One thing that has been on my mind lately is the judgement, hatred, and animosity that has plagued our society lately. We've all seen it. It's all over the news everyday. Protests which plague our cities and cost millions of dollars in damages and lost time, people being assaulted for their political views, people lying about being assaulted as to defame the other 'side', and that's not even bringing up what happened at Ohio State on Monday. Any tragedy is spun for political gain without any thought of compassion for the victim. There are obviously exceptions but more and more the apathetic response seems less like the exception and more like the rule. Even the seemingly copy-and-pasted "our hearts are with those affected by (insert tragedy here)" seems to be devoid of care. The real tragedy is the the fact that this nation has seen the devastation caused by hatred and prejudice firsthand, and still we choose to stay on the beaten path.
The terrible thing is that us as Christians are supposed to be a beacon, a lighthouse, shining through the fog and darkness, reflecting the Rock our foundation has been set upon. Yet through all this night, where are we?
This reminds me of a story in the Bible (2 Samuel 12 for your reference) in which King David and Nathan are having a discussion. Nathan said, "There were two men in the city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing... when a traveler came to the rich man, he was unwilling to give up one of his herd to feed the guest, so he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the guest." Understandably, David was pissed. How could someone with so much, who was so secure, do that to someone just scraping to get by? David responded full of anger and said, "As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die... because he did this without pity." Nathan shouted in response, "David, You are that man!" The choices in David's life led him to a place where he lived the parable Nathan told to him. I believe this story relates to where we are as people, as Christians, and as a nation under God.
In the story earlier David was totally unaware of the apathy he was living his life with. David stressed in his condemnation of the rich man that he was not just angry because he did it but because he did it without pity. Oxford defines pity as, "the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others." Our culture has turned pity into something trivial, something negative and unwanted. I believe this type of pity this passage is talking about is a pity that moves the person towards a reconciling action. We shouldn't argue over what is the right thing to do when a crisis arises. Rather, we should look to aide whenever possible. Democrats advocate entitlements to fight poverty while they pass the homeless man under the interstate bridge without a moment's thought. Pro-lifers argue for life while orphanages and the adoption system remain grotesquely underfunded. All parties, all people, are guilty of this selective empathy. Only one man ever walked this earth and lived the life worthy of the calling He received. Only one man became the example for how to care for others in every moment of his life. Jesus Christ is our example. He is our standard. His Word in our standard.
For example, the Bible contains the earliest known record in history of a slave owner being asked to free a slave simply because man shouldn't own man. Paul even offered to repay the man for the price of the slave, showing his true pity for the slave's situation. The Bible is chock full of examples of this love-exuding sacrifice for another, with the apex of the entire story being the cross. Christ willingly gave His life for the sake of us. People that betray him, defame him, hate and scorn him. Jesus showed us exactly how we should (as Christians) respond both personally and collectively to the challenges that face our nation.
As Christians we need to exemplify Christ. We need to not only show love and compassion with our words as all of Twitter does. We need to go a step further. We need to sacrifice for others. Time and money isn't enough, anyone can do that. Truly investing in the life and well-being of someone is the only way for reconciliation, its the only path to redemption, and its the only avenue to healing.
Its the way Christ did it, and its the way we need to.
