Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it…http://goo.gl/hp30ty  #WalterScott

I watched a man die this week. I have seen men and women die before in my presence. This time was different. This time the ‘witness’ was via video and this time it didn’t seem real.

Why did a passer-by begin to video what would become the final moments of a human’s life? Why did the videographer not even flinch as a handgun discharged over and over again? Why did an officer ‘of the law’ calmly and repeatedly fire into the back of a fleeing suspect? Where were the obvious signs of the man being struck by bullets until just before he fell? Why was the man subsequently handcuffed as he lay unresponsive and on his face? Why did the officer walk away from the man to the point of the first recorded confrontation? Why did a second officer search the man but give no effort to examine the man’s injuries or render aid?

There will be a lot of effort to determine the answers to these questions and many more not mentioned here. It appears to me, however, that in seeking answers to the questions we may miss the depths of the problem we all face.

Our problem is not ‘racism,’ racism is a symptom of the problem. Our problem is not ‘poverty,’ poverty is a result of the problem. Our problem is not ‘lack of education,’ education may effect change to our exterior, but it does not revolutionize the intent of the interior.

I am reading Joel with a friend of mine. Since it is a short work, we will read it repeatedly before we discuss it together next week. The first chapter is a call to lament over what is lost. The cry of the prophet is to ‘wake up!’ Joel describes a culture so blinded that even the ‘drunks’ are unaware that the alcohol is ‘no more.’ Even though the text is most likely 25 centuries old, it is not difficult to envision a man overcome with passion and grief for his country.

Joel’s sorrow does not dampen his shout, however. The problem, Joel contends, is that the Nation cries not for the Lord.

This is our problem. We exchanged submission to God for enforcement by ‘law.’ We abandoned the fear of God and exchanged it for the power of legislation. Where there is ‘Rule of Law’ there will also follow the abuse of power. When we have only ourselves as Authority, we consistently produce all manner of evil. We blow up spectators at sporting events and then buy milk. We cheat our employer and steal from the tax payer simultaneously and then we ‘entertain’ our neighbor’s spouses.

There is only one remedy, but I fear the remedy grows more distant by the moment. If we refuse to return to the One who commands us to love each other the same way He loves us, we will continue to run away from the only means for our escape from the ‘worse yet to come.’

I am passionately grieving for my country.