It's Becoming Too Much
We have become wearied with the tragedies. We are exhausted by the mental and emotional toll that we are paying with each storm, with each gunshot. We have to face the fact that as a species, humanity has not learned to prepare for the worst - we believe we have conquered the earth. Yet the earth keeps reminding us that it can shake us off at any point. We have yet to face the fact of the symbiotic relationship of humanity to the earth and if we don't take care of our planet, it will likely take care of us.
Of course, for some, taking care of the earth is un-biblical. There is the line of thinking that says that we can trash this planet, because as Revelation indicates, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. That seems to somehow justify fracking, strip-mines, and why disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010 are really not worth the fuss that some would make of spilling oil into the oceans.
I do not share that view, I should say. I think we need to care for the planet, to think carefully about what we put into the air, into the water, and subsequently, into our bodies. Some would argue that the earth is here for us to rule over it, as some passages from the Bible suggest. Of course, the Bible also suggests humanity was created explicitly to care for the garden - a task we have never done well, for sure.
I also believe we are to care for one another to the best of our ability. We can't all be rescue workers, doctors, firefighters, or the like. We cannot all be the billionaires who can charter planes to fly water to Puerto Rico or Houston, or Haiti, or wherever else. And some who could do such things don't always step up to the challenge.
But we can love our neighbor. We can cry with them. We can offer a hand when we have the opportunity. As Bono sang way back in the 1984 song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - "Tonight thank God it's them instead of you." That line always troubled me. But now I think I am beginning to understand. If it was us we might be finding out that aid doesn't come easily or readily from those who could help.
And with each death from gunfire, be it at a horrific mass shooting or a child on the streets of Chicago or a victim of domestic abuse, we have to ask ourselves what the true cost of guns really is. I'm not opposed to gun ownership. But I am opposed to children being killed. I am opposed to murder. So I wonder how I should feel when we won't study systemic gun violence. I wonder how I should feel about the perceived need to stockpile weapons in our homes. I wonder if we might not just be creating an atmosphere where we find we need to shoot someone. And that kind of need can certainly unconsciously justify scapegoating this person, that group, or an opposing political party. And we start looking for enemies within and turn our backs to enemies around; jumping at shadows we kill each other and the world looks on.
Each bullet fired in Las Vegas was a cry of anger that ends in a cry of sorrow and pain. No pain, no gain? What have we gained from this kind of pain? Another round of debates about if it is time to talk about talking about guns?
Those on the receiving end of gunfire and hurricanes and earthquakes stop believing in God when those who claim to believe in God stop acting like that matters and, as a result, stop acting like the lives around them matter.
Thank God it's them? No, I don't think so.
Of course, for some, taking care of the earth is un-biblical. There is the line of thinking that says that we can trash this planet, because as Revelation indicates, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. That seems to somehow justify fracking, strip-mines, and why disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010 are really not worth the fuss that some would make of spilling oil into the oceans.
I do not share that view, I should say. I think we need to care for the planet, to think carefully about what we put into the air, into the water, and subsequently, into our bodies. Some would argue that the earth is here for us to rule over it, as some passages from the Bible suggest. Of course, the Bible also suggests humanity was created explicitly to care for the garden - a task we have never done well, for sure.
I also believe we are to care for one another to the best of our ability. We can't all be rescue workers, doctors, firefighters, or the like. We cannot all be the billionaires who can charter planes to fly water to Puerto Rico or Houston, or Haiti, or wherever else. And some who could do such things don't always step up to the challenge.
But we can love our neighbor. We can cry with them. We can offer a hand when we have the opportunity. As Bono sang way back in the 1984 song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - "Tonight thank God it's them instead of you." That line always troubled me. But now I think I am beginning to understand. If it was us we might be finding out that aid doesn't come easily or readily from those who could help.
And with each death from gunfire, be it at a horrific mass shooting or a child on the streets of Chicago or a victim of domestic abuse, we have to ask ourselves what the true cost of guns really is. I'm not opposed to gun ownership. But I am opposed to children being killed. I am opposed to murder. So I wonder how I should feel when we won't study systemic gun violence. I wonder how I should feel about the perceived need to stockpile weapons in our homes. I wonder if we might not just be creating an atmosphere where we find we need to shoot someone. And that kind of need can certainly unconsciously justify scapegoating this person, that group, or an opposing political party. And we start looking for enemies within and turn our backs to enemies around; jumping at shadows we kill each other and the world looks on.
Each bullet fired in Las Vegas was a cry of anger that ends in a cry of sorrow and pain. No pain, no gain? What have we gained from this kind of pain? Another round of debates about if it is time to talk about talking about guns?
Those on the receiving end of gunfire and hurricanes and earthquakes stop believing in God when those who claim to believe in God stop acting like that matters and, as a result, stop acting like the lives around them matter.
Thank God it's them? No, I don't think so.
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