms -- the answer is love. Christians, especially, should love people. After all, its what Jesus says we should be known for. For me, Sunday was great to see the love for Jackie Robinson in the baseball world after he endured so much hate for so long.

Now, on to Cho Seung-Hui and the Virginia Tech massacre. Sure, there has been plenty to say about this already, and just about everyone has much more insight than I ever could. I think I want to write about it mainly for myself - to get some stuff out. I know that so often when these things happen, the only response we can often give is something to effect of 'my hearts and prayers go out the victims and the families.' Sure, that's true. But the people in the United States of America should do more that offers prayers and thoughts. We need change, and I'm not going to get into a political debate about gun control or campus security or anything like that. I want to say something about a bigger issue at hand: we as a people have evil hearts, and our country is in a severe moral decline. Now Christian reader, don't you dare for a second think that you are any better than this depressed and disturbed 23 year old college student who just heartlessly wiped out 32 of his classmates. Is it terrible? Sure it is. Do these actions make one worthy of hell? Sure they do. But don't let us forget what the Bible says.

Before the flood, God said this in Genesis 6:5 - "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." After the flood, God said this in Genesis 8:21 - "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done." Or how about when Jesus dropped this bombshell on us in Matthew 5:21-22 - "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell." One more from Matthew 5:43-45 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

The point of what I'm trying to say is this: the actions of a certain individual yesterday are reprehensible and nearly unforgivable and just utterly evil in tis grossest sense, but shame on us if that's all we see. Shame on us as individuals if we don't for a second heed the warnings in Scripture about the conditions of our own hearts. Shame on us if we look on the scene at Virginia Tech and feel morally righteous because we wouldn't do something like that. Are you so sure? What if the grace of God was removed from you for just a moment, what are you capable of? What am I capable of? What are we as a country capable of? You think 32 innocent victims being murdered in cold blood is a gross and evil thing? What about the 42 MILLION + abortions that have occurred in our country since 1973? Some will mock me and say that's it not the same thing. True, it's not the same thing. But murder is murder, and it's almost always for selfish reasons in which the murderer places his or her own interests over the lives of his or her victims. Most of the reasons for abortion are very selfish in nature. I was going to post the statistics, but my writing was getting very angry, so I'm forcing myself to refrain from posting the top reasons of why people have abortions. Here's a hint: selfishness, lack of abstinence, and a lack of sense.

I really don't want to get into political debates on this blog. But abortion shouldn't be a political debate but a moral dilemma. We have a rapidly deteriorating sense of morality in our country, and the horrible school shooting yesterday is just another example. At least people are still shocked by such a tragedy. But it's also a tragedy that we're not shocked that over a million babies are being killed every year. I saw my 10 week old baby in an ultrasound last week. And he/she looked like a baby -- and even had a heartbeat! Come on. Wake up America. And get over yourselves while you're at it. Our hearts are evil. Repent. We all need Jesus. Only he can make us right with God and right on the inside.